Hey everyone!
I have a 95 powerstroke with the e40d.
So recently, my truck has started to have a rough shift from 1st to 2nd. It will shift, but I have to rev it up for a good while at 3000 or so rpm and then when I release the throttle it will finally switch. Every other shift is perfect! 2nd to 3rd and 3rd to 4th. I've been actively searching on the internet to find some "simple" solutions before I take it to a transmission shop, and what I've found is resetting the computer by disconnecting the battery, rear diff sensor, tps, Lever Positioning Shift sensor, and removing the valve body to find broken shift springs? Are any of these worth trying before I put it in the hands of a transmission repair shop? Could the transmission repair shop run these tests before they try and get me to overhaul the tranny? In peoples experience with transmission shops, if it was something that simple would they try and hide that from me to just cash my money? I've checked my trans fluid and it is excellent! It just got changed actually, nice colour, no funky smell and no metal. Any other options to consider before taking it in that I haven't already listed would be greatly appreciated! thanks everyone.

 

There is nothing to reset in the computer. If the speed sensor in the diff were bad, how would it only affect the 1-2? Same for the Manual Lever Position Sensor and the TPS. It is possible that there is a broken spring or sticky valve in the valve body. If so, it would be the 1-2 shift valve.

The test for the sticky valve is to take the valve body out and see if it is stuck.

Much more likely is that the intermediate one way clutch has failed. That takes a rebuild to fix.

 

Would that be a full rebuild?
Or can they just remove the tranny, replace the one way clutch and put the tranny back in, or do you advise against that?
If they just did what I mentioned above, what would the price range be looking like? Especially considering there is no metal in the fluid that would be a good indication that I could potentially just get away with replacing the one component right?
Thanks for all the knowledge by the way I really appreciate it!

 

Before saying just replace the one component, what do the clutch discs look like? Is there much wear? The only way I know to answer that question is to tear down the trans. I'd hate to pull the trans, replace the one way clutch, and then 10,000 miles down the road have another failure. Now you'll spend the money on labor all over again.

I would not expect the difference between replacing the one way clutch and a complete rebuild to be that high, and you'll have a like new trans instead of a worn one with a new part.

 

My trans was rebuilt 42,000 km ago (26,000 miles) its just past the 2 year expiration to be covered by warranty. When they rebuilt it they also added a shift kit and upgraded torque converter. With this being said, in your experience what does the bill typically look like to "rebuild" an already rebuilt transmission?

 

When I owned a shop 10 years ago we did a rebuild on a 4R100 with good parts. It wasn't a high performance build, but a stock build. It was about $2500 out the door. I haven't looked at prices in the 10 years since that.

 

So I took the truck in today to a transmission shop that was highly recommended by my mechanic friend. He said that he's the best in town and will give me a good price. I showed up and apparently he is very proficient at the e40d rebuild he said he's done hundreds. I told him about my previous rebuild from the ford dealership and how they put a remanufactured tranny with upgraded torque converter and a shift kit ($5000 bill) and he tells me that ford doesn't really do "performance rebuilds" and what ford considers a "HD" rebuild isn't really a HD rebuild because they refuse to use aftermarket parts. So, basically he says if I want a full rebuild to hell with the current shift kit and torque converter that is already in the truck even though they are aftermarket (i was extremely happy with the performance of the original rebuild if im being honest) and just do it all over with his HD performance rebuild which he highly recommends. His HD rebuilt will consist of fixing everything that is currently broken, removing all aluminum and upgrading it with more solid material, a truly HD torque converter and a tugger kit (and obviously more things that i couldn't remember). He said he will back this with a 3 year 160,000 KM warranty and that it should be near bulletproof even with all the performance mods I have on my truck (bigger injectors, tune). He said 4000+tax (4500 out the door) for that HD rebuild. Another option is to just have him remove the tranny and fix the broken components, leave the current torque converter and shift kit, clean it and put it back in and he said he can do this for 2000+ tax (2250 out the door). He said this will come with a 1 year unlimited KM warranty, but if there was something wrong and I brought it back and it was the torque converter that is being problematic he said that's the only thing that won't be covered by his warranty since he won't be replacing it and can't back it.

My question for you is,
is this 4500 out the door price a good price for a full performance HD rebuild? The warranty sounds really good
if I were to just fix the damage, is 2250 a good price, and since I already do have an aftermarket shift kit and torque converter should I save myself from investing in another one... that is supposedly "gonna do the trick this time".
My receipt from ford rebuild says SQR trans was installed and TRM 470 Kit if that is of any help.
Also: turns out 2nd gear is just gone, and its taking so long to shift from 1st because its going directly into 3rd.

 

I realize that people need to make a living but DAMN. I am so glad I can do my own work. Over the last few weeks I have spoken to people who have paid shops to do injectors and cups to the tune of $4500, another set of cups for $2500, up-pipes for $1200, and now $2250 to just remove, disassemble, clean, and replace a few gaskets and seals and one hard part (that is less than $60).

I don't envy your situation at all. Sorry you have to go through this. Unfortunately, like the other dude who is having the exact same problem on the thread page and this problem is relatively common, I don't know of a truly "heavy duty" replacement. There are parts with a higher "element" count (meaning more actual "dogbones" to take the torque) but it's still a very small, fragile part. I guess when a person realizes what the job of this one way clutch actually is, it makes sense that they break.

NAPA rebuild kits and standard torque converters from a local transmission shop have served me well for 20 years. The hard parts are available from numerous places on the internet for decent prices if the local shop doesn't have them in stock (I try to buy local and they usually have everything I need!). With your failure, had you quit driving it soon after it took a dump, I'd expect no more than than $300 in parts and gaskets, another $40 in fluid, and a few hours of labor (in and out and a bit of cleaning). This failure usually doesn't contaminate much stuff with metal. The problem is that continued use tends to circulate it.

 

Could it be the shift solenoid pack? Contains the 1-2 shift solenoid. I have this problem on my truck snd wonder whether to pull it since it shifts fine manually

 

In manual mode, the intermediate band applies and holds the direct clutch drum instead of relying on the intermediate one-way sprag to do it.

 

I’m currently having the same issue but it only starts to do it when the transmission is up to temperature would that be a valve body problem transmission was serviced already thinking old fluid might have been the problem but no fix is been about 112 to 115 here in Arizona so could it be a heat problem I installed a Mishimoto aluminum radiator and it helped by making it take longer to get to temp