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I bought a lemon I think. I left NY and went to Richmond VA, and bought a 1991 f150. It has a 302 fuel injected engine. It is a straight cab 4x4, short box. No rust. It has a E4OD transmission.
It was advertised as having transmission issues. I knew this and bought it, thinking it's an easy thing to replace. Back in NY the transmission shop installed a reman E4OD, then called and told me the new unit won't shift into drive. It stays on 2nd. They say the trans is receiving the wrong info from the ECU. They've had it for three weeks. Today they say they believe it's a bad ECU. They also said they believe the engine in the truck is not original to this truck. they told me that with a different engine, the new ECU won't work, unless I know what engine it is. I called NAPA and they too said I need to know where the engine came from. They told me any new ECU had to be flashed, to this truck, but the engine info is critical. Can anyone tell me why is this relevant. why would a different engine matter.
You need a different shop. This is all a bunch of bull IMO. The SD trucks, which yours is, are not that ECU specific. What I hear is they got a bad trans and they don't want to warranty it, they want to blame your truck.
Please post the VIN of your truck so we can see what motor it came with originally.
Just to give you an idea of what I am talking about, my son's truck is a 95 with 302. It's a MAF truck. I put an SD 302 from a 1990 model truck in it, and it's been going strong for 100K miles. I even swapped from a 4R70W trans to an E4OD when we converted the truck to 4x4, and it STILL is all working fine.
Ron, it could very well be the ECM as it is all electronically controlled. I had the same issue once. As far as obtaining the correct one, that is not the problem for the ECM issue. First thing to do is run your diagnostic codes and it should give you some info about the tranny or you could pull the ECM out and open it up and see if any of the three capacitors are leaking which is a common problem. That should determine if the ECM is going south. Sandy
Just saw the Jas88 post and what he said is a possibility also.
Ron, it could very well be the ECM as it is all electronically controlled. I had the same issue once. As far as obtaining the correct one, that is not the problem for the ECM issue. First thing to do is run your diagnostic codes and it should give you some info about the tranny or you could pull the ECM out and open it up and see if any of the three capacitors are leaking which is a common problem. That should determine if the ECM is going south. Sandy
Just saw the Jas88 post and what he said is a possibility also.
I appreciate your advice. I am buying another ECU, either napa or rockauto. I'll see what happens. Another guy told me the speed sensor in the rear axle is causing the issue. But I'll try the ECU first.
I don't recommend you do that YET. Open the old one and check those capacitors first. If you choose to go ahead with the shotgun approach, buy it locally so you have a warranty and can exchange it without sending it back to someone. Different years and configurations i.e. auto/manual etc. etc.determine the correct ECM. Our 91's are the cut off year for the next generation trucks when changes were made.
Plenty of help here from folks that will help. There are experts here (I am not one) that can get you going no matter what. You will need patience and these trucks require them to worked on frequently and usually can be fixed by most. Running codes is the first thing to take care of if you are going to keep the truck. Here is the diagnostic tester for our OBD1 trucks before standards were mandated.
Simply get the codes and they will give you a close if not spot on way to tackle the problems.
One last thing. Whether the capacitors are good or not, get the numbers off the ECM label and post them along with your Calibration Code which is on a sticker on the door jam. There are some here that can tell you what the ECM is and if it is correct.
Thanks again, I actually have an OBD 1 tester. I used to own a 93 f150. I'll do as you say. I'll pull the ECU and see if the capacitor s are leaking and post the numbers and see if anyone can help match the unit using it's numbers. I really appreciate your help.
Thanks again, I actually have an OBD 1 tester. I used to own a 93 f150. I'll do as you say. I'll pull the ECU and see if the capacitor s are leaking and post the numbers and see if anyone can help match the unit using it's numbers. I really appreciate your help.
Ron, you are very welcome. Good to hear that info about your experience with the trucks.
You need a different shop. This is all a bunch of bull IMO. The SD trucks, which yours is, are not that ECU specific. What I hear is they got a bad trans and they don't want to warranty it, they want to blame your truck.
Please post the VIN of your truck so we can see what motor it came with originally.
Just to give you an idea of what I am talking about, my son's truck is a 95 with 302. It's a MAF truck. I put an SD 302 from a 1990 model truck in it, and it's been going strong for 100K miles. I even swapped from a 4R70W trans to an E4OD when we converted the truck to 4x4, and it STILL is all working fine.
I appreciate your help. I just don't understand why they say the eng donor Veh is needed. It's still a 302. Why is that relevant. But thanks for your thoughts.
I bought a lemon I think. I left NY and went to Richmond VA, and bought a 1991 f150. It has a 302 fuel injected engine. It is a straight cab 4x4, short box. No rust. It has a E4OD transmission.
It was advertised as having transmission issues. I knew this and bought it, thinking it's an easy thing to replace. Back in NY the transmission shop installed a reman E4OD, then called and told me the new unit won't shift into drive. It stays on 2nd. They say the trans is receiving the wrong info from the ECU. They've had it for three weeks. Today they say they believe it's a bad ECU. They also said they believe the engine in the truck is not original to this truck. they told me that with a different engine, the new ECU won't work, unless I know what engine it is. I called NAPA and they too said I need to know where the engine came from. They told me any new ECU had to be flashed, to this truck, but the engine info is critical. Can anyone tell me why is this relevant. why would a different engine matter.
The vehicle it came from is relevant because a 1996 302 is different from a 1987(first year of FI, right? )
but that doesn’t mean they can’t be interchanged it just means it’s more than a drop in plug n play.
to find the original application of the engine is to find the code on the motor. Someone here may know how to find that.
to find the original engine for the truck, post your vin and we can find it OR you can look at your VECI label which has vacuum routings on it under your hood. Location may be on the base of hood by driver but i may be wrong. Your sticker you can post or just look at it yourself. Maybe it’s on core aupport Should look like this generally
The vehicle it came from is relevant because a 1996 302 is different from a 1987(first year of FI, right? )
but that doesn’t mean they can’t be interchanged it just means it’s more than a drop in plug n play.
302 Went Fuel Injected in 1986 in the F-Series and Bronco, the 300-6 followed in 1987, and the 351W and 460 in 1988
The vehicle it came from is relevant because a 1996 302 is different from a 1987(first year of FI, right? )
but that doesn’t mean they can’t be interchanged it just means it’s more than a drop in plug n play.
to find the original application of the engine is to find the code on the motor. Someone here may know how to find that.
to find the original engine for the truck, post your vin and we can find it OR you can look at your VECI label which has vacuum routings on it under your hood. Location may be on the base of hood by driver but i may be wrong. Your sticker you can post or just look at it yourself. Maybe it’s on core aupport Should look like this generally
Thanks for your assistance. The VIN is 1FTEF14N2MNA85285. I went to the trans shop yesterday and gave them a spare ECM from a 91 bronco. They said they will flash it to this truck and hope that cures this problem. Fingers crossed. Thanks for your assistance
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