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1989 E250 Club Wagon, 351W, E40D (button on dashboard), 4.10 end, 70K miles on 5 digits odometer, (probably original mileage).
Gentlemen ,
All my gears have always shifted like butter, in an almost imperceptible way. But for some time now, it's not as sweet as it used to be. I can feel the gears change as if with a very slight shock. Could this be a harbinger of future gearbox problems ?
I must point out for some reason I had to drive the oil level up to a quarter of oil for a few hundred miles.
I pulled this quarter back. After removing the doghouse, we have access to the oil from the gearbox by removing the long level control pipe. Of course I had cleaned well before to prevent any impurities from falling into the gearbox. I inserted a small flexible hose and sucked in about two quarts of oil. I put the dipstick back on after cleaning the O-rings, restarted the hot engine and check my oil level, adding what was missing, one quart. The level is now correct. Check in the cross-hatching of the gauge, level checked with the engine hot in Park after having changed all gears manually with a stopping time of 5 seconds in each position. and the oil has a good red color and does not smell like burnt.
Ketch has the fluid ever been fully exchanged as in following the recommended procedure for doing this operation? Read this article by FTE's Mark Kovalsky who posts frequently in the Transmissions sub-forum. Transmission Flush
You might also post your question in that sub-forum for more complete and knowledgeable answers or suggestions.
The gear oil change was done just before I bought the Van. I had asked for it to be made in the USA because I thought (before) that an automatic gearbox was a few easy things for all those years of automatic gearboxes in the USA. Here in France, we now also have automatic gearboxes, but only for about fifteen years. Again they are very different from the Americans I think. So I left Iowa city confident with my new oil. In Indianapolis, I checked the level and to my surprise the level was too low. A stop in a Ford garage where I asked to correct the lack of oil. Left confident this Ford agency, it was only once in France that I saw the level too high !
Okay I will follow your recommendation and go to this subforum
Thank you JWA, have a good Sunday!
I am woefully ignorant of the E4OD transmission compared to other posters on this forum. A few years ago, my '94 5.8L developed hard shifting, especially 1-2 at slow speeds. Disconnecting the battery/clearing codes would bring back soft shifts, but not for very long.
Supposedly, the EEC-IV system can recognize problems and remove electronic shifting via the transmission's solenoids and revert to line pressure shifting. My EEC-IV code reader showed codes, but I cannot remember what they were.
A rebuild brought back the buttery soft grandpa shifting for the last four years. I had bookmarked this site:
Supposedly, the EEC-IV system can recognize problems and remove electronic shifting via the transmission's solenoids and revert to line pressure shifting.
You made that up. It is impossible to do that. There are only two ways that the E4OD can shift. One is automatically by the electronics, and the other is manually by the driver moving the shift lever. It cannot shift automatically without the electronics.
When the shifts start to get a little harsher, it is often due to worn out transmission fluid. Changing the fluid will probably fix this issue.
Mark,
Thank you for your fast answer.
I doing to change the fluid and filter. When i was on the U.S, i've purchasing a box of twelve cans from this fluid :
I know miss again 6 cans for the complete fluid change (18 cans). I can find an ordering on Rockauto. (hope they can send some oil overseas ...)
What do you think about this oil , can be okay ?
Can I still use the Van or do I have to make this change right away ?
Thanks for the post you made for the oil change. I will follow your instructions scrupulously.
It says formulated for Merc V applications. I would feel a lot better about it if it said meets MERCON V specifications. Maybe it's fine, and maybe not. I have no way to determine that.
You can still use the van until you can get the fluid changed.
Had a similar thing going on with mine a while back. Started out as a random hard upshift from 1-2. Eventually got to where it was not only a more frequent hard upshift from 1-2 and 2-3 but it would slip out of gear and slam back in gear. Friend of mine who owns a transmission shop told me to replace the output shaft speed sensor. It fixed it. I tried an aftermarket one first and the speedometer cable would not fit. Motorcraft DY587 fit perfectly.
You made that up. It is impossible to do that. There are only two ways that the E4OD can shift. One is automatically by the electronics, and the other is manually by the driver moving the shift lever. It cannot shift automatically without the electronics.
When the shifts start to get a little harsher, it is often due to worn out transmission fluid. Changing the fluid will probably fix this issue.
Thanks for the correction, but I didn't make it up. Someone else did. It's from the link. Maybe not Ford?
I'm getting a hard shift from 1st to 2nd
This is called "safe mode" also referred to as limp mode. The transmission is essentially protecting itself from any further damage you may cause. The transmission is forcing itself to shift using pressure rather than the shift solenoids. Be aware that this is normal when there is a problem and you should continue with your diagnosis.
The transmission is forcing itself to shift using pressure rather than the shift solenoids.
You should just stop while you're behind. You made this up, too. The transmission can only shift two ways. It can shift by the shift solenoids and it can shift when the driver moves the shift handle to 1.2. or D. It CANNOT shift by only pressure.
I don't see what you're trying to accomplish by "helping" diagnose this when you don't know how a transmission works. I would think no help is better than telling him things that are false.
I wanted to let you know that after changing the oil in my transmission, I found a gear shift like butter like before. I have followed your procedure scrupulously. It is true that my oil was darker than the new one. It was my first oil change of an automatic gearbox. Difficult not to put it everywhere. Putting back the pan with a new gasket was sporty (without lift). Even after 30 minutes, there are still drops of oil falling
It's not easy to fill in the correct level with new oil, you hardly see it on the dipstick.
Thank you very much for your advice and the explanation to change the oil on the E40D.
