1994 E350 box truck
Build Date: 11/1993 (OBD1 era, first year EFI)
Engine: 460 7.5 L gasoline
Transmission: E4OD 4X2
Trans fluid Is clean, color red, and at level
Odometer: 165,000
Use: Light loads, gently driven
Recent work: New solenoid pack, harness swapped, full fluid flush, new filter, new MLPShttps://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1786902-1994-e350-460cid-e4od-621-624-fault-codes.html

Symptoms:

After the transmission gets to full temp, the transmission does not want to shift normally. It will shift if I go beyond the shift speed then take my foot off the accelerator, then it engages, and then I can use the accelerator after the shift.

It will not always shift to third or fourth when at full temp.

At full temperature, the transmission is very slow to engage into first gear. If I step on the accelerator the engine will rev for a second before it clunks into drive. The higher the RPMs, the harsher the clunk.

In Reverse it is slow to engage and at times will leave a stream of transmission fluid on the ground while backing up. I have not been able to locate the source of the transmission fluid leak, but it's very close to the center of the vehicle.

Sometimes in reverse at full temperature, backing up without using the accelerator will kill the engine by dropping the RPM so low.

There's a new sound that I did not notice before, which sounds like a whirling sound, or like a gear driven blower.

When I first start the truck in the morning it operates perfectly fine. I can take it on the freeway for a mile until it gets up to temp, then when I get off the freeway the above symptoms kick in. I have been staying off the freeway and trying not to drive the vehicle at all until I can figure out what's going on.

I just did a test drive. I drove for about 4 miles and about 1 mile on the freeway. While at 55 miles an hour I touched the brake pedal and notice the brake lights come on (night driving), there was no change in engine RPM. I only push the pedal hard enough to make the lights come on, not brake.

The whine is more pronounced at freeway speeds, and perhaps more noticeable in town at this point.

When I parked I used a temperature gun and the transmission oil pan was at 142F. The transmission body at the rear of the pan was about 150f, in the middle was about 160F, and at the bellhousing was 172F.

I ran a KOEO test and got the following codes:

DTC 628 indicates excessive torque converter clutch slippage.

DTC 657 on an OBD1 system, specifically in a Ford vehicle, indicates a "Transmission over temperature condition occurred".

KOER gave no error codes. 111

I did what I read about the reverse stall test. I put the vehicle in Reverse and revved the engine. The engine became louder but the RPMs barely raised if even 100 to 200 RPM, but I did that by ear.

Do I need to run any other tests? Let me know if there's anything other information I need to include.

Is there already a post somewhere that covers everything to know about E4OD transmissions? I looked but did not find.

 

What fluid did you use? Was the filter for a 4x2? There is a different filter for a 4x4, and using it in a 4x2 will cause problems.

Low fluid or the wrong filter could possibly cause this.

Unfortunately, this is probably a worn out forward clutch. The only solution is to rebuild or replace the transmission.

The stream of trans fluid is most likely from the torque converter hub seal. It's not hard to change once the transmission is removed from the vehicle.

Back to low fluid or the wrong filter.

Cold trans fluid is thicker and can mask issues.

That indicates that the torque converter clutch is not locking. You have a code for slip, this can cause that code.

Did you do a stall test without a gauge to check trans pressure, and without a tach? What did you think you would learn from this? Also, did you give it some throttle, or push the accelerator all the way to the floor? A stall test is only valid with the accelerator on the floor. A part throttle test just makes noise.

 

What fluid did you use?

It's been quite a few months but it was a Mercon compatible fluid, the label made it clear that it was backwards compatible for Mercon.


Was the filter for a 4x2? There is a different filter for a 4x4, and using it in a 4x2 will cause problems.

4x2, I was aware of the difference.

Low fluid or the wrong filter could possibly cause this.

Fluid level is to spec.

Unfortunately, this is probably a worn out forward clutch. The only solution is to rebuild or replace the transmission.


The stream of trans fluid is most likely from the torque converter hub seal. It's not hard to change once the transmission is removed from the vehicle.


Back to low fluid or the wrong filter.


Cold trans fluid is thicker and can mask issues.


That indicates that the torque converter clutch is not locking. You have a code for slip, this can cause that code.


Did you do a stall test without a gauge to check trans pressure, and without a tach?

Yes.

What did you think you would learn from this?

I was listening to the transmission to hear if the RPM sounded like they were roughly doubling. I did not have a tach or a pressure gauge.

Also, did you give it some throttle, or push the accelerator all the way to the floor? A stall test is only valid with the accelerator on the floor. A part throttle test just makes noise.

All the way to the floor for about 3 seconds.

 

I think the main thing here is the forward clutch is damaged. Anything else is secondary to that. If it gets worse, you will lose forward gears.

 

What are my next steps?

Also, Mark, I see all your comments on various threads and I recognize your authority on the subject. I want to tell you how thankful I am for what you are telling me. I appreciate all the work that you do for everyone!

 

You're welcome.

There are two ways to fix this. Either replace or rebuild the transmission.

 

I do not have the environment to rebuild, and probably not the confidence since it's not something I've ever done.

What am I going to look for when I purchase a new/rebuilt transmission? Do I want to replace the torque converter also? I know to do a cooler flush or replacement, but is there anything else I should know?

My use is primarily a lightly loaded box truck, no racing around, gentle driving, and no towing ever.

 

You won't find a new transmission. Rebuilt or remanufactured are all that are available. Look for a place that has a good reputation.

You MUST replace the torque converter, or expect the replacement trans to fail, too. If you purchase a transmission, it should come with a torque converter already installed.

Replace the aux trans cooler, if the truck has one. If you never tow, you probably can just eliminate the aux cooler. The radiator cooler is sufficient to cool the trans without a large load on the truck. The cooler inside the radiator and the lines can be flushed.

 

Were any of the symptoms/codes present before the solenoid pack replacement and flush?

 

If I was to install the transmission myself, is there anything that I need to be made aware of? I read in one place that the torque converter has to be lined up perfectly, but after reading and thinking about it, I wasn't sure if that article was talking about the the e4od or if it was a general statement that did not apply.

I have read that there are different stages, like stage 1 through at least stage 3 for e4od transmissions. What exactly does that mean?

Does a 4r100 upgrade make sense for a gently driven lightly loaded box truck?

To be clear, the box truck is an RV conversion that I use for work as a traveling crane operator. The vehicle is very nice for a 1994. Everything works inside the cab and I have no other problems with this vehicle, as I keep it in good repair. I will probably keep it in another 10 years or more.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...ult-codes.html

I did have a 621, 624, and a 628 error codes. 628 is the one that is of most interest here, excessive slipping of the torque converter. I cleared the code and it did not come back, but it obviously came back eventually.

 

I think that 621 and 624 are more important than the 628 code.

621 is an electrical circuit fault to shift solenoid 1. 624 is high current to the EPC. Code 624 indicates that the EPC is electrically faulted to low pressure, which will cause all sorts of problems. Having two electrical circuit faults tells me you have a damaged wiring harness between the PCM and the transmission. The 628 code will set when the 624 is present because the low pressure will allow the trans to slip.

 

Those codes were in response to a request about an previous codes. That only codes I have now are the following:

DTC 628 indicates excessive torque converter clutch slippage.

DTC 657 on an OBD1 system, specifically in a Ford vehicle, indicates a "Transmission over temperature condition occurred".

From the description, what kind of damage should I expect in the pump? I have been watching rebuild videos over the last several days and see that it's not beyond my capability. But I do want to be prepared on what parts I might have to collect besides a rebuild kit. What are the differences between the different stages of rebuild kits?

 

So what I did was go on marketplace and I found an E4OD for my truck for $100 and I rebuilt it myself. It's my first automatic transmission so I took my time in between each step. That took me exactly 3 weeks, but I also built a workbench and transmission stand, gathered a rebuild kit, and other parts needed. I had some unexpected problems, like where the valve bodies were there were many stripped out holes, so I had to learn how to install helicoils I also followed the steps for the Superior shift kit, and I got a low stall torque converter from Transparts Warehouse. I took great care to understand each step of the process before executing it.

Anyway, the rebuilt transmission performs flawlessly and actually better than ever. Reverse is very responsive, All of the shifting happens as expected and there are no problems. The temperature doesn't get above 160 or 170, and around town it gets up to around 140.

I opened up the transmission that was in my truck and the valve bodies were tight, there's a lot of metal on the magnet, and now I'm wondering what to do with the transmission. I could probably rebuild it fairly quickly over the weekend if I have all the parts, but I don't know anything about if someone wants to buy a transmission like that from someone on their second rebuild. Or maybe I should just sell it for $300 as is.

Here's a little documentation of what I did. It's not exhaustive, but a person could get the idea well enough.

 

Wanna get beat up some?
You could easily make 100-200 k a year overhauling and being the trans man at just about any Ford dealer with ingenuity like that
There are a whole lot of Ford special service tools that barely work

 

Making money like that with my limited experience seems like some really fanciful big dreaming.

Fixing tools that barely work is completely in my wheelhouse, so if I rebuild this transmission I took out of my truck, that will be on my list of things to do.

This part of my previous comment is still important to me:

I opened up the transmission that was in my truck and the valve bodies were tight, there's a lot of metal on the magnet, and now I'm wondering what to do with the transmission. I could probably rebuild it fairly quickly over the weekend if I have all the parts, but I don't know anything about if someone wants to buy a transmission like that from someone on their second rebuild. Or maybe I should just sell it for $300 as is.