hi again, and clubwagon, i really appreciate ur input, it is very informative and makes my E150/250 shopping much easier. So i test drove a 94 Clubwagon XLT E150 5.0L with 130K today. Drove great, shifted smooth, cant find anything wrong with it. Family driven so not even a Tow hitch on it! he wants bottom line 2800.. i think its a good deal. I looked for Trans code but couldnt find a sticker that said E4OD.. but the driver door sticker said E type.. is that the same thing? Sorry for the ignorant question, but even though ive been driving for over 10 years, never worked on a auto trans/Ford.. so im new to this. The E150 had OD off button, does that put the trans in 3rd? OD is 4th right? i just wanted to clear that up.. and a C6 3 speed tranny doesnt have a OD button?

I found a major leak, its motor oil that gets collected to the bell housing on the tranny. From the top of the motor it looked dry but couldnt see the back of the motor. is it reasonable to assume the oil leak is a rear main seal? is that commom? which would include a trans drop to swap the seal.. like a 5 hr job? I drop and install jap car front engine AWD trans in about 6 to 7 hours, Fords are easier right? or does the V8 have a cam seal leak thats commom? whats the most common leaks back there?

Thanks for ur input of the suspension advice, i will definetly look into KYB's, add a leaf and possibly a front sway bar too.. not sure if thats gonna fit in my budget.

I hope to test drive few more 150/250 and decide after that, still cant find any 250 though... well for my towing i can probably get away with 150 no problem.

thanks again yohei

 

Hi yama916,

The trans is an E4OD. My E4OD has the E on the door sticker too, and if I am not mistaken, it is the only trans that has the OD lock out button.

The button on the end of the shifter will either prevent the trans from shifting into overdrive (4th) or cause it to downshift out of overdrive into third. You can use it for passing, hill climbing, slowing or towing a heavy load. It's the best feature on the van. I use mine every day.

Another possible source of the oil leak could be sloppy workmanship on the part of whoever changes the oil on that van. The oil filter is located above the frame cross member on the driver's side front of the engine. When you remove the filter it will leak a fair amount of oil onto the cross member. If that oil is not cleaned up it will blow back toward the rear of the engine when driven. I would suggest that you raise the van and clean up the existing oil and then crank it up again and see if there is actually a leak or just a mess from the owner using quick oil change joints or leaving the mess himself.

Has the trans in this van been rebuilt or replaced? Mine died at around 65,000 miles and I understand that is not unusual for the pre '95 models.

Gene

 

thanks for the input, i was test riding this van and i can no longer look under the van... but i checked the oily wet area before the test run, and after the run it was definetly wetter, few drips around everywhere... so i think it rules out the oil change. I was just curious if the 5.0 302 are known to have oil seals go bad at 120, seems unlikely.. maybe a bad valve cover leaking all the way down, and i just couldnt see it.. either way... your experience is priceless! yohei

 

my 91 with the 351, has the E4OD. It also has the same oil leak out of the inspection plate cover. My guess is the rear main. The last time that I had the doghouse off, I checked the valvecover, head and intake gaskets, and didn't find any leaks, so I'm assuming its the main seal. For now it is pretty slow, so I just keep adding oil when it is low.

 

ahh great input, thanks 86rustbucket! do u know how easy of a fix that is? ive done them on jap cars, just need to drop the trans, oil pan, and it slides out, a new one and its all fixed. do u have any idea what a shop would charge for this fix? that way i can deal him down on his price.. say if its a 500 bux job, ill ask him to drop 300 off the bottom line price... any suggestions? thanks yohei

 

The rear main seal is probably a good assumption, but i thought I would mention the filter mess problem because it is always nice to find a simple cause to what looks like a more serious problem.

Mine is leaving a few drops on the ground lately too, but I haven't had time to check the source of it yet.

Gene

 

Yama916, My clubwagon is a '95 5 liter XLT and it has been a great van. It was just a year old when I bought it and I love it. It now has 220K, mostly trouble free, miles on it and is strong as ever.

There are really only two transmissions available, the E4OD and the 4R70W (by '94 C6s were only available in fleet trucks). I am not sure which code is for which trans but you can tell by looking at the transmission pan. A 4R70W is flat on the bottom and an E4OD looks to have been stamped over a big cross. Both have the OD cancel button on the end of the shifter. The E4OD would have only come with the tow package in a 150 chassis so look closely. Mine has a "U" transmission code and the 4R70W transmission.

Both are OD transmissions. That is, 4th gear is a ratio better than 1:1. Both also have lockup torque converters. The C6 is a 3 speed without a lockup torque converter and does not have an overdrive gear ratio.

The oil leak could be a rear main seal but some of the 5 liters ('94s and '95s for sure) had a problem with the engine oil pan gaskets. I had to replace mine at about 100K miles. Pulling the engine cover will tell you if the valve covers are leaking but that isn't a common problem on a 5 liter. Neither is a rear main seal leak but it does happen. You do need to get under it and look closely at the pan gasket and try to trace the leak. There will be a little rubber plug about the size of a silver dollar in the transmission's bellhousing. Pull that plug and see if oil runs out. If so, its could be either the rear main seal or the oil pan gasket.

Steve

 

thanks clubwagon, great info, this forum is priceless, ive learned alot, there are so many changes made on these Fords over the years!!! wow.
Since this Clubwagon didnt have the tow package and i remember the pan being really flat, it must have the 4R70W tranny..... so i did some reserch and found that 70 means 700ft/lbs, so the highest motor output has to be less than 350ft/lb, due to the conver that doubles the torque... But how about the E4OD?? what is that capable of? and if it came with the tow package then im sure its a beefier tranny, but had more problems....
this site showed the pan like u said!!!
http://pages.prodigy.net/kennethl6/_wsn/page8.html

but i also found this about 94 to 97 econo with 4r70w... that its prone to a erratic 1-2 shifts.. how is yours doing?
http://nightsky.home.texas.net/markv...a/97-11-11.txt

lastly thanks again for all your help, without this forum and ur help, i would still not know a single thing... now i know what to look for and its pros and cons... thanks so much!
yohei

 

I don't know what the top end limits are on the E4OD/4R100 but it was Ford's largest/heavy duty automatic. They put it behind the V10 and PowerStroke diesels. They are quite strong.

The 4R70W shifting problem you noted is rare. In fact, any trouble with 4R70W/AODE transmissions are rare. The experience we have at my shop are they are one of the most reliable transmissions on the market. As I noted, my van has 220K miles on it with no major trouble. The transmission shifts like new. I should also note the vast majority of the miles it has are towing my car trailer. I travel a great deal pulling that trailer, it tows just fine on the interstate at 75+ mph.

Steve

 

Hi Clubwagon,
The trans in my '94 is an E4OD. It has the cross embossed oil pan and I bought the van new with the towing package.

I wasn't aware that there was another trans with the OD button. Good info. My van does have the E code on the door sticker. I am not sure if that is a definitive sign of an E4OD or if it might mean any of the electronically controlled transmissions.

I wish mine had as long a service life as yours. Mine died at 66,000 even though I maintained it religiously. I bought a factory rebuilt E4OD to replace it. It has the updates that the later ones came with. No trouble so far.

Gene

 

There seem to be two tow packages available on '94/'95 Clubwagons. Mine has a factory tow package with a class II/III receiver, factory trailer wiring harness, factory trans cooler, but a 3.31 gear and the 4R70W transmission. Most tow packages had the E4OD and 3.73 gear. I don't know why mine ended up in this configuration.

As for transmission service life, E4ODs don't seem to be as reliable as the 4R70W (AODE). Don't know why.

Almost all Ford electronic overdrive transmissions have a O/D Canel button. E and F series trucks of course, but also Explorers and Rangers with the 4R55E and 5R55E, Winstars and Contours all have OD Cancel buttons. My Taurus is about the only exception I can think of.

I do think the E code is the E4OD and the U code is the 4R70W. Seems to be consistant between vans.

Steve

 

Mine is a little different package, but it was factory also. It has the class III factory step bumper factory trailer wiring harness, trans cooler, 130 amp alt, 3.73 limited slip rear end and it came with a pig tail for a trailer brake controller if you need it. I think I recall it having a larger radiator as well, but I wouldn?t swear to that with out checking something more reliable than my memory.

I remember the dealer talking about how the vans very from one dealership to another due to the package of options that they choose for their fleet. I found that to be the case as I shopped around. The step bumper was one example of that. The others I looked at were equipped with the standard bumper / receiver hitch combo.

The choice of trans may be related to the engine choice you make. Mine is a 5.8, so maybe that is why it was equipped with the E4OD.

The limited slip and the step bumper were not part of the towing package, but were extra cost options. In the case of the bumper, when it is ordered with the towing package, it replaces the original bumper and the receiver hitch.

I appreciate the info on the other applications that have the OD button. I had been under the impression that all vehicles so equipped had an E4OD. There I go assuming again.

The mystery here seems to be why the original van in this thread that yama 916 was test driving has both the E trans code and the flat bottom pan. Perhaps the trans has been replaced? What do you think?

Gene

 

Mine has the step bumper _and_ a factory installed receiver, kind of strange but that's the way it came. Also has the HO alternator, brake controler harness. Not sure about the radiator but it has the standard (not heavy duty) fan clutch. The radiator looks pretty big and it never ever tries to run hot under any conditions.

I don't think I ever saw a 5.8 motor without the E4OD. I know if you ordered the heavy duty (?) tow package you got the 5.8 motor, E4OD, 3.73, etc... I have seen the E4OD behind a 5.0 but it isn't that common.

If that van (yama916 test drive subject) did indeed have an E code and a flat bottom pan then that blows the code theory. You cannot swap the E4OD and AODE transmissions. The electronics are completely different.

Steve

 

well, i didnt take a picture of the sticker on the driver door. and it was already dark and COLD, so i read it using a small flash light, it was also my first Clubwagon to test drive and look... so maybe i misread the info.. just saw a E some where in the code and assumed it to be E trans code... More i read your posts, maybe i made a mistake, but it did have a 5.0L with OD tranny... and i took a picture of the oil leak, and it shows the plug on the tranny like clubwagon says. and from a flat pan. i can only assume it to be a AOD tranny 4R70W. Either way, thanks so much for all of ur input, Gene and Clubwagon.. I hope to test drive couple more before i decide. Oil leak doesnt scare me, and your suggestion of the oil pan is probably a good assumption as well. If i can find a clubwagon without any oil leak and a 4R70W.. i guess that would be the best choice for me. i dont tow heavy and if I do its rare.. Thanks again.
yohei

 

I've also heard of oil pan gaskets being a big problem on small block fords (trucks and vans, 302 and 351). Friend of mine had 2 broncos and had to change both of them. I only assumed rear main because I would expect more leakage from other parts of the motor (not just the rear) if the pan gasket was going. My thought would be its a pretty expensive fix, I've read some manuals where they say that you don't need to remove the crank to replace the rear main, but I'm not sure howe that is possible. I do know you would definetly need to remove the oil pan (which on FI motors would necessitate the removal of the intake, because you need to jack the motor up to remove the oil pan and the intake manifold would hit the firewall before you have enough clearance to pull the pan out). My thought is to keep adding oil until I need a complete re-build, a wet bottom and a few drips shouldn't hurt. Figure it this way. Let's say that you loose a quart a week (which is way more than I'm loosing, I'm lucky if if I need to add a quart between oil changes) at around $1.50 a quart, that would only be around $78 per year in oil. That's a heck of alot cheaper than paying someone to fix the problem....

With regards to pan gaskets, my buddy with the broncos used a 1 piece silocone gasket with steel reinforcement that he got from summit. Apparently, with this gasket, you can just drop the pan, remove the old gasket material, and slide the new gasket up around the pan without the hassle of jacking up the motor. Apparently, it stays in place much better than the OE type gaskets while installing.