I'm totally confused, hopefully someone out there can help. First the particulars on the truck. Its 1992 F350 crew cab (i.e. four doors) long bed w/ 7.3L diesel and E4OD transmission. Now the story.

The transmission on my minivan went out so I rented a tow dolly and hooked the rig to the truck. About 20 miles from home the transmission on the truck went 'squirrelly' and finally gave out. I had the truck and the van towed to the transmission shop where they dropped the pan on the truck and couldn't find anything wrong. At which point I should have called another tow truck to take everything to different shop but that's another story. I couldn't afford to have both transmissions rebuilt and the van was the more important so I had the truck towed home where it sat for quite a while with the back drive shaft in the back floorboard and me starting it every so often.

Just last week I put it into gear just to see what would happen. MUCH to my surprise the front drive shaft was turning. Today I put the rear drive shaft back on and now the truck will move ( I drove it forward and backward down the drive). Which is why I'm totally confused. If the transmission was shot why does it work now? If the transmission wasn't shot why didn't it start working while it was in the shop? Could it be that the transmission is just on its last legs and will die again or could it be a electrical problem? Or could it be something else that has plagued the E4OD transmission that I haven't heard of.

 

Electrical issues are common with the E4OD, specificaly the Gear Selection Switch (ford has another name for it, but you get the idea). This part is prone to intermitaint failure. Also the connector to this sensor is prone to corrosion. A new sensor will come with a new connector...just make sure to get the right wires to the right pins. Of course there are many other problems that could produce these symptoms, but this is my best guess.

 

But where is/are the switch(es)? I talked to a friend who was a mechanic at a Ford dealer until 1990 but he couldn't tell me. Also he told me that on the older Fords you could use an analog multimeter or even a test light to get the code but he wasn't sure if it could be done on my '92. Ever heard of such a thing?

1992 F350 Crewcab (4 door) long bed 7.3L diesel E4OD transmission.

 

The switch I was refering to is on the left front side of the transmission, where the shifter linkage attaches to the transmission. I think ford's name for this part is the Manual Lever Position Sensor (MLPS). As far as getting trouble codes there is probably still a way to get them with a test light etc....but I have only used a Snap-On Scanner....just because thats what we had at work and it is very nice (but like $9k for the scanner and the software so it doesnt make much sense for home use). Also note that if you problem is the MLPS it will most likley not set any codes. I just bought a F250 with an E4OD trans and will look into its operation a bit more.

good luck

 

thanks for the info on the switch. If it stops raining tomorrow I think I'll crawl under there to take a look at it as well as giving it a good cleaning. Can't never tell that may fix the problem, couldn't hurt.

If you find any more info on reading the codes w/o a "box" please let me know. No need for me to buy one if I only need it every 2 or 3 years.

 

My F-250 just set a trans code....so i will definately be looking into it this weekend. I will let you know what I find out on monday.

Good luck

 

Watcher (and perhaps BikePilot),
As you never described the symptoms, it's hard to tell you what is at fault, but it could very well be an electrical problem. There are three sensors and one switch which can go bad and make the trans. act up. These are:

RPM sensor - located in the IP housing below and to the right of the oil fill spout; can set code 62/628; can cause no LU, or LU to cycle back and forth, and erratic shifts. May or may not set code 14/211 (rpm sensor failure)

FIPL sensor - located on the driver's side of the IP, attached to the Fuel Injection Pump Lever; can cause harsh engagements and shifts, upshifts late and harsh, no LU, and no 3 to 4 shift;

Vehicle speed sensor - located either in the tail of the trans. or in the top of the pumpkin on the diff.(I think the '92 has it in the diff.); can cause erratic shifts and LU problems; may or may not set code 29/452.

Manual Lever Position Sensor - located on driver's side of trans. at shift lever; can cause wrong gear starts, falls out of gear, no upshift, high line pressure causing harsh upshifts and engagements; may or may not set code 67/634.

You should have a test connector on one of the wheel wells. Mine's on the pass. side. You can get a cheap scanner at an auto parts store, or even walmart, for less than $30.00.

During a trip recently I had alot of shift problems with my E4OD. When I got to a place I could draw the codes, I found I had a triple whammy of the RPM sensor being bad, the FIPL being bad, and the MLPS being bad and the TOT showing too high a temp. Though the RPM sensor was truly bad, I finally figured out the FIPL, MLPS, and TOT had a bad ground ( they use a common ground. On my van, the wiring goes under the pass. side battery, and acid leaking had corroded the ground.

If you've found the above info helpful regarding the sensors, send me an email through FTE and I will send you a zipped file of documents to test, repair, and replace not only electrical parts but upgrades to mechanical parts should you ever need to overhaul the E4OD. R.A.

 

Sorry about not giving enough details. As stated I was towing my mini-van when the truck just seemed to start 'bogging' down. It got worse and worse until I wasn't hardly moving. At which point I pulled over and called for help. At the tranny shop it would start but it would die as soon as it was put into gear. They pulled the pan and couldn't find anything wrong (as I said I should have called for a tow truck to take both vehicles to different shop but that's another story). They changed the filter and fluid but it still was 'locked up'.

Not having enough money to have both transmissions rebuilt I had the truck towed home and let it sit only starting it every couple of weeks. One time I thought I'd drop it into gear to see what it would do. To my surprise the engine didn't stall out, so I checked underneath and the front half of the drive shaft was turning (the rear half having been removed to tow it). Well I put the back half of the transmission in and the truck has made a few trips up and down my drive with no problems.

I'd love to have the zip file. If I can figure out how to email you I will.

 

Ok something new today! I ran it around the pasture for a while, forward and in reverse then shut it down. Later when I went out to move it every time I put it in reverse and applied the brakes it would stall and die. It didn't do it in drive and if I moved it from park to reverse with the brake on it wouldn't die. But if I released the brake and reapplied when it started moving it died.

This bit of info tell you anything?

I don't know much about transmissions but from what I've read its sounding more and more like its a bad switch somewhere.

 

Watcher,
I've sent you at least one email regarding the zip file and will send the file to you when I get your address.

Both of your latest replies make me think of the MLPS being at fault. The T.E.C.A. Relay can also cause 4rth gear starts when you put the shift lever in "D".

Here's something you can check immediately. Look at the Solenoid block connector. It's located on the passenger side of the trans. Though there is a heat shield in place to protect the connector and the wires from heat damage by the proximity of the exhaust pipe, I found it to be a trouble issue for me a several years ago. Even with the heat shield in place, 190,000 miles of heat from the pipe had made the connector brittle and had burned and melted the insulation off of the wires causing intermittent shorts of the solenoids.

Should the connector and wires be suspect, you can get a new connector from a Transmission shop for $30 to $40. Ford part# for the 1989 to 1994 connector is F2PZ-14A464-B. I got mine from an aftermarket maker at a Trans. shop so have no idea whether Ford includes a length of replacement wiring with the new connector.

While you have the connector off the Sol. pin block, make sure the pin area is dry (use paper towels to swab it out) and as dirt free as possible. You'll probably have to use a mirror to check the pin block. If there is water in the pin block, that also will short out the solenoids.

Hope this helps, R.A.

 

im not the "e4od mechanic" but sounds to me like it could be something bad inside the torque converter. the lockup plate seems to be engaging all the time to me. just in case ya;'ll have overlooked that problem. "i dont know how many times i have cleaned the spark plug on the lawn mower when it was just out of gas...." you know what i mean, just a thought. try it again, and ut it in gear and if it bogs the truck, just try to gas on it and see if that hels, i know it helped on my chevy when it got stuck in 1st gear, even when it was in neutral. i put it in neutral and tried to powerbrake it and it just turned loose. i did that many, many times till the tranny just burned up!. it lasted about a year like that. just a story i thought i'd share.

 

I just bought the truck from my dad and drove it back from Naples FL to Northern Virginia. I was about 30 minutes from home, coasting up to a red light at about 20mph when the OD light started flashing. It is still shifting ok, though perhaps a bit more firmly (I belive the E4OD increases line pressure when a trouble code is present). I never experenced anything to indicate why the code was set. I suspect one of the sensors is on the blink, or perhaps a connector is corroded. I did not get a chance to look into it this weekend...so it will probably be another week. Thanks for all the info dieselzen

 

Right BikePilot,

When the OD light starts flashing, it's the computer's way of telling you it's finding something wrong with the information it's getting from the one or more of the various sensors. Though sometimes it won't make the light start flashing. This occurred to me. All I got was really screwy shifting.

I sent you an email through FTE so you can get the E4OD zipped file if you want it. R.A.

 

It finally dried out enough here for me to crawl under the truck and check out the wiring. I found two connections. One on the dr side which I'm sure is the MLPS. I pulled the connector off and it looked like someone had given the connector a mud pack. I didn't have time to clean it off but that's on my to do list for this weekend.

I also found a connection on the pass side. it was mud covered as well but the connecter didn't want to pop off and I didn't want to go prying around on it no knowing for sure what it was. What is this connector for?

Also there was a covered plug spliced into the wiring harness. I'm fairly sure this is some kind of a diagnostic hook up. But I don't know so what is it?

A couple of more questions. Where, other than the Ford dealer, can I get new connectors?

Is it a good idea to just replace the MPLS? If so 1) how much work is involved and 2) how is it done 3) any websites showing how to do it?

Should I just replace the entire wiring harness? My thinking is with a new switch and wiring I should be able to completly rule out a electical problem. Also if I wind up having to rebuild the tranny I'd most likely replace the MPLS at the very least and the wiring harness.

Any help will be great. Transmissions ain't my thing.

BTW, got the zip file but haven't had time to really read everything in there. Thanks.

 

I dont remember what the sensor on the passenger side is for. I would strongly recomend the Ford OE replacemnt connector and MPLS. Aftermarket electrical parts like this (if available) are usualy lots of trouble and not worth the hassle. I think that if you get a new MPLS it will include a new, updated connector. You will need to push the pins out of the old, clean them and push them into the new. Its not hard, just tedious as there are lots of pins and they have to go in the right spot . To rule out electrical problems you would have to replace a lot of other stuff too, like speed sensor, tps, computer, harness, etc. Replacing the wireing harnes is not likley to be easy or cheep. If I were you I would replace the MPLS and connector and take it from there. Replacing the MPLS is very easy, you just uplug the connector, remove the shift linkage, take out a few screws (two i think) and slide it off the trans. It should not take more than 15 minutes all total. The connector may take a bit longer, but not much.

good luck

Good luck