Hello,
I was wondering if anyone has ever made a E40D tranny flush system. I have 215k miles on my van and going to need the trans flushed again.

It doesn't cost much to get it done approx. $75, but now I realize that with all the flushes I've had I could have bought a tranny, with the money I spent on the flushes.

I was thinking of a drill attached pump to the return lines from the radiator and suck the ATF from the container. However that might introduce many air bubbles into the fluid.

Any suggestions..

thanks

 

> Any suggestions

The people I knew that worked on transmissions did not do flushes to their own vehicles. They dropped the pan and changed the filter and fluid. They had unkind words about flushing transmissions and what a waste of money it was.

For a proper flush, you have to do several steps, including driving the vehicle around after putting the flush fluid in, that are hardly ever done. Total waste of money to do it improperly.

Do a filter and fluid change every 25-30k for $30 max ($240 for 225,000 miles) and you will be fine.

 

rebocardo is correct. What is sold as a "flush service" is really nothing more than marketing hype. The "flush" really doesn't do anything that can't be done the old fashioned way. Besides, your E4OD should have a drain on the torque converter. If you drop the pan AND drain the converter you will change more of the total volume of fluid in the transmission than if you had it "flushed".

That's the way I did my van and other than the intermediate roller clutch occasionally turning loose (a common mechanical failure from high mileage and not related to fluid) the transmission looked almost perfect when I tore it down at 235,000 miles (mostly towing mileage).

Steve
'95 Clubwagon XLT

 

I've used the method below many times. It is really a fluid exchange, not a flush.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/article/...nsmission.html
A pump won't be able to suck the fluid out of the transmisison. The transmission's pump acts like a check valve.

 

Steve,
I have a high mileage E4OD and experience an intermittent slipping I belive is the roller clutch. I had it to a shop and the said the checked it all over and found nothing internal wrong with the transmission. The selector switch, TPS and VSS have all been replaced but the problem still occurs. Sometimes it will be good for days other times it will occur several times a day (within 100 miles) This is driving me nuts and I would like to put an end to the worry that one day she will just let go all together and leave me on the side of the road.

Should I just bite the bullet and go for a total rebuild? If so what do you think a fair price is worse case scenerio for a total rebuild? I am in the South Jersey area.

 

from this site

https://www.ford-trucks.com/article/...nsmission.html

 

The rebuild on my 90 cost me 1800 including new universals. The rebuild on my 96 cost 2100. I bought them both used and the trans is the first thing that went. I would drop the pan and do it right. If you tow a lot, do it every 25k.

 

Phantom, I guess I need you to describe what you called "slipping". The reason I ask is because during all of the years I owned my shop I found that people use the term "slipping" do apply to a wide range of things.

Typically, a roller clutch turning loose in an E4OD will cause the trans to fall out of 4th and back to a lower gear. It may then shift back up normally after a few seconds. Depending on how fast you are going it may feel like it went to neutral when in fact is just downshifted and the roller clutch is now overrunning. If you replaced the MLPS (the most likely electronic cause of this problem), the VSS and the TPS then I would carefully inspect the pan for clutch material. If you find none then the roller clutch is the likely suspect.

There is one other possible culprit and that is the PSOM (Programmable, Speedometer, Odometer, Module). This mounts on the rear of the speedo head and is what takes the VSS signal, interprets the rearend ratio, then feeds the ECU and Speedo with the correct signal. I have seen these go bad and cause this exact problem. It can be diagnosed by putting a scope on the speed sensor input to the ECU (so its reading the output from the PSOM, not the VSS) and will show up as an intermittant voltage dropout. _Usually_ this will set a VSS code that is not solved by replacing the VSS.

If you are having the problem I descirbed in the second paragraph then I think its the roller clutch. If I am right, you are going to need an overhaul. This is pretty much how I went with mine. I wasn't 100% sure it was the RC so I went in on faith. Of course with 235K miles, it was due anyway.

Pricing on an E4OD overhaul can vary pretty widely depending on what it needs. The first thing I would stress is that nobody can work miricles for cheap so stay away from anybody that tells you they will completely overhaul it for less than $1500. It can't be done and make a living. A good shop with a good reputation that honors their warranty will be able to get a decent price for their work. Any shop that low ***** on price, needs the business because they aren't getting good referrals and lures customers in on promises of low prices. They will either cut corners to do the job for that price or jack you up after the fact.

Most reputable shops will quote a base overhaul plus hard parts. Ask them what the base overhaul includes but most will be an overhaul kit (paper, rubber and clutches) and a reman torque converter. Pumps, drums, planetary gears, solenoids and the like are additional. Expect a base overhaul to run from $1600 to $1800 and a complete job to run $2000 to $2500. The variation on price can depend alot on where you are. Obviously, overhead for a shop in a major city is higher than a shop in a small town. If your E4OD is working normally other than this problem then its not likely to need a lot of hard parts. Althought that doen't me it won't need any. Its possible there will be wear on other parts and the shop will need to replace those in order to warranty the job.

Ask them to walk you through their process so you know how they do things and that there are no suprizes. If they are reputable they shouldn't have a problem with that. They should also be willing to show you what they found and explain why they need to replace any of the hard parts.

If you have any questions about it let me know.

Steve
'95 Clubwagon XLT

 

Steve,
Thanks for the explaination. This truck gets weirder and weirder the more I drive it. Funny you should bring up the PSOM, I've been wondering if that might have something to do with it. I know on some vehicles that the speedo and related items could cause a problem like I am expiriencing but due to the fact I can't get decent wiring diagrams I get frustated trying to figure out the flow of signals between the components. I have been trying to use schematics from a computer screen and print outs but they are a little tough to follow compaired to good old fashioned fold out schematics in a book.
I did notice one day that the oil pressure gauge was reading low (down at or below the "N" in normal) and as I glanced at it the needle suddenly jumped up to the center of the range as if the connection (or a ground) was bad and suddenly became good. I also noticed at the same time the van began running better than it had been. Would a bad ground for the instrument cluster cause a problem with the PSOM?
As far as the "slipping" goes it has not surfaced in a week or two but the trans occasionally shifts a little funny on the downshift and then it will slam shift up when I slowly accelerate from slowing down it will then start the stalk "overdrive" light flashing and shift very hard untill I turn off the ignition and restart, then it will be normal again.
Thanks for any help or suggestions you have.
Wayne

 

Late model schematics can be a pain to get and read. I had a subscription to Alldata at my shop and we could print them off alldata. They seemed to be pretty complete. Although the mfg could do a better job of labeling the pins on connectors.

The OD cancel light flashing is a transmission code. The hard upshift is the result of the code putting the transmission in fail-safe mode. You need to have the codes read, that will tell you what the PCM thinks is going on. Turning it off and restarting resets the PCM so it will work normally until it sees the problem again.

Have the codes read and get back to me.

Steve
'95 Clubwagon XLT

 

Code is always VSS circuit... P0500?? if I remember the # correctly.

 

Well that makes a lot of sense. You have a circuit problem so the PCM is probably not seeing the VSS output consistantly. That would certainly cause the problem you describe.

What happens is: Your driving along in OD when the VSS signal drops to zero for an instant. Since the VSS signal is 0 to 5 volts, zero being stopped and 5 volts being top speed, if the VSS signal drops to zero volts, the PCM thinks you stopped and tries to shift the transmission to 1st gear. Or, it could be that the voltage just drops to a lower level and the PCM just thinks you suddenly slowed way down and tries to shift to whatever gear is appropriate. Maybe 2nd.

This could be an issue with the wiring harness, the PSOM or the PCM. Usually, the PSOM is a heat related issue. The longer you drive the worse it gets. But that's not always the case. I would ohm out the harness and if you don't find an issue there, put a scope on the VSS input to the PCM, go drive it and monitor the VSS signal. If it acts up but you don't see a loss of signal, you have a bad PCM.

Steve
'95 Clubwagon XLT

 

Thanks I'll throw a meter on the harness and give it a wiggle. Since I can't really make heads or tails of the schematics I am assuming that the VSS wires are the twisted pair of Red/Green w/black that is at the sensor and I have seen in several places in the harness.