Hi, all. I have a 1991 E350 with a fuel injected 460 and an E40D-E.

#1. I must be an idiot. Why? Because I can't get a good measurement of the fluid in the transmission. I start the vehicle, drive around a bit to warm it up, stop on level ground, put the transmission in park and apply the brake, and pull out the mile-long dipstick, but it's frequently smeared so I don't really get a good reading of where the level is. (It looked fine to me but was apparently low, causing it to be slow to engage when it was cold. A shop flushed and refilled it for me, and now it engages as soon as I hit "D".) Am I doing something wrong? I've tried wiping it off and reinserting it like you do with oil, but that doesn't give me a better reading either.

#2. I was having an issue when I'd go from 45 mph to 50 mph (as an example), or cruising at 45 mph then having to climb a hill. I thought the transmission wasn't downshifting, but the transmission shop said the actual problem is that the torque converter wasn't unlocking when it should. He said that the computer reported the PRNDL switch was going bad, and it wasn't telling the torque converter to unlock, so they're replacing the switch today. Can anyone expand on this for me? What is the other name of this switch, where is it located, is it electrical or mechanical, how expensive are they, etc. (I hope this is the right section - it looks close!)

Thanks!
--RJ

 

It's an E4OD, and yes, the dipsticks are hard to read. Sometimes it help to let it idle for a few minutes to let the fluid in the tube find it's way back to the pan.

I think they are talking about the Transmission Range Sensor (TRS), also called MPLS. It is an electrical switch on the driver's side of the trans. It should be around $100 or so to replace.

What's really wrong will cost more, because the TRS doesn't have anything to do with locking or unlocking the trans. The inputs for that are the Fuel Injection Position Level (FIPL) sensor and the vehicle speed sensor. I'd place my money on the FIPL. They are known to fail at not so high mileage.

 

I have a 2001 4.6l f150 and i have the same problem as you stated in #2 scenario. I have taken my f150 to the dealership 3 times and they can't seem to reproduce the misfire or whatever seems to happen betweeen 40-50 mph. I only happens under a load and moderate to mild acceleration. It also only occurs when shifting into the overdrive gear. If you acclerate hard it goes away when you pass 1500 rpm. I tried to take it in to the dealer and on the way a plug and coil went out. The error code cam up and they thought they fixed the problem but it still is not right -but it is a little better. It is really frustrating i wonder if changing all of the plugs might help? coils too? I only have 75000 miles on this engine and it really makes me mad that the ford dealer can't figure it out. This has been going on for 1.5 years!

 

I don't think I have an engine problem - the engine seems to be running fine, although it's struggling. When the problem occurs, there are some vibrations throughout the vehicle, but that may be worse on mine because my vehicle is a motor home (hearing all your cupboard doors rattle let you know quickly when there's a vibration). For what it's worth, I put new plugs, wires, distributor cap, and rotor in last summer, just a few thousand miles ago.

I'm getting it back today with a $222 bill (I'm near DC, so everything is more expensive here). I'll check what they did and give it a drive tonight to see if the problem manifests itself again. Fortunately, it was happening very regularly, and the tech I talked to had driven the vehicle and knew what I was talking about when I described the problem - so I'm guessing it happened for him, too, and he felt confident about the solution.

I knew it was an E4OD. Not sure why I typed E40D.

Thanks!

 

Well, according to the receipt, they replaced the "mlt" switch. Note this shop isn't very good at typing - my name has multiple misspellings and they misspelled "switch" as "awitch".

I'm annoyed - I've taken it there twice now for this problem, and I'm getting tired of messing with them. I'm trying to buy a house and don't need to be spending $200 every time they have an idea. I think I'm going to run it back to the storage unit, grab my car, and worry about this later - it's not a headache I need right now, y'know?

I'm still pretty sure it isn't the engine, because the vehicle accelerates just fine, even on a grade. It only does this when cruising. Would you mind telling me a bit more about the FIPL? How hard is it to replace, where is it, and how much is it?

Thanks.
--RJ

 

One other thing (sorry to flood this) - per the tech's suggestion, the problem goes away if I tap the brakes for a moment, which he said causes the torque converter to unlock.

 

The FIPL is on the injection pump. There are two screws and a wiring connector. There is a procedure to adjust it, too, and I don't have that. It isn't at all hard to do.

Since the problem goes away with the torque converter unlocked I think it's the engine. I know you don't, but it sure sounds like it to me. It isn't unusual to get misfire at light loads and run better at higher loads.

You might try running a tank or two of either Mobil or Shell premium. In my experience they have the best detergents. You could have a bit of deposits on the injectors. These fuels will clean it. I've fixed several vehicles that had the same symptoms as yours just by doing this. I run one tank of one of these every six months.

 

Maybe I should run some BG44K through it. That'd clean things up.

Thanks for the advice. I'll definitely try the premium gas, too - it's a lot easier and cheaper than taking it to a shop again.

 

Just a quick update in case anyone else has this problem - the problem was the torque converter was bad. I've since installed a rebuilt Jasper transmission that seems to work quite well.