I have a longer post on this forum in regard to my 94 IDI 7.3 diesel F250 with an E40D. Just has a rebuild done and have nothing but problems since.

My main question at present: When I brought the truck in, it was hanging up from the 1st to 2nd shift when hot - but otherwise worked fine . No OD light flashing, no wierd noises, etc.

Now that this shop has "rebuilt it", every 100 miles or so, the OD light starts flashing and the trans goes into that fail-safe hard-shifing mode.
And, it now has a noise I've never heard before. When in certain coasting conditions - i.e. driving on a flat road and, more-or-less rolling and not touching the gas(diesel) pedal, a noise erupts - sounds like from the trans/engine area - and goes away the instant I push on the gas pedal. And, I then check for codes and find #93 - which my Snap-On book says is: 93 coast clutch solenoid, SS3 circuit failure. OD light is not flashing at this point, just have the error code.

Can this have anything to do with this new noise?

 

It is possible they used a bad solenoid body when they put it together. I recently replaced mine with a remaned unit and shift solenoid #2 was shorted out causing it to start in 3rd gear. Ended up making one good one between the two.

What does the noise sound like? Can you feel a vibration in the wheel or seat?

 

According to my ATSG service manual, the wiring harness check for code 93. Check resistance of soliniod, black and green wires should be 20-30 ohms, This is with a test harness, so you should probably disconnect the PCM before you do this through the truck harness, or just undo the harness at the tranny and locate the right pins!
Also between the green wire and the engine/transmission should be infinite resistance, ie not shorted out soliniod.

Another posibilty is the soliniod pack and or valve body may be leaking internally due to loosening up, not being torqued properly at rebuild. Just a thought! Hope this helps.

 

I don't know quite how to describe it. I heard it for the first time when driving the truck home from the repair shop. At first I thought it was harmonics and/or some sort of vibration-based noise. It's hard to tell from inside the truck, but it sounds like it's coming from the general area of the flywheel-torque converter area. Kind of sounds like a small "Jake Brake" if you know what they sound like -obviously, not as loud. It seems to happen most when almost rolling on a flat road at 25-30 MPH and the tach is around 1500 RPM. It comes on suddenly and may last 5-15 seconds unless I nudge the gas pedal a bit. Often, if I let off the pedal without changing speed, the noise starts up again. It's steady and pretty loud. The noise instantly goes away when I tough the pedal - which is kind of wierd. At first, I thought it could be the transmission - but now that I'm finding the #93 coast-clutch-solenoid error code - I don't know.
I've been a heavy-duty diesel mechanic for 40 years - so I'm not new to mechanics in general. I am NOT an automotive auto-trans expert, obviously. I must say, at the moment, this has got me a bit stumped. Makes me want to lay on the hood of the truck and have someone drive me down the road - so I can this noise from outside the truck. It absolutely only makes this noise when the truck is coasting, or slowing down from a higher speed - never when accelorating.

 

If you want you can perform the check of the CC solenoid yourself.



This is what the bulkhead connector (roughly) looks like, looking down (1989-1994).


Drivers side
_______________
|1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 |
|7 -8 -9-10-11-12|
|______________|

Passenger side


1: TOT Sensor (temp sensor)

2: TOT return

3: unused

4: unused

5: EPC ground (Electronic pressure control)

6: EPC power in

7: unused

8: Coast clutch solenoid

9: Converter clutch solenoid

10: Shift solenoid 1

11: Shift solenoid 2

12: 12v power in

To test the Coast Clutch solenoid you can take a resistance reading between pins 12 and 8, as KJLYPW said, you are looking for 20-30 ohms. You will have to disconnect the connector to do this.

Ford used a stupid style of connector here, so you will have to be carefull when pulling it. The heat shield has to come off first, then there will be a center tab on the exposed side of the connector (passenger side), push that tab in while pulling up on the harness and it should release. Do not use a screw driver, the plastic is very brittle.

 

Thanks, I'll give it a try. This is the only Ford E40D I've ever owned or driven. Most of my diesel trucks are GMs with TH400s or 700R4s and are pretty simple. I only have one other Ford diesel - and that's an 85 F250 with a 6.9 and a C6 trans. I've worked the 85 hard, for years and it's been bullet proof. But, not much good on the highway with the 4.10 axles and no overdrive. 65 MPH is about as fast as feels safe, and even then it's screaming.

When I picked up this 94 turbo 7.3 with the E40D and still - 4.10 axles - the OD makes it a pleasure to drive, even at 75 MPH. But, so far, the E40D has been a constant headache - and to be honest - I don't even know what a good one is supposed to drive like - since I've never driven any others.

Right now, with less than 500 miles on the rebuild, besides the OD light flashing and needing to get reset, it shifts pretty soft (after a reset) as compared to my older C6. 1st ot 2nd shift is kind of wierd because it almost feels like a two-stage shift to me. It goes in soft and feels like it's engaged - but then a second later it feels as though it even locks in further. Seems the one shift from 1st to 2nd is a two-stage process, and I have no idea if this is part of the design, or not. I wish I knew someone with a truck like mine so I could compare. MY father-in-law has a 95 F150 with a 300 c.i. six-cylinder gas engine and E40D, and his truck shifts much better than mine. But, maybe his is programmed differently with the smaller less powerful engine?

 

Right now, with less than 500 miles on the rebuild, besides the OD light flashing and needing to get reset, it shifts pretty soft (after a reset) as compared to my older C6. 1st ot 2nd shift is kind of wierd because it almost feels like a two-stage shift to me. It goes in soft and feels like it's engaged - but then a second later it feels as though it even locks in further. Seems the one shift from 1st to 2nd is a two-stage process, and I have no idea if this is part of the design, or not. I wish I knew someone with a truck like mine so I could compare. MY father-in-law has a 95 F150 with a 300 c.i. six-cylinder gas engine and E40D, and his truck shifts much better than mine. But, maybe his is programmed differently with the smaller less powerful engine?[/QUOTE]

well your not the only one here. My tranny also feels as if there is a 2-stage shift noticed between 2-3. Kinda weird

 

Somebody posted a problem in the transmission/drivetrain forum that seems to sound pretty close to what I've got. He describes his noise as follows:

 

I think whats being described here is torque converter buzz. It seems to be a fact of life with some ford transmissions.

My F150 has the older AOD (no relation to the E4OD) trans and it will sometimes make a similar noise when in park, or engine braking, and it has done this for years. The buzz can often be felt in the shift lever, and goes away when placed in neutral. Otherwise the trans has worked perfectly.

My E4OD is a recent build that I put together myself, and it also make a noise that is audible when standing next to the truck with the trans in park. It sounds more like a ratchet that is on the flywheel or something, just noisy enough to be heard despite the diesel engine.

I have also experienced some drivability problems with my E4OD after the build (AOD did as well). Early on, it had problems shifting into 3rd gear (slipping, or not engaging at all) now its solid everytime. Currently 4th is still somewhat sluggish, but is improving, 4th is used the least often beacuse of my gearing.

The slide-bump shift you are describing is a common complaint with this transmission, and having fresh clutch packs could be the cause here (could).

Auto transmissions have a break in period after a rebuild, and clutch packs cannot function perfectly untill the wear in a little. Although it shouldn't really cause the computer to go to failsafe, it could get better as time goes on. I would avoid towing with it as it is right now, but try to put it through its paces as often as you can, and pay attention to how it behaves, if it keeps getting worse, then chances are it was put together wrong. If however, is gets better, then you may get away with it.