I have owned 2 460/4 speed AT vehicles and immediately noticed some performance problems when we got our 1997 V-10. It is in a 1-ton Superwagon and was the first V-10 delivered to our area. We now have 75,000 miles on it and the problems have never gone away or been repaired by Ford. Just wonder if anyone else has experienced any of these:

1. When pulling a trailer, the transmission will not let the engine do any pulling. It immediately downshifts (from OD) on a hill and will not upshift after cresting the hill. Even a slight headwind will cause it to downshift. I can get it to upshift by depressing the OD override button on the end of the gear shift so the "OFF" light comes on and then pressing it again. This is completely opposite of our 460's because they would both pull in OD until the cruise kicked out (they never downshifted on their own).

2. Sometimes the transmission has no idea what gear it is in. This past weekend we were pulling our trailer, trying to enter the interstate and the transmission would not shift out of first. When it finally did, it went directly to OD. This happened twice on the same trip.

3. On any long trip, again pulling our trailer, the "OFF" light will eventually start flashing. In '97 my Service Advisor told me that meant the transmission did not know what gear it was in and to pull over, shut the engine off and start it again. That is what we do.

We do not have a large trailer, about 5000#.

4. We frequently get smoke from the tail pipe on cold starts. It has done this since it was new. We use a quart of oil between changes.

5. The engine will occasionally stall and die or surge. This occurs when we are slowing down or braking. The engine will stutter and die or stutter and then surge ahead strongly. I have to have my foot firmly planted on the brake to keep it van from lunging forward. This, too, has occurred since the vehicle was new.

6. Excessive road vibration. The seats, headliner, steering wheel, interior panels, everything, shake excessively at highway speed. My dealer has tried new tires and balancing and we have put on new tires and balanced and rotated and all that, but it will not go away. Our '95 did this also.

7. The paint will not stick to the seam between the van body and the roof.

Let me know if you've had any of the same problems. TIA

 

I'm not a mechanic but if it were my van I'd bring it back to the dealer and INSIST that they check and reprogram the software for the electronic transmission.

Best of Luck,

wmcnally

 

We're kinda walking on egg-shells. This one is a replacement for our '95 (460), which Ford bought back. The first replacement had the same problem as the one they were buying back!!! So this is the second one they built to replace our buy-back. Our dealer has always been very cooperative, but they are constrained by Engineering, which has to recognize a problem as being a problem before they can respond. The Regional rep did everything he could at that time to get rid of us, so . . .

I have reported these problems since the van was new, but unfortunately our long-time, cooperative Service Advisor is no longer there and the Service Manager has retired. It makes eveything a whole new ball game.

We just had it in this past week for the fuel tank recall and I gave the list once again to the Shop Manager, who is one of the few left over from the old guard. With the list of problems I included others from various forums that have had the same problems and what other dealers have done to solve their problems. When they pulled codes on it this time they did find a generic transmission code, so they know something happened, but cannot identify it. I was told they are going to have an engineer come look at it. When they are here they want me to take the engineer out and try to duplicate the transmission issue.

 

HeyYou,

How are you doing with your problem van? I recently drove my '98 4.6 E150 into the "mountains" of western NY. I just bought the van last month and I'm very happy with it. However the Electronic 4 speed OD transmission (4R70W) behaved very differantly than the auto 3 speed I had before. I had my cruise control set on 70 mph and noticed on steep climbs that it would quickly downshift from OD to third. On two or three of the steepest "mountains" the tranny actually downshifted to 2nd,near the top of the mountain. Needless to say 65 to 70 mph in 2nd sounds really,really bad. I was not towing a trailer and did not have any kind of a heavy load.

I have done this trip at least once a year in my '89 351 with a 3-speed auto and not only didn't have problems on these mountains, I could actually accelerate and pass people who were doing a "mere 65 or 70 mph" on these same mountains never downshifting from 3rd to 2nd.

In conclusion. I would say if I were you I'd ask for a non electronic 3-speed auto tranny. Or at least turn off the OD whenever you saw any kind of a hill in front of you. Good luck!

Lemme know how it go,

wmcnally

 

I have a 98 E350. Some of the characteristics you describe remind me of my van. The engine has stalled twice. It surges sometimes, no blue smoke or oil use. As far as the shaking goes, it's a truck. Only it doesn't ride like a truck. The trucks I know ride a lot better. I had to completely re-align the front end to get it to go straight.

I knew it was a box on wheels when I bought it. I try to improve the performance. I have Rancho 9000 all around. Michelin LT 265/75, Helwig sway bar in the rear, stock in front. Superchips, K&N, Cat Back, 62MM Edelbrock/BBK Throttle Body, looking for headers.

 

 

jwhitbread,

You seem to be disappointed with the "ride" of your '98 E350 van. I have the '98 E-150 and am happy with the "ride", although it is a bit "stiffer" than my '89 E-150. I'm sure you are aware that the E-350 has a very heavy duty suspension compared to the E-150. The E-350 suspension is designed for heavy commercial applications.You also seem to have added even stiffer shocks "Ranchero 9000" I think you should replace them with shocks desingned for a "soft" or "comfortable" ride.I also noticed you have larger tires than I do.My van came with Michelin 235/75/R15 your 265's are also adding to your stiffer ride.

I'm also pretty happy with the power of the 2.6L V-8 but that is because I do 90% of my driving in the New York City/Long Island area (no mountains, barely a hill).For those 2 or 3 times a year I venture out into the mountains I'd like more power at highway speeds.Did you notice much improvement from your "superchips!"? I'm most interested in improved performance (torque/horsepower) at highway speeds say accelerating from 55 to 75 mph.thanks in advance for your answer and

Good Luck,

wmcnally