I checked the transmission forum and it seems the E4OD is a batch of trouble at times.
This 92 7.3 that I just purchased has 41000 km.s on it and runs perfect, shifts perfect, no wierd lights or noises, however, when it has sit overnight and first put into gear it acts like its in neutral, reving won't make it move.
After a couple minutes away it goes and works absolutely perfect all the rest of the day. I might point out that I suspect this truck sat for extended periods with out use ( the low kilometers) if that matters.
Fluid appears a bit low when cold but 1/2 to 3/4 inch above hash marks when warm, no foam and very clean.
So where do I start to look for the trouble.

 

While waiting, are you in park/neutral or are you in gear?

 

As previously stated in my post, when placed in drive it will not move, as though still in park or neutral. After some reving up it then bangs into gear and is normal through out the day.


ote=David85;6399448]While waiting, are you in park/neutral or are you in gear?[/quote]

 

May be a clogged trans filter. May be defective/hardened servo seals. May be electrical problem. If it was me I would drop the pan, fit a new filter and fill with new fluid. I always add a bottle of Lucas trans fluid conditioner to a fluid change, but that`s just me.

 

it is not electrical , engagements cannot be affected by the electronics
you have a factory build trans
and originally the oil control rings that direct fluid to the forward clutch are teflon
they also do not have any spring tension on them
along with the problem that the 92 did not have a support bearing in the center support
so what is happening is that the hydraulic pressure is bypassing the seals until they are finally energized by the fluid and seal
the only real fix is a rebuild and all rebuild kits generally come with metal rings that are spring loaded to make contact with the sealing surfaces
if it has been parked a long time try driving it a few weeks before doing anything the seals may relax and begin sealing
also do not leave it in drive while it is not engaging this can destroy the forward clucthes
put it into reverse and allow the fluid to heat up a bit then try drive

 

Have you tried manually shifting into second or first gear to see if you can drive away in those gears, then shift up to D once you are moving?

Change your oil and filter.

With the truck having sat for so long it is likely that the shift solenoids are sticking or the valves in the shift bodly themselves are sticking.

2nd gear is the default gear in case of a computer or tranny control system failure, (limp mode) if you can't get 2nd gear to engage you definetely got some internal sealing/hydraulic problem. Don't spin the tranny in gear and rev the motor as you could do more damage than good. Let the truck warm up in Park. The heat generated by the torque converter should be enought to warm up the tranny.

Tranny rebuilts can run you 2k-4k depending on how much you are going to put into the tranny. I recently paid $500 for just a new shift body which you will definetely want to consider. A "good" torque converter will also go for $400 to $600 and you will want to change the one you have out because the OEM converters were not very good to start with. You don't want to pull the tranny twice, any good tranny shop will charge you $800 to $1,000 just to re and re the tranny on a 4x4.

Changing the oil and filter and adding a tranny additive like Lucas or Duralube (Cost ~ $80 to $100) is probably a good investment as the tranny may clear itself once the seal get moving again, especially with your low milage (41k)

Best of luck, hope it works out for you. I had only 30,000 miles on it on my 91' F350 when I bought it in late 2005 and it had a mess of tranny problems, I ended up installing a new torque converter and solenoid body and changed the oil and filter about 3 times but after about 6 month she settled down and has run flawless ever since.

Seb...

 

With the computer unplugged, you should get 4th gear in drive "(D)", 2nd gear in "2" or "1", and reverse in "R", though engagement will be a little stiffer.

Default gear for the E4OD is in fact 4th gear not second gear. The smaller, lighter AODE is the one that defaults to 2nd gear in drive. But thats a completely different animal.

 

As this problem seems to be intermitent, I suspect your diagnosis and the similar opinions regarding seal problems is the most likely.
I believe that before I do anything I will take some fluid out, I really feel that 3/4 inch above the crosshatchs is too full, then give it awhile as sugested to see if the problem settles down with use, guess I'm feeling nervious after just pitching out a wad of cash then two weeks later the truck won't move.
If the above mentioned does work and there is no further problem then great, if not I'll try additives and see what happens. I have to admit that I have never been a believer in tranny additives but hey, 31 years ago I bought a 67 IH Travelall 4WD and it started losing a quart of fluid every 15 minutes on the highway, one old timer convinced me to put a pint of brake fluid in and it would fix the seals. Stupid of an idea as it may have seemed in one trip the seal quit leaking and never leaked again in the 6 years I owned it.
Don't worry guys, I not going to put brake fluid in my tranny.
Thanks for the insight and sugjestions, you guys are great! and I'll keep you posted on my results.

 

tranny problem seems to have disappeared for now, guess you fellows may have been right, it SEEMS to have settled down.
Thanks.