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Hey everyone, new to the pre PSD forum but not new to the 7.3. I usually hangout in the 99.5-02 forum. just got a 90' 7.3 IDI and im having some trouble with the trans. Im not to fimilar with the e40d - It will not shift from 3rd to 4th. at 55-60 were at aprox 3K rpms or higher. i know this cant be normal...or is it???
Heres the catch - its an ex u haul truck. I know these are speed limited - so did they take out the 4th gear? Theres 2 boxed plugged into the date ports that look suspecious. also a RED LINE at 55mph (the limited speed for u haul) and a sign that says "When going to fast engine will beep" or something like that. I suspect its the white box. Any ideas about the trans? Take a look at the pics under the dash.Thanks a ton guys!
Ill give it a shot tomorrow, i didnt have any plates so i didnt wanna push my test drive and wind up in a slammer. Im gonna try calling u haul and see if they ever put anything like that on there vehicles. As for the e40d, how is the reliability? What would cause it to not shift to 4th? no CEL or codes.
Can you take a picture of the IP with the air cleaner removed?
I wonder if it has an E4OD or a C 6?
Dave, it is a C6 trans - look at the second picture, you can clearly make out the kickdown rod, it sits between the A/C lines and the air box in the picture.
Joe, many U-haul trucks got the C6 trans, that's a 3-spd and with 4.10 rear gears she will scream on the freeway. By the way, these engines have no electronic controls, so I don't think it's really possible to govern them down to 55mph. The red 55 mph mark on the speedo is the federal speed limit from years ago, all vehicles from those years will have that - you can go faster, you just ain't gonna like the fuel economy (or the lack thereof).
Wow great info. Thanks a ton. Reps left. What would be a safe RPM to travel at. or say a max RPM u recommend for cruising speed? I know on my 02 i like to keep it below 2K for the best MPG but this is a totally different beast. is it safe to cruise at 3k rpm?
Is 3k safe - yes, I've done several trips from Columbus to Detroit literally bouncing off the revv limiter for the most part of the trip, and that's pulling a 30ft trailer behind me. Is it smart to do so - probably not, but I have my fuel pump turned DOWN quite a bit so melting pistons is not really a concern. As far as fuel economy goes - you wanna be below 2k, folks with the 3.55 rear gears cruise at like 1600-1700, I used to run at 1900 (55-57mph) but I just turned the IP back it a tiny bit last weekend and now she likes running at 2k (60mph) more.
I did not catch the kick down rod, but then I also am not much on automatics.
I did suspect a C 6, and was looking to see the VRV in a better picture though.
I do know that U haul used non overdrive transmissions and gear ratios to limit speed on the IDI since there was no other way to control a mechanical fueled engine.
Also the C 6 was a much tougher tranny than the E4OD, much better for U hauls application where anyone could be driving it going anywhere hauling about anything.
To answer your question, the govenor will shut off fuel to the engine at 3300 RPM, which is the max safe engine RPM.
So driving it at 3000 RPM is not going to harm the engine.
With todays fuel prices, I am not going to make that same statement about your wallet though.
Just like your 02, the MPG will be much better around 2000 RPM than it will at 3000 RPM.