I foolishly got rid of my 89 350 van with 300K on it and picked up a 90 350 because it only had 100k, both have 7.3 idi diesels. My old 89 with c6 never gave me any trouble even towing 8000lb boat, but this E4OD is becoming a real problem. Here is the story, maybe someone can help me out with what might be wrong.

First failure occurred early this summer on a long drive. Fault light pops on but everything seems ok. About hour or so later the cooler line fails where it had been chaffing on the metal bracket at front of engine. Trans fluid also runs out of bell housing upon stopping. After repairing the cooler line and filing with fluid, trans seems OK and works fine. Fault light goes out.

During summer trans starts puking fluid out of bell housing again while driving down the road. It was a hot day, but no heavy load and not driving hard or fast. Stopping and refill with fluid seems to make it OK.

Fault light comes back on in about 1k miles and trans goes into fixed shift point mode. No fault codes can be read so after research on this board I check out the sensors. Only thing I can find is the TPS sensor is irratic, so I replace it and set it using the VOM meter method. Fault light eventually goes out and things run great. Fault light goes on and off erracticaly for another 1k or so.

This past weeknd I make long drive. Fault light comes and goes throughout the 400mile trip. I pick up trailer with 1700# load and head home. Fault light comes on and fluid again pumps out of bell housing. If I keep it 55 or slower, only minimal amount is lost and I stop often to check fluid levels and keep it cool. During trip home it went through 6 qts of fluid. (I now carry a case of ATF due to this POS trans).

I am going to take it to a pro at a trans shop if I have to. I don't believe it needs a rebuild or replacement as it shifts great and seems to want to work right. Any ideas which direction I should be looking.

Sorry for length of post, but problem is pushing me to want to unload a otherwise decent truck.

 

If the OD light is flashing there should be a code stored. That code would a big help in determining what's wrong.

From the way it loses fluid I'm thinking there is a problem with the cooler. If the transmission overheats it can force fluid out. The shop manual has a test for cooler flow. I don't have a manual to be able to give you the specifics on that test, but it's what I'd do first.

 

Ok, thanks for reply. I will have code read again to see if there is anything this time.

I can figure out a way to make sure the cooler lines are clear and flow freely as well. When I get any code info I'll post back.

 

I went and bought a scan tool and spent the AM working this problem. The code 23 was flashing as the immediate problem. It had Codes 22 , 29, 62, 67 as stored.

I worked on re-adjusting the new FIPL sensor by probing the middle wire output until I got the voltage to be 1.1 at idle and 3.5 or so on WOT. I again went through the wiring as best as I could from top of the engine down to the TPLS looking at all the connectors I could find.

After doing this for about two hours or so, I got the OD fault light to go out and stay out. Trans is working properly and shifting according to load. I think the stored codes are due to my earlier messing with the sensor connections when the ignition and engine were on. I had been looking for shorts and probing everything I could find with the VOM seeking the problem. I couldn't find any MAP of BARO sensor on this diesel engine to support the 22 code anyway.

Right now the fault light is out and things are working. I am going to check the flow through the trans oil coolers in next couple of days as it is supposed to be a bit warmer over the weekend.

One question on the cooling lines - Would it matter which direction the fluid flows? Logic tells me no, but should it go through the radiator cooler first or the aux cooler first or should it even matter... After all I reconnected them at 2 AM in the dark along side of the road when the one popped, so I may have gotten them crossed.

And thanks for the earlier advice Mark, it did help me out.

 

Radiator cooler first then auxiliary.

 

good luck! have a e4od and had the same problem. shop put in a converter seal, tranny went 150 miles before seizing the converter to the pump insides and quit completely. friend in the biz said to always change the pump too when this happens. as for the lines, i have always put the flow through the aux first then through the rad: the thinking being that the max heat gets out through the aux then, expecially in cold climates, the rad stabilizes the temp to the engine temp, which is well below what the tranny should run anyway. ford mech however recomended to bypass the rad all together!

 

Thanks for the reply Capt. Very sorry to hear about the failure you had. I hope I fair better. Mine has behaved itself since I got the fault codes to stay out.

Coolers both a flowing freely and hasn't overheated or shown any issues in about 500miles - of course it has been cold lately anyway. If it happens again, I will be taking it to best e4od pro I can find in the No VA area.

 

No experience with a problem like this but have you checked the vent on the transmission. My 1992 E4OD has a vent on top of the transmission. Maybe if it's plugged and the fluid expands when it's hot??? Just a thought. I hate to hire things fixed. May not be right anyway only your wallet is lighter afterward. Good luck.