Does my E4OD shift right?
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Post Fiend
Joined: Jan 2000
Posts: 5,860
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From: Metro Detroit (Redford)
Does my E4OD shift right?
Just got back from a week long trip in the Appalachian mountains of Virginia and W. Virginia in my E350 motorhome. I did most downshifting manually because to get this thing to downshift you really have to put your foot in it hard and then keep it there. So I can get second gear on a steep grade and have to accelerate or I can downshift and hold my speed. Often I would kick it down with the pedal and then pull the lever down to hold it there. When I do this 3-2 shift I already have the OD locked out. Now I don't mind this as I normally drive a stick, but maybe my wife is right when she says, "you just don't know how to drive an automatic." If I don't manually downshift or kick really hard, it will really howl and moan at low rpm rather than downshift. Maybe that is fine, but I always felt the proper balance was to up the RPMs a bit. Just because an engine can pull a load at 1500 RPM dosen't mean you have to do it. In my home town area, the flatlands of SE Michigan, I normally just have to cut OD in and out at times (always run with OD locked out in city traffic under 50 mph or so).
Post Fiend
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 6,624
Likes: 8
From: Missouri
Does my E4OD shift right?
Every E40D I have ever driven drives the same way. It is the biggest slushbox I have ever seen. On my 91 F-150 I always hated the way it shifted until one day I had the tranny rebuilt. The guy at the shop said that when he got done it would shift completely different because he put an aftermarket shift kit in it. It was awesome when he got done. Wife totaled it about 2 weeks later. Go figure.
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Post Fiend
Joined: Jan 2000
Posts: 5,860
Likes: 4
From: Metro Detroit (Redford)
Does my E4OD shift right?
Thanks. Sorry about your ruined truck. I should add that I do have a Banks Transcommand on this thing and that makes for some nice positive shifts. I guess I can live with the reluctant downshifts as I don't mind handshifting, but when the wife drives it (she hasn't yet) it will be bad news because she won't shift it. Now her Aerostar slushbox is hyperactive (for me), always kicking down when I don't want it to and sometimes double downshifting or flip flopping (e.g. 3-4-3-4 shift). It doesn't happen to her and thus is the source of her comment on my not knowing how to drive an automatic (what an insult--though not intended that way by her. A slushbox is supposed to be so easy to drive that any moron can drive it and she says I don't know how!).
Post Fiend
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 5,228
Likes: 5
From: Running Springs CA
Does my E4OD shift right?
The only way I can get up the mountain without going crazy is to manually select second gear. If I just punch the OD off button it shifts 3-2-3-2-3 constantly. The transmission is programmed for lowest possible rpm for fuel economy, but the 302 is a lot happier spinning a little faster. The climb is from about 1500 to over 6000 feet elevation in 13 miles on a twisty road, something the folks in Dearborn probably never tested.
Downhill, third is perfect. There is just the right amount of engine braking so that I don't have to touch the gas or brakes much at all. Many people just leave it in OD and ride the brakes all the way down. You should smell the burning linings! The automatic helps a lot for driving in LA traffic down below.
-Jim
Downhill, third is perfect. There is just the right amount of engine braking so that I don't have to touch the gas or brakes much at all. Many people just leave it in OD and ride the brakes all the way down. You should smell the burning linings! The automatic helps a lot for driving in LA traffic down below.
-Jim
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Post Fiend
Joined: Jan 2000
Posts: 5,860
Likes: 4
From: Metro Detroit (Redford)
Does my E4OD shift right?
Oooo Yeah! The engine braking on this 460/E4OD combo is wonderful! Especially remarkable in light of my 11,000 pound loaded weight (est.). As for low RPM economy, my mechanic told me to always lock out the OD in the city as it would make the tranny last longer and I would get better fuel mileage. I think you can go too low on RPM and hurt mileage. My '95 300 I6 gets way better mileage than my old '84 300. I think this is due to not only the fuel injection, but also that the '95 runs closer to its 2000 RPM torque peak than did the '84 with its 2.47 rear end. Ha Ha, yeah, those Dearborn boys had better get a test track up by Traverse City or something so they can test on hills.
Post Fiend
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 5,228
Likes: 5
From: Running Springs CA
Does my E4OD shift right?
Question for you guys. When you are in OD above 40mph and take your foot off the gas and coast, do you feel a hard downshift from 4th to 3rd? Mine does it at about 35mph.
The transmission shop says some years do this and some don't. He put in a shift kit and upgraded to '95 specs when he rebuilt it. It did not do this prior to the rebuild. The shop manual ('93-'94) talks about a "coast clutch solenoid" failure if you feel engine braking in 3rd when the OD OFF button is NOT engaged.
Jim
The transmission shop says some years do this and some don't. He put in a shift kit and upgraded to '95 specs when he rebuilt it. It did not do this prior to the rebuild. The shop manual ('93-'94) talks about a "coast clutch solenoid" failure if you feel engine braking in 3rd when the OD OFF button is NOT engaged.
Jim
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