I think the stealership is trying to pull a fast one here. There is some stuff about this in other threads but wanted to specifically address the transmission shifting issue all by itself. I hope those who are E40D gurus around here will respons.

I just bought the truck so don't know all of its history. The PO said the tranny was rebuilt 15K ago at which time a shift kit was installed, which accounted for the hard shifts. Not ever having had a shift kit before, I didn't know what to expect so I figured it was fine. But over the first week or so of driving it just seemed the shifting was too hard. At times you even get a thunk when putting it into R or D from a stop.

First action was to take it to a tranny shop to have them check it out. When he hooked up his scan tool, he got no tranny codes at all but saw what he called "strange behavior" from the PCM, including a code that he said was a common one to see when a truck has been chipped. Took the truck for a drive and he mentioned a solenoid that he though wasn't working quite right. Then he noticed on his scan tool that there was something reading 12V (battery votlage) going to a solenoid that should be between 0 and 5V. Sounded strange to me but I'm no tranny guy. So his diagnosis was a bad PCM. Went ahead and paid them a diagnostic fee to verify this and they said there were 99% certain this was the case.

Before replacing the PCM, I decided to take it to the dealer to have it flashed. Did that this morning. The diesel guy at the dealer who did the re-flash said the PCM was fine. Flashed it but it made no difference on the hard shifting. They recommended I have their transmission guy look at it. So I left the truck with them.

Now the dealer calls back and says the transmission guy has ruled out all the electronics, solenoids, connections, etc. and that he thinks it is something "inside" the tranny. That it wouldn't even be a sticking valve or anything in the valve body and they would need to tear it down to find out what it is. The recommendation from the dealer? A reman tranny for $3500 or a $1500 overhaul (not including parts).

I pretty much feel like I should be wearing hip waders at this point. I'm gong to pick up the truck now and I imagine they will try to charge me a diagnostics fee for the tranny ... which I will fight because as far as I'm concerened, they still don't know what is wrong.

Any ideas / suggestions on where to go from here? Digging through some threads here and elsewhere there is great information on how to test your solenoids, check electrical connectiosn, etc. Should I go down that route? The dealer claims to have done this but I wonder ....

This all started because I don't have a scan tool that can do this stuff ... maybe I should spend my money on AutoEnginuity and deal with hard shifting for now ...

 

Pull the VSS (vehicle speed sensor) on the rear end and clean it and see if that helps it's on the driver side of the drive shaft on the top

 

Check the line pressure at idle. Motor/trans at opt temp in all the gears. (P,R,N,D,2,1)
Post your findings.

Bill

 

I'll try both of those things. I'll do the VSS tonight but will have to hunt down a pressure guage tomorrow. Hopefully AutoZone will have it to loan out ...

EDIT: AutoZone doesn't have it and thus far I can only find one online. Any suggestions on who/where to call?

 

Make you one get a gauge from Harbor Freight and get a line made up

 

Well the VSS look terrible, just from the outside. There is exposed wiring and the rubber boot all around is torn all to shreds. Haven't pulled it yet but I went ahead and ordered a replacement anyway. It was all of $9 at Rockauto. Also grabbed a $30 tranny pressure guage set from Amazon. Should have it by Wed and will check that too.

 

That just may be your problem let us know

 

I hope so but I am doubtful. Only because it seems to have issues shifting at idle as well. Put it in R and it's a pretty good thunk into gear. The speed sensor would only affect shifts while moving wouldn't it? I suspect I'll find high pressures at idle ... we'll see.

Regardless, it obvioulsy needs replacing.

 

A bad VSS can send the trans software into failsafe. That will set pressure high all the time, not just when moving. It will affect the reverse engagement.

 

Gotcha. I actually thought about that after I posted ... what I said would be true if the VSS was actually working. I think I should sue the dealer if this is a $9 repair.

Picking up a VSS today.

 

Check your ujoints real good to i checked mine twice befor i found it. Put the truck in N and see if you have any play in them that will cause a hard thunk too

 

Ok. Just replaced the VSS and hooked up the transmission pressure guage. Still waiting to get to normal operating temps but right now the pressure seems REALLY high. In P while cold, we're between 175-200 psi.

Also, on the VSS, the connector is shot as well as the sensor itself. So much so that one of the clips broke off when I was removing it from the old sensor. Does anybody know a source and/or part number for the connector?

Lastly, I towed a utility trailer up into the mountains with the truck yesterday. The shifts seemed much better under load. Which makes me wonder if this really is just a harsh shift kit or if the truck thinks it's under load when it's not.

Will post the pressures in a few minutes.

EDIT: Pressures

First off, the guage was jumping like crazy along with the idle. Granted it's not a high end tool. Got it off amazon for $30. In any case, the pressures below are estimates based on trying to guess the middle of where it was jumping around.

P: 175
R: 165
N: 180
D: 175
2: 155
1: 160

Secondly, the connections leaked a fair bit as it warmed up. When I took the connectors off with the motor still hot, fluid literally poured out, slowing to a trickle and finally stopping in 2 minutes or so. Is this right? Could the high pressures be nothing more than too much fluid?

Will check back here for more advice but I'm thinking maybe my next step should a fluid and filter change? It would allow me to check the magnet for shavings to see if there really is damage taking place as well as have known good fluid and quantity.

Thoughts?

EDIT2: One other thought

If it was the VSS as above, do I need to reset the computer somehow? I didn't even disconnect the battery when I switched it out. Should I disconnect it for an hour or whatever it is people say?

 

Where should I be looking for U-joints on this truck?

 

u joints as the the universals for the drive shaft.

 

Well I went and picked up some 6 ton jack stands and a 20 ton bottle jack today so I can get this thing up high enough to drop the pan without hitting my head 47 times. Hopefulyl that will drop it to 26 or so. Plus now I have plenty of room if I end up having to drop the tranny or something. What a PITA that was. I ended up having to crib with wood under the jack stands and even more under the bottle jack just to raise it high enough. Man I "need" a lift.


Also picked up a filter, some ATF, and a drain plug. Will do the change tomorrow and have a good look at the valve body, shavings on the magnet, etc. Maybe I will take some pics and post them.

Any thoughts on the pressures or any of the above MADVAN?