191K miles on my E4OD and it has worked perfectly until today. Running 65 mph on level highway it suddenly started bumping about every 5-10 seconds. My first thought was bad gas or ICM/PIP failure however each time it bumped the tack went up 400-500 rpm, not down. Engine runs great and I recently check codes and got 111.

So I'm thinking it must be the overdrive. I pushed the button on the end of the shift lever and the "Off" light came on but no change in the bumping. The transmission was attempting to shift to a lower gear for about a half second every few seconds. The button has worked perfectly until today.

Speedometer and Tach work fine. I slowed to 50 to get to my destination where I pulled codes. KOEO 111, CM 111. Remembering comments here about fluid lever sensitivity I found the ATF 1 1/4 below the cross hatching hot and corrected that with Mercron per the dip stick.

Coming home 45 miles nothing had improved. The transmission was still not responding to the Overdrive button. The only way I could get it stabilized was to put it in "2" and drive 45mph home. When in drive it is trying to bump and downshift in just about every gear.

I changed the filter and drained the torque converter 19K miles ago. Today was the first time to add ATF since then. The original owner said there was a warranty upgrade on it the first year.

Needless to say...really hoping for something simple...thanks for your help.

 

Are there ANY other symptoms? Erratic speedometer, cruise control not functioning, odd braking from the rear axle could all be signs of a VSS with a problem as well.

The other place to check would be the MLPS. Make certain the shift linkage is tight and that the MLPS is not damaged or the wiring to it.

These are both potential external issues that may or may not necessarily trigger any fault codes.

 

My first thought was the mlps as well, ....or the vss.

 

In 2002 i had my 92 bronco transmission rebuilt for the first time with the following problems .In overdrive it would bump especially when climbing an up grade , it even did this when i got it back from the local ford dealer ship with a rebuilt tranny . I returned it and they kept it a few weeks and they actually went to the bone yard and changed my instrument cluster out with a used one.Seems all it was doing was bumping no shift issues but there was erratic tach variations when this happened just my .02 cents . I am still having the leakey front seal, does this at hot after noons Good luck TR

 

GS, There are no other symptoms other than the transmission is not responding to the Overdrive other than the OFF light will illuminate.

Speedometer is calibrated dead-on so no PSOM suspects. I think I remember reading the PSOM is in the dash cluster. Black Ford XLT I'll keep your .02 in my thoughts...never know...

I will start with checking the linkage and cleaning MLPS connectors when I get time per GS and ottawaguy. I'm wondering if the the OD button is controlled by the MLPS. I'll also look for other electrical connections entering the E4OD.

 

Everything eventually goes through the MLPS harness to the best of my knowledge. The OD switch basically overrides the 3-4 shift parameter. After thinking about it, the switch itself could be the culprit but with the "OFF" lamp working properly its a hard sell especially when you consider the indicator is an LED.

 

Most know that the E4OD seems to always run hot. My old 94 had a failing torque converter which generated more heat. Since I had a spare tranny and was at the time unaware of the damage that can be cause by a ballooning TQ. I opted to add a second cooler. It did the trick. If your TQ is in good shape I suspect that you could solve your leak issue with a cooler.....if you don't already have one. If you do, perhaps the seal is ready to cross over. These trannys are known for blowing out the front seal though.

When I read the 1st post, I read that the OD button did not resolve the bumping, but didn't catch the part about not functioning itself as it should and the repeated attempts at downshifting. To be honest, I'm not sure if that would also be affected by a failing mlps or if it would indicate a different problem. I'll let others pipe in.
The mlps in my Bronco was gone when I bought it.It would drop in and out of gear and since his tach was showing an increase in rpms when the issue was occurring, I thought it was likely the same issue. I suppose however that more than one problem can have the same symptoms.
In any event, I hope it's minor.. ..
A down truck is no good...

 

Thanks guys. I'm just too hot and tired to crawl under...Might be delayed until the weekend.

I understand the MLPS is a wear item with wiper contacts that got an upgrade around 1994 including a red gasket to seal out dirt and moisture. Might have been upgraded with the transmission in 1995 and don't know.. Harness also changed

The VSS is probably dirty as it is original. The pumpkin looked like a two month old grill when I changed the fluid a couple of years ago. I read chips on the ring or on the VSS may cause PSOM issues and the newer PSOM compensate for the poor information. However the speedometer is steady.

Plan "A" replace MLPS and look for other connections to the E4OD to clean.

 

Sounds like a good place to start.
The mlps and vss are both relatively cheap items and a good cleaning of all the connections can certainly do no harm.

 

Plan "B" for Saturday morning...I've been asking mechanics and found a smart counter guy.

Mechanic...Symptom, overdrive button not working. Remove steering column bottom cover, check for a shorting/grounded wire.
Symptom, gear shift is a little sloppy. Find the bracket with two T-27 screws and tighten. If no luck let him diagnose it.

I'll also crawl underneath and check wires, clean connections.

Counter guy (not the common young guy, old and knowledgeable)... Says solenoid is connected to a valve that sends fluid through the shaft to lock up the converter. That valve may be sticking with a varnish deposit. He has experience with four transmissions adding Dr Tranny Instant Shudder Fix and it corrected the problem. I am NOT an additive fan so I was a difficult sell. He convinced me it has helped many times and will do no harm. So, if I find that wires/connections are not the issue I'm going to try it before replacing the MLPS. Internet searches indicate no disadvantage to Dr. Tranny Instant Shudder Fix

 

Get a wiring diagrahm and find out wich one goes from the pcm to the cylonoid block on the right hand side of the transmission. With the key on and the shifter in drive, run a positive lead to a test light and touch that wire. If it lights up, than that means your getting a ground from the pcm wich is good. That completes the circuit for overdrive. If that is the case than It means your cylonoid block is faulty. These E4OD tranny's are known for the blocks going bad. Mine has already had 4 different ones in it. If there is no ground, check your harness for broken wire or bad connection, especialy over transfercase at the bend.

 

Removed two panels under steering/dash and found nothing unusual other than I am almost too old to get off the floorboard after ten minutes.

Cleaned MLPS connector with electrical cleaner then applied dielectric grease a few minutes later. Took it for a test drive. Carried, funnel, stool and Dr. Tranny along but, they were not needed. Everything works perfectly, including the overdrive button.

It is not always, but sometimes it is the simple things. It was the MLPS connection. Thanks everyone for the help.

I am going to keep the Dr. Tranny in the console in case something stuck a valve then broke loose and the connector was not the issue. It was 73 today vs. 91 when the transmission went crazy.

 

Glad to hear it. Here's hoping the cleaning was the root of the issue. I personally think Ford could have been a little more conscientious about the sealing capacity of some of the more critical connections that are under the truck and exposed to rather severe road crud exposure. The little starter connections also come to mind.

 

Uh Oh...running an errand when shifting from 1 to 2 the rpm dropped to 1200 then within a second to 800. I added Dr. Tranny and headed for the highway. Sure enough the original problem had returned.

I stopped and then manually up shifted through each gear then OD.and drove about three miles. On the fourth attempt the problem disappeared. I did it two more times, punching the OD button about every 15 seconds. Now it shifts better than it ever has in the 40K I have had it and it took less than an hour.

Not knowing anything about automatics, here is my guess...connector cleaning gave the solenoid more power to move the valve. As the day heated up the valve stuck again. Adding Dr. Tranny unstuck the valve.

I'm hooking up the trailer in the morning

 

These kinds of issues just make me paranoid.