E4od Not Going Into First Gear When In D
 

Hi I have a 1991 F-350 w/7.3 and e40d transmission. The other day I took off (or attempted to) from a stop light, and the engine just revved like the transmission was low on fluid or something. I then manually put the truck in 1st gear and away it went. I then manually shifted to second, and pulled into a gas station.

I checked the tranny fluid and I was maybe a quart low (small leak) I topped the fluid off, put it in drive, but still not going anywhere. I manually put it in first, then second, and when I was up to speed put it in D and it went into 3rd gear. I haven't driven it since. The tranny fluid is topped off exactly where it should be, and the truck goes into reverse, and manually in first and second.

BTW when I put it in D you can fill it trying to grab, but barely enough to move the truck. I didn't want to keep trying since it would probably cause more damage. Any ideas on what could be happening here? I also disconnected both batteries in case there was a sensor issue or something but it didn't fix it.

Thanks in advance for any help.

I suspect if you are on flat ground, it would drive if you were to accellerate gradually, its probably trying to start in 3rd or 4th gear.

With a no electrics, you should have 4th grear in "OD", 2nd gear in "2" and reverse, though reverse engagement will be rough.

The first place to start would be to pull th fault codes, and see if the PCM can tell you what happened.

Do you have any automatic function at all? How many miles on the tranny?

Hi I don't know if it would take off or not if I gradually accelerated, but I don't suspect it would be good for the tranny trying to find out. I don't know about the mileage on the tranny since I bought this truck used about 20K miles ago. I'll try to read the codes as soon as I can. I guess you can say I don't have any automatic functions since I can't get it to go into 1st gear.

Limp Mode is the life saver of the E4OD..... that is second and reverse only. If there is a problem with the trans that is what happens.....do you have any flashing lights ie the OD switch. If it was a qt low then there may be air in the system still, run it through the gears slowly stopping in each for 20 seconds to purge it.

PS do not use as daily driver in limp mode............

check your od light. I had the same problem and it would be on but it was just glowing dimly but it wasn't on like normal. It turned out to be my tach sensor. A new tach sensor later and all was well.

UPDATE: I turned OD off, and away it went while in "D". Shifted normally and smoothly 1st through 3rd gear. While in 3rd, I turned the OD back on and it went into 4th. Came to a stop and same syptoms. As of right now I have to turn the OD off and leave it OFF until the truck reaches 3rd gear and then turn it back on. I'm stumped on this one. The OD light isn't flashing, or even on dimly. Thanks for the input, any other suggestions?

Now that is one I haven't heard before. My guess is that it would be an electrical issue, maybe the PCM itself. How do your speedo and tach work? they should work flawlessly.

Actually I believe this is true for the AODE transmission, the E4OD on the other hand, defaults to 4th gear with no electrical power and the selector lever in OD (TC will not lock without PCM control).

Reverse and manual second are controled hydraulically even in normal operation (asside from the EPC which has an affect on all transmission operation).

Speedo and tach work fine. I replaced the speed sensor on the tranny maybe 6 months ago because the speedo was very erratic and was resulting in some weird shifting, but that problem was solved.

My GPS confirms that the speedo does read 5 MPH faster than actual driving speed, but I would think that shouldn't affect anything other than shift points. Right now at 60 MPH the engine is at 2500 RPM. I assume it has the lower gears in the rear end since it is a dually with an 11' Stakebed on it.

You might want to check your differential gearing to be sure, my feeling is that your rpms are a little high to be in overdrive.

have you tried pulling both battery negatives off for 5 min,to try to reset the PCM? sounds like you might have the o/d engaged at all times or in first all the time. the transmission control switch on the end of the colume controls that thru the PCM,pins 11 and 32 of the PCM. just a thought. if that dosent help sounds like you might have a problem in the PCM itself.

sorry i should mention that the wiring info is for a 93/94 but dont think theres any difference if there is i'm sure someone will say.

I checked my sticker inside the door and it said axle code 73, I searched but can't find any info on that code. I'll get under the truck and check the rear end itself. Been running at 2500RPM @ 60 MPH since day one though.

I'm leaning towards the PCM as well. I bought a code reader for this truck a while back, plugged it in and followed the directions, and couldn't get any response from the PCM. Other than the dealer, who sells the PCM?? THanks

I had the same problem with my truck. I have a 90 F250 with an E4OD and on the passenger side of my transmission there is a connector. Every once in a while, my truck will not shift into first gear and I have to wiggle that connector.

I hope this helps.

Thanks for the advice. I unplugged it, sprayed some contact cleaner on it, and wiggled it around while in drive, but it didn't fix it. I do think it's an electrical problem, probably a signal not reaching that wiring harness that goes into the tranny. I hate to just be a parts changer instead of a mechanic, but I think I may have to buy a new PCM and give it a try, I can't read any codes from my current PCM anyway.

I had to remove and reinstall my speedo head to fix my E4OD tranny. Been working perfectly ever since. These trannys are very sensitive to electrical issues. Good Luck. Joe