Problems after engine swap

[beefydude77]

We have a 2004 f650 with the International vt365 engine, I understand that in Ford's it is known as the 6.0. Our truck has an Allison Model 2000 transmission.

In November of '07 our engine broke down, badly, a piston rod punched a hole through the bottom of the engine and everything inside virtually disintegrated. Our mechanic did an engine swap and got our truck running. A day later I noticed that while running at highway speeds the shifts were somewhat delayed with the engine feeling sluggish at times. Late in the day a new development emerged, hard downshift from 2nd to 1st and the range inhibit light coming on when shifting into reverse.

We've taken this truck to just about everyone including the dealer and to no avail. Egr's have been replaced, turbo actuator, throttle position sensor, nsbu switch, internal transmission harness. The people at Stewart and Stevenson say nothing is mechanically wrong with the transmission and the problem might be at the engine. The Ford dealership say its a transmission problem. International dealership won't touch it, saying it's a Ford problem. I don't know where else to turn to.

The truck starts fine, while running the turbo will cut off and on at whim not necessarily following the press of the throttle. When coming to a stop it will downshift hard from 2nd to 1st. When backing up the range inhibit light will come on and will quit going in reverse until it is selected again, it does this more frequently when on an incline. I've noticed that the reverse backup lights don't come on at all but the reverse siren does. Finally the ABS light comes on and off for no reason.

If someone could just point me in the right direction I might have the dealer focus mainly on that area. I know it's a long post, but any help would be greatly appreciated.

[standardcab shortbed]

are all the ground wires installed properly? did you try disconnecting the batteries to reset everything? are there any codes? It sounds like whoever did the swap messed something up-Did they reuse your wiring harness, or one that may have come with the new motor? was the motor NEW or USED? where did it come from? Did the truck exhibit any signs of a problem IMMEDIATELY following the swap, or was all fine until the episode? It almost sounds like the transmission range sensor or possibly the vss is damaged (easy to do during a swap, not sure where/what it looks like on a allison). Answer these questions, maybe someone can help. Good luck, and welcome.

[beefydude77]

Actually the engine is a used one, came from some parts shop in San Antonio. The wiring harness used is the old one. As for disconnecting the batteries, I already tried that. I don't know about codes I don't have a reader, but those that do keep telling me there is a code for the turbo actuator, something about it being stuck on "on." Like I've said this actuator has already been replaced. I've done quite a bit of reading on the web and not found any information that is quite related to the problems we're having with this truck.

One interesting piece I did find through my searches was about a man whose car did not shift into reverse when on an incline. He said that eventually they replaced the engine wiring harness and it solved the problem. I've been thinking about doing the same. I'm just wondering if it might be something else.

I believe the first immediate problem was the whole range inhibit thing, several hours later the down shifting scenario began occurring. What exactly is the transmission range sensor?