E4OD on E-350 Super Club Wagon

[maimino]

The stock E4OD tranny on my 1989 E-350 bit the dust on the return leg of a long (900+ mile) trip this weekend. The van was not loaded at all (just me and the seats), but I was pulling a light utility trailer (total weight of trailer and cargo was about 900 lbs).

The first indication of trouble was went the tranny dropped out of OD during a long straight stretch. It would not go back into OD. I stopped and checked the fluid levels - everything was fine. Soon after, the OD light began to blink. I stopped and reset the tranny by disconnecting the battery for 5 minutes. Restarted, but still no OD.

After arriving at my destination, the van suddenly would not go, would not shift into gear. I had reverse, but no forward gears. I had to be towed home.

The tranny was recently rebuilt (less than 3000 miles) and was not abused. This is the 5th rebuild this tranny has had in the past 3-4 years.

Any suggestions? New tranny? New controller? I don't know yet exactly what's wrong with the tranny, but I'm pretty sure I'm looking at another rebuild. Thank you for any advice.

Mike

[DivinDave]

I too have had my issues with the e4od in my 90 e350, so have grown to know a little about the trans and how it operates. Most all of the problems associated with this gearbox are related to the sensors and electronic controls. Bad grounds are also a common problem that cause many failures for this system as well.

The MLPS (manual lever positon sensor)has been known to cause a great deal of problems one of which is the "Nagging Netural" problem. The trans will shift into a neutral condition due to improper signal from the MLPS. Sounds like you might just have this issue. Another common problem is the FIPL (also known as the TPS)throwing bad signals about the position of the throttle and this will cause a fault light when everything seems to be running just fine. Both of these sensors can be easily replaced at relatively low cost.

You need to get the codes read from the computer. A code reader for your veh is only about $30 and these will guide your efforts. The ford truck enthusiast site has a forum on trans problems that you can get information from as well.

Good luck