Uhaul issues...

[dc383]

Just bought a 1990 Ford F350 Uhaul 14 ft. box truck with about 180,000mi on a 7.3 IDI married to a c6 tranny.

1100 bucks and it made it from Reno to Sacramento with only 1st and 3rd gear. Second does not seem to engage at all, even with manual shifting. When the hills became too much for 3rd gear it tried to kickdown all the way back to first, sending the tach reeling towards the red.

The motor seems to run OK from what I have read about the IDI. It blew a little smoke up at high altitudes and lacked a bit of power (although that could be because it was trying to push 11k up a hill @ 5000 ft.)

The temp fluctuated quite a bit. It would get all the way up to L on "normal" in the gauge when it was moving on the freeway. 2900 rpm @ 60 MPH is this normal?

Any suggestions on what I could do to help with these issues?

Here is some info from the door if it helps: wb: 161 type-gvw: F379
body: CJ8 Trans: G Axle: 65 Spring: N Y Model: F37

[88beast]

so is this an auto trans that youre using the low gears below drive ?
my truck does 70 at the same rpm huh different axle ratio maybe you have the 4.56 gears
chuckster will post something dissing that pos gauge im sure lol the temp gauge is a glorified idiot light
90 is na so no turbo means a little sluggish at altitude is fine
post a signature describing the truck for future reference
and the tranny should be an e4od
im no expert but theres a few posts here on the e4od so just search "e4od no second gear" or similar and youll find plenty of info

i know on my c6 second is really short and sometimes unnoticible

[dc383]

Axle code 65 = 4.10 gears

Trans code G = C6 transmission.

The trans is not slipping it sort of hangs for a moment and then shifts all the way up into 3rd gear. When it kicks down from flooring it, it goes right down into first gear. Is there a way to get 2nd back, or is it shot?

[mutantvan]

I'm not the expert you are waiting to hear from, but I have been dealing with some tranny issues. Mine is a E40D. I was discussing the issue with someone who does know these things, and he indicated that the clutch pack can fail in any one gear and knock that gear out.
I have also had the heat issues in the past and they were deeply remedied by a rebuild on the radiator and a new water pump.
I don't have a tack on my rig, but 2900rpm for 60mph sounds like some pretty low gearing.
I would love to have better gauges in order to get some better info, but never find the time or money to put them in. I would love to have a tranny temp gauge, and I think they are relatively cheap and easy to install.
Good luck to you with the new rig.

[typefour]

On the driver side there is a big nut with a screw sticking out of it, That is the band adjustment. Loosen the nut,screw in the screw,5/16 open end, till snug then back out 1/2 to 3/4 turn. If that gives you second look up the spec and adjust by the book.
If it never gets snug the band is either broken or burned . If it is snug and still does not work there is a 4 bolt cover on the pass side, there is a rubber piston in there and it could be torn, cooked, or the wrong one. Also the band links could have fallen in the pan.