E40d Problems
 

Okay so the last 10,000 miles my transmission has been acting weird. In drive, first gear will wind up high 2000-2300rpm and then shift hard to second. other times it will shift somewhat normal, or others lots of slipping. All the other gears seem to shift normal. I've been told to unplug my TS chip because it could be pressurizing my Transmission lines to much. So i did so and it just made it worse. With chip in stock position or even unplugged it shifts from first to second worse than with the chip on a HP setting. I've never pulled the oil pan off to look for metal gears. It would be hard to believe I've been driving/towing for 10,000 + miles with chunks missing loose in my transmission plus it hasn't seemed to have gotten any worse. I went down to my local ford dealership and the guy there told me that he couldn't believe that either and that there is a filter in the pan that might be cracked or leaking and could not be building enough pressure or something. I'm getting tired of this and would like to know if this really is the problem or should i start saving my pennies for a zf5 swap thanks

believe it or not this is pretty normal for an E4OD. :s: Once it starts doing this there really isn't any stopping it. What can sometimes help is to get the TCM (Transmission Control Module) re-flashed. Ford can do that for you :tu:

The best thing's you can do for these transmissions is to get an oversized oil pan (I have Mag-Hytec's 8qt over stock pan) and a bigger trans cooler. Heat is the number 1 killer in E4OD's. Next would be to change the valve body. A body from John Woods or BD Power change your shift points slightly and the way the trans shifts. Instead of getting your slipping inbetween shifts, you'll get firm, instant, decisive shifts, resulting in less heat and wear (wacky problems like your having). And finally an aftermarket torque converter.

Having a "cracked" trans filter wont really change anything besides the amount of $hit that gets to your pump, it's not a restriction device (it shouldnt be anyway:argh:), nor should you see ANY pressure in it for ANY reason

Thats alot of money and time i really don't want to put into a auto transmission i already hate driving. I would rather do the zf5 swap

Yea I don't blame you.

I personally would try to get the tcm re-flashed because that's the easiest thing to do, and it might cost you a couple bucks. I've seen it fix issues like this before, because your TCM controls your shift points and all that.

I disagree with a bigger pan being the best thing you can do... Heat is a killer so why add more fluid that is going to get warm and now you need to cool 25+ quarts instead of 18? Your stock cooler isn't going to be happy about this. A larger cooler is the best thing you can do to these trucks. There is plenty of fluid already. No need to add 8 more quarts.

OP, I think what you need to do is take it to a shop that is reputable and have them drive it. It's not normal for it to rev that high and slam the shifts. Firm shifts are normal especially on cold fluid but I don't think mines ever reved that high and slams. Do you have a trans temp gauge on your truck? What temps do you typically see?

More fluid in an aluminum, deep finned pan=more fluid to absorb and disperse heat working with a more temperature transparent metal. the bigger pan and cooler brought my trans temp down about 35 degrees just driving around town. i dont think it gets above 120 on the highway

and my trans does the same thing with first gear (I waited too long to do anything :argh:), along with the E4OD bolted to my fathers 460, and my brothers 351W.

No I don't have a temperature gauge so I have no idea on the temps. i know this is the second tranny this truck has had though. I think it might have been replaced around 90,000 miles. Idk if that helps any.

I can say this... My 1-2 shift was getting a bit firm so I changed the factory amount of fluid in my factory pan + cooler and it fixed that. Also, my temps sitting in traffic never get about 170 and highway never above 140ish. Again, that is with stock pan and stock cooler.. I think you need to get a trans temp gauge and it might be time for a fluid change... Find out how much metal shavings are in the pan.