1990 7.3 E4OD issues.

[franklin2]

I have been doing some research, since I have never owned a E4OD. From what I am reading, the convertor locking up in 2nd gear may be normal depending on the throttle position. There is some debate about it on the web, I can't seem to find any official Ford documentation on it.

You have no codes now and it does lock and unlock, it is suspicious that the behavior is normal, or it may be a minor adjustment to the throttle position sensor to advance or delay the time it locks up.

If your engine can handle it, the transmission will run cooler with the convertor locked up.

 

[DirtyWood]

As I understand it, which of course may be incorrect, the torque converter will not lock in 2nd gear and I certainly have never felt it lock when my E4OD was in 2nd. Knock on wood I have no trans trouble codes, knocks again, but I can distinctly feel the trans go 1. 2. 3. lock, 4th/OD. When the TC locks in 3rd the truck/trans smooths out and there is a different feel and sound. Even when manually shifted into 2nd I never felt the TC lock. TPS should be 1.2v at idle and hopefully over 4v at WOT. It is important to also have a proper idle RPM setting. I thought I had properly set my idle RPM but when I broke out the timing equipment the other day I discovered that my setting was low and I can only attribute it to a poor connection with the piezo clamp. I had to turn the idle adjustment screw about 1/4 to 1/3 turn to get up around 675-685 RPM and now the trans shifts better.

Edit: Just have to add, that trans connector looks pretty terrible and I certainly hope that after wiring a new one that your problem is taken care of. My setup only has the factory heat shield and the wiring is just fine but if you want to go an extra mile I found this stuff, https://www.delcity.net/store/T6-ThermaShield-Wrap/p_818140.h_807506
I used some of that T6 to wrap return lines and wiring near the turbo. it's decently flexible but not as flexy as regular split loom.

 

[Pet Raccoon]

As I understand it, which of course may be incorrect, the torque converter will not lock in 2nd gear and I certainly have never felt it lock when my E4OD was in 2nd. Knock on wood I have no trans trouble codes, knocks again, but I can distinctly feel the trans go 1. 2. 3. lock, 4th/OD. When the TC locks in 3rd the truck/trans smooths out and there is a different feel and sound. Even when manually shifted into 2nd I never felt the TC lock. TPS should be 1.2v at idle and hopefully over 4v at WOT. It is important to also have a proper idle RPM setting. I thought I had properly set my idle RPM but when I broke out the timing equipment the other day I discovered that my setting was low and I can only attribute it to a poor connection with the piezo clamp. I had to turn the idle adjustment screw about 1/4 to 1/3 turn to get up around 675-685 RPM and now the trans shifts better.

Edit: Just have to add, that trans connector looks pretty terrible and I certainly hope that after wiring a new one that your problem is taken care of. My setup only has the factory heat shield and the wiring is just fine but if you want to go an extra mile I found this stuff, https://www.delcity.net/store/T6-ThermaShield-Wrap/p_818140.h_807506
I used some of that T6 to wrap return lines and wiring near the turbo. it's decently flexible but not as flexy as regular split loom.

What year is yours?

I did some reading lastnight and there is a lot of disagreement on when the tc should lock. I did find that the tcm has been upgraded a few times since 1990. Sounds like the factory turbo trucks may have the tc lock up sequence i am looking for. But some people report a big improvement and some none at all.

I went ahead and gambled on it and got one coming for $90 from rock auto. Hopefully its all in the tcm tuning. I will adjust on the tps one more time and try it a 1.2 and check my idle. I was not aware that its supposed to be around 675. I think mine is more in the 750 range.

I am really hoping to get this fixed soon. I am tired of having to constantly watch my egts and all the black smoke. Also I really want to be able to use this truck to pull cattle and hay trailers. It's very annoying having a truck loaded out with all my tools and on board air compressor but have to swap trucks anytime I want to tow.

Also the US shift controller looks great but I would rather find a donor truck and do the zf5 swap before I spend that kind of money to make the auto work. I would rather have a manual anyways.

The truck does have some sentimental value because it was my grandpa's. He used it as a hotshot truck in the 90s and after having some issues had the engine gone through and added the 088 turbo kit. He said it never ran right after that and had to many issues to mention so he just parked it with intentions of fixing but life happens and he never got to it. Fast forward about 25 years he gets tired of mowing around it and gave it to me. I started working on it as time and money allowed. Completely stripped it and did a lot of body work/patch panels. The bed was to far gone and I needed a feed truck so that's when the the hydraulic bale bed and feeder went on it. He kept telling me that I needed to fix it up how I want it and that the engine would out live me. (He was a big 7.3 fan and owned many) So i did my research and took my time building the engine, to try to make it as comparable to the modern diesel power as possible. sadly he passed away before I got it put back together and never got to see it restored. I think he would like the idea of a 5 speed swap but the 7.3 idi will never be swapped out. I got one hell of a lecture the day I mentioned the idea of a 12 valve swap.

Edit: With all that being said i have been watching for a zf5 donor truck but I use this on a daily basis to feed cows and dont want to take it out of service for longer than I have to. Also dont have a bunch of cash to spend on it at the moment due to other projects. The automatic is nice for the constant stopping and starting to open gates. Plus my wife helps me out every once in a while and refuses to learn how to drive a stick.

In conclusion to this book I just wrote lol. I sure hope the newer tcm helps and maybe when my son gets older we can do the zf5 swap together and won't have to worry about the wife driving.

Thanks for all the help guys I will post the results from the new tcm in a week or so when It comes in.

 

[IDIBRONCO]

(He was a big 7.3 fan and owned many)

I got one hell of a lecture the day I mentioned the idea of a 12 valve swap.

Sounds like your grandpa was a pretty cool guy!

 

[DirtyWood]

What year is yours?

1991 F350 CCLB. From fiddling with TPS and RPM settings it seems the voltage setting at idle is more important than the WOT voltage. 1.2 or maybe a smidge higher seems to be the best idle voltage as it allows the transmission to hold a gear longer/to higher RPM. The TCM is probably programmed with a 650-700 RPM setting so maybe dropping yours a hair would help.
And remember the E4OD is only as good as the info fed to it from various sensors--VSS, tachometer, barometer, TPS, MLPS.

 

[Black dawg]

If the shift points are also early, just adjust the tps voltage up .05 at a time, until you like it. Have never seen any codes from adjusting quite a bit higher than spec.

 

[Pet Raccoon]

If the shift points are also early, just adjust the tps voltage up .05 at a time, until you like it. Have never seen any codes from adjusting quite a bit higher than spec.

I have tried adjusting it a few times and it seems like if I get much higher than 1.2 it doesn't want to shift into second with out revving higher than I like or having to let out to make it shift.