Cube van E4OD transmission trouble

[bbjordan]

My son was heading to the Connect festival in the '95 cube van in my sig. He had a late start because we had to replace the high pressure power steering line. Wow, vans are a challenge to work on! Anyway he finally left at about 7:30 PM. At 9:30 I get a call. "Dad, the transmission went."

The first good hill they came to, when the transmission went to downshift, it went BANG and dropped into 3rd gear. The OD light was flashing and the transmission was now making a whining noise. I told him it was in limp mode and he should limp back home. I figured I would get the code from it in the morning.

After helping him transfer all the stuff from the cube van to the U-haul van he rented, I connected my OBD2 reader. It could not connect to the PCM. Oddly, the OD light was no longer flashing either, but the transmission was still whining when I started it. The fluid level looks OK on the transmission.

This is the second transmission that has failed on this van. My son is working towards his Bachelor's from the School of Hard Knocks. I'm working on my Master's. I was wondering if the PhDs could help me out?

I thought all '95+ vehicles had OBD2? Were the E350 cube vans exempt?
Can I put the PCM from my '97 F250 in the cube van to read the codes?

Any thoughts on what to look for? Test to perform? Speculation on what the problem might be?
I'm not an automatic transmission guy. I can remove and replace them, and I have rebuilt a couple of Mopar A999s years ago, but really I am clueless when it comes to how the E4OD works.

Thanks in advance.

 

[79jasper]

Nope, not all obd2.
Powerstrokes are kinda there own thing. Sometimes obd2 will communicate, but only if the obd2 flash was done. Likely need autoenginuity or equivalent.
Maybe the torque app, car gauge pro, or maybe forscan.

With your pcm swap idea, well for 1. It'll reset when power is removed. 2. It would gives codes from the truck, as the pcm holds the codes, not the idm.
Double check the fuses. One does go to the obd2 port. Cigarette lighter, iirc.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

 

[trackspeeder]

No need for codes to be read. The tranny has to come out to find the issue.

 

[bbjordan]

I was kinda dreading that. Anything in particular that I should be looking for?

I have a spare E4OD from a 2003 F350, but it's for a 4x4. Still have the original transmission too. That should come apart and be autoposied.

Better start clearing a path to the workbench so I can clean it.

 

[trackspeeder]

If its making lots of noise, but still shifts all its gears. It could be the coast clutch. They like to spit out the snap ring under a hard application. The only way to tell is take it apart.

 

[bbjordan]

I wasn't kidding when I said I had to clear a path to my workbench. It's there at the back:

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Hours later:

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Still have to clear the workbench. Hey, there are the transmissions! Anyone want a C6 trans w/transfer case? Come pick it up.

Hours later:

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Ready for E4OD autopsies.

 

[bbjordan]

First transmission torn down. This one was the original one from the 1995 cube van. My son was just cruising down the highway at 100-110 km/hr (about 60-65 mph) when all of a sudden he said it was like it shifted into neutral. He coasted to the side of the road and tried all the gears. No motion. So here are the pics:

Hmm, looks like this is not the first torque converter.

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The pan magnet had a bunch of gunk on it.

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The steels and clutches look ok...

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The thrust washer on the shell has some wear.

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Continued...

 

[bbjordan]

The shell looks a little pounded out.

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Close up:

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The centre support is worn a bit from the spring.

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Close up:

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Continued...

 

[bbjordan]

The spring is also a bit worn too.

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Close up:

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Kind of a crappy pic, but you get the idea.

So, altogether, it doesn't look horrible bad. Nothing that I could point to and say "Ya, that's why it failed." But, then again, I'm not a transmission guy...yet.

Could this just have been a torque converter failure?

 

[trackspeeder]

Have you checked the the drums for breaks? The sun shell is toast, toss it. The intermediate return spring should be replaced too. Check the center support lugs for movement. If they are warn,the center support should be machined and a stabilizer ring installed. If they are not warn, this should be done anyways.

As for the converter failing. Yes it could have failed. The magnet mud is normal, but the metallic looking fluid isn't. Either way this tranny does need a rebuild.

 

[bbjordan]

Transmission #2. This one came with the truck in my avatar, #1 in my sig. I bought it with a failed transmission, part of why I got a deal on it. The PO said it failed hauling a trailer full of cattle. He came to a stop light, and then it failed to go.

It looks like this one was a Ford Reman according to the sticker on it.

The fluid was nasty dark. You could tell something burnt up inside. Here you can see the colour :

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Black parts mean Heavy Duty right?

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BBQ anyone?

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And a picture of the sun shell:

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Close-up:

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[OLDBULL8]

JUNK.

 

[trackspeeder]

Black mean heat treated.

 

[bbjordan]

Ok, finally got a round tuit, and autopsied the transmission that went bang. I didn't have to go very far into it...

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[compressionignitionrules]

ouch that looks a little rough? did it still make the limp trip home, or was it towed?