E4OD advice

[cjken]

So my transmission finally gave up on me. I knew it was coming.
It still drives forward, but no reverse at all. Unfortunately I was turning around when I realized I lost reverse and could not physically push the truck backwards to finish my turn.
I was on an unplowed road ant the flatbed that came to get me got stuck.
We were able to dig out under his rear tires to get him moving. Once my van was on the back he had enough traction to drive out.
I’d like to have the tranny rebuilt better than stock if possible. I don’t mind spending some money now while it is apart to improve it.
Any advice would be appreciated!!!

 

[vintageracer]

Gas or diesel engine?

My transmission on my 1995 powerstroke took a dump at 100K miles. Still worked however poorly. This was in 1999. At that time I was told to take it to Brian's Truck Stop in Arkansas as he was "Da Man"!

Drove the truck to Arkansas and they rebuilt my transmission while I spent the day. Saw the whole process. Amazing how few new stock parts were used in the rebuild. Almost everything was upgraded. His warranty then was 3 years unlimited mileage. He didn't care what you pulled or did the warranty was 3 years. At the time 1999 he was building and installing a lot of Ford automatic transmissions in the Dodge Cummins trucks replacing the Dodge unit. Same warranty with a turned up Cummins equipped Dodge having MUCH more power than the Ford at that time . I spent $3500 on this tranny rebuild in 1999 and have never looked back!

105K miles later I still have the truck and don't drive the truck much anymore however all I have ever done is service the transmission as required by Bryan and used Shaeffer tranny fluid.

Now there are certainly many reputable transmission builders to choose from. Just had an automatic transmission built in my 01 Dodge Cummins by Bowman here locally in Nashville and it shifts and pulls great. Once again I paid for the needed upgrades to solve all the now known transmission issues with the Dodge.

All the problems with E4OD was well known along with the fixes. Spend the money to fix it properly with a reputable builder and you will never had to "Fix It" again!

http://www.brianstruckshop.com/

 

[cjken]

Thanks!! Great advice
It’s a 95 7.3
I have heard of BTS.
too far for me (NY)
If I went that route I would need to have them build it and ship it then get it installed.

 

[vintageracer]

Build and ship was in 1999 and I would think it still is a large portion of the BTS transmission business today.

That's how all the other customer transmission builders exist!

 

[IdaSHO]

As long as it is built with all the updates, and provided you keep it cool, you should be good to go.

They are a long lasting trans if you keep them cool.

 

[cjken]

Sounds great. I probably will have it rebuilt locally
I’m having it looked at tomorrow.
I’m wondering why it failed. I knew it was happening. Started having trouble shifting out of first this summer.
Truck has about 75k miles
I got it at about 45k. But it is a 95 so it has some yrs on it!

 

[gmtech]

if your having someone else take it out for you before its rebuilt make sure they don't gouge you on labor. just cause its a ambo.
2wd ambo transmissions are cake to take out .
I just did one on a 09 chevy class 3 ambo, took me 1.5 hours taking my time to take it out and it paid 6.5 r and r time. this was strait replacement no rebuild. I think I could do it just as fast on my 99 e350 class 2 with 7.3.
how long did it take to fail after your symptoms started? miles /time wise.

 

[cjken]

It is a 4x4 so the transfer case may make it harder to remove.

The first sign was over a year ago.
I had some binding in reverse. I thought it was the rear drum brakes sticking, but eventually pulled the driveshaft and found it was either the transfer case or tranny. amazingly the problem went away on Its own. At the beginning of this summer I started having intermittent problems shifting from 1st to 2nd. If I let up on the gas it would shift so it was still drivable. I had it looked at but there were no codes, fluid looked good, and the problem did not present itself on test drive. So I kept driving it with the understanding that it would eventually get worse.
That finally happened yesterday

It’s actually a relief now I can get it taken care of properly and feel better about reliability on trips.

 

[jkam]

I have a 96 with the 460 and the E4OD.
Mine went out at 97,000 miles, which I've come to learn is about the average for these.
Mine is in an RV, it gets pretty warm if you leave it in overdrive in certain conditions.
I have a ScanGuage now to monitor temps and when it starts to get hot, I drop it out of OD and that starts to cool it off
quickly.
My advise would be to have it rebuilt and then add a bigger oil cooler and a deeper pan, to help keep it cooler.

 

[malcolmzilla]

Bought mine with the 4r75W (later EOD), had no reverse - bands broke, ~252K km.
There are plenty of upgrades available to rebuild - Sonnax has most of the fixes available. A reputable builder can do it, I found one locally.
I went with the full sonnax kit, better bands, etc, stock type clutches and steels, new T/C and mild shift kit with a pump mod to increase line pressure.
Remember to clean the cooler and lines for shrapnel.
It won't be cheap, however, mine was $2800 cdn, I provided the removal and install.
Super happy with it now though, shifts quick, no slip, should outlast the rest of the van.

 

[IdaSHO]

Sounds great. I probably will have it rebuilt locally
I'm having it looked at tomorrow.
I'm wondering why it failed.

Stock, OEM E40Ds rarely last beyond 100k

Stock, NONE of the E4OD trans equipped vehicles came with a large enough cooler.

As I said, it will last, so long as you keep it cool.


Stock coolers are undersized to begin with.

Install a cooler 2x the size of the factory cooler, and you will be good to go.

A proper tune will help as well, one that locks the converter sooner and longer, but not needed.

Again, heat is the devil. Keep the thing cool, and it will last 2x + the life of the OEM trans.

 

[Deshet]

I had mine rebuilt last year with billet torque converter, transmission cooler, upgraded valve body, and the heavy duty rebuild kit.
5 year warranty
Tow, Removal, and Installation a little under $2500.00
Check your local shops...I could have been around $1500 without all the add ons.

I believe that Ford is around $2500 installed with a decent warranty. BTS is about double that just for the transmission.

You may try a drain and fill first. I have seen transmissions lose reverse due to clogged filters. If your van is a quigley you have a 2wd transmission with a 4x4 tail shaft. I would get your original rebuilt if it needs it.

 

[broncobowsher]

Lets see, my uncle just blew his '00 E4OD at 370,000 miles behind a stock 7.3 Powerstroke.
Not completely true, it did get a warranty trans right at 60k. So the Ford reman from about '03 that the dealer put in only lasted 310,000 miles.
But that isn't completely true either, because at 260k I did have to drop the trans and replace the torque convertor seal.

So the dealer reman trans went 200k before it needed a $5 seal and another 110k before it fell apart.
It does get worked at times, towing a gooseneck horse trailer most weekends.

I wouldn't be afraid of a reman from the local Ford dealer.

 

[Deshet]

Your 2000 has a 4r100...very similar to the e4od but not exactly the same. Basically, they are both great transmissions capable of high mileage. Ambulance service isn't exactly an easy life, keep them cool and they will last.

The 2001 4r100 was the only problematic model that I knew of from the factory.

 

[cjken]

Thank you for all the great advice

I’m having a place near me pull it and rebuild. Right now I don’t have the time to pull it out myself.
They say they will beef up and upgrade. I’ll look into a additional cooler and temp gauge.
The guy did my neighbors truck and my neighbor was happy with his work.

Hope to be back on the road soon.

As long as the 7.3 keeps ticking I should be good to go. I think I’ve addressed all issues. At least I hope.