Forum Discussion

vqarabs's avatar
vqarabs
Explorer
Oct 13, 2013

E40D problem?

I was about 150 miles into today's return trip home from the Oregon Coast when all of a sudden the motorhome started lurching a little bit. My first thought was fuel pump, but the 460 FI was running fine. So I pulled over on I-84 and checked tranny fluid. It appeared to be low and I ended up adding a quart. Took off slowly and got to Hood River and decided to pull over and check again. Couldn't get a good reading on dipstick, but was a bit sluggish moving the lever through the gears. Slowly added a couple more quarts and finally it appeared I could see fluid on dipstick. Took off again and kept it under 60 but climbing out of the Gorge the tranny shifted from OD to Drive and all of a sudden I had lurching again and then I saw lots of white smoke going out the back end. Pulled over and shut things down for 30 minutes. Inspection didn't show any leaking on the ground but did appear like there may have been some fluid on exhaust? Fired it back up and drove 30 miles to Boardman at 50 mph. Seemed okay, so went on to Hermiston for the evening. All gauges read fine, but I'm wondering if I have a damaged tranny. It's 30 miles to Tri-Cities WA, but lots of hills between here and there. Don't know if I risk it or get a rental car here or what. Am pulling a small aluminum boat - but not a lot of weight to it. I should add I'm not getting funky noises from tranny nor is it shifting hard or funny or anything.

Any ideas? Thanks in advance.
Class A
  • vqarabs's avatar
    vqarabs
    Explorer
    Oct 14, 2013
    Thanks for all responses - Made it from Hermiston until Spokane and I could tell fluid was getting hot. Parked it - and it's going in to get serviced tomorrow - I'll head home in rental car.
  • ScottG's avatar
    ScottG
    Nomad
    Oct 13, 2013
    The first thing to do is find out where the fluid is going.
  • RLS7201's avatar
    RLS7201
    Explorer II
    Oct 13, 2013
    Rick, One of the major failings related to your E4OD is the ZF emergency brake, attached to the back of the transmission. The E brake houses the VSS (Vehicle Speed Sensor) and when this sensor fails it will cause a variety of symptoms. IE, erratic engine performance, erratic shifting and erratic speedometer. The sensor will fail when the E brake looses its 4oz of ATF and the plastic gears melt.

    Your E4OD is all electric and doesn't have a vacuum modulator.

    Richard
  • Ivylog's avatar
    Ivylog
    Explorer III
    Oct 13, 2013
    Modulator valve will have a vacuumed line on the back of it... Usuall on the back of the tranny. Easy to replace as the white smoke is tranny fluid sucked into the engine.
  • DailyDriver's avatar
    DailyDriver
    Explorer
    Oct 13, 2013
    I would suggest getting another good check on the transmission fluid level. Also, check the engine oil and coolant levels. Something funky is going on, and it might be an overfilled tranny at this point (if you're lucky). However, even that can cause harm to the E4OD. I would be hesitant to drive it more than to the nearest transmission shop unless I could determine a cause for the exhibited abnormalities.
  • sailor_lou's avatar
    sailor_lou
    Explorer
    Oct 13, 2013
    I may have spoken too soon. I had similar symptoms on an older Ford C6 transmission that used a vacuum modulator valve. When the diaphragm failed it allowed transmission fluid to get suck into the engine, which resuted in loss of fluid and white smoke. Looking into the E4OD it appears it is all electronically controlled and does not have a vacuum line, so this does not appear to apply here. Sorry about the confusion.

    Lou
    05 Travel Supreme Envoy
  • RayChez's avatar
    RayChez
    Explorer
    Oct 13, 2013
    If you are low on transmission fluid every so often, it is leaking. And the smoke that you were seeing is because the fluid is dropping on the hot muffler or cad converter. You probably blew a rear seal on the transmission.
    A Ford truck will keep running as long as it has some fluid, but once it gets to low it will not pull much then.

    You claim that the coach had not been run for over ten years. Seals dry up and that is probably your problem with the rear or even a front seal. Rear are easy to change out, but the front you will have to pull the transmission.
  • vqarabs's avatar
    vqarabs
    Explorer
    Oct 13, 2013
    Where do I find the modulator valve? I'm not coming up with any pics searching with google. Thanks for replies.
  • sailor_lou's avatar
    sailor_lou
    Explorer
    Oct 13, 2013
    Sound like the modulator valve. I'm not sure about the E4OD, but it is usually an easy fix if that's it. Good luck.

    Lou
    05 Travel Supreme Envoy
  • Home_Skillet's avatar
    Home_Skillet
    Explorer II
    Oct 13, 2013
    If you loosing fluid with no external leaks, check the radiator for oil contamination. The trans cooler may have ruptured.

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