'97 F150 E4OD Tranny problem blues

James 21 years ago

I have a 1997 F150 Supercab 4WD 4.6L V8 with Electronic 4 speed auto transmission and electronic 4WD xfer selector. The truck has 253k miles (I bought it new, mostly hwy, VA-DC rush hour on I-95). The truck has always run great, however 2 days ago the tranny started making a horrendous noise when in any gear (any fwd gear or reverse) with the vehicle stopped (loud mechanical clanking/rattling type of noise) that went away as soon as I got moving > ~15 mph. All gears shift normally and there is no abnormal noise or performance once I'm moving. Any ideas or help on what the problem could be would be appreciated. My first thought is the torque converter?

Thanks a lot,

Gary

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Matt Macchiarolo 21 years ago

Fluid level OK? Fluid changed regularly?

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Matt Macchiarolo 21 years ago

Another thought, if it stops after 15mph and only starts from a dead stop, your first gear might be toast.

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lugnut 21 years ago

It may not be the trans. It may just be a loose part that rattles like the devil at low engine speeds because of the change in harmonics at idle. Exhaust systems frequently make these kinds of noises at low engine speeds. A rattle that is diagnosed related to the trans many times is a cracked flywheel which is not terribly common. I suggest you do a bit of detective work along with a helper to track down the source of the noise before you condemn the trans to an unnecessary overhaul. A trans that makes such noises are likely to be obviously in trouble operationally as well as audibly.

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Matt Macchiarolo 21 years ago

Good point, Lug, my 02 Superduty V10 has an exhaust rattle at about 2K rpm...entire exhaust has been replaced under warranty, as was the torque converter and transmission valvebody, when they thought it was the transmission at first...not critical, but a minor annoyance...I live with it until I put on the headers and SS exhaust...

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Gary 21 years ago

Upon further review, I'm fairly certain that it's the torque converter. Now when I'm stopped and shift into any gear, the engine stalls as it appears that the torque converter is locked at idle.

Gary.

P.S. Any ideas how to identify if I have an E4OD, 4R100, or 4R70W transmission? Will the B&M 50480 Traveler Torque Converter work on my truck?

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TranSurgeon 21 years ago

1) if the pan is rectangular, its a 4R70W

otherwise you have an E4

screw those high-priced Bowel and Enema converters; go to a transmission shop that does mainly trucks, outline your usage, let them pick a converter for you

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