I recently bought a 1990 F-250 SuperCab XLT Lariat Centurion 4x4. It has the 7.3l diesel and the E4OD transmission. Up till this truck I have never owned a truck with an automatic transmission, can anyone tell me any does and don'ts? Also I have heard rumour that this transmission is prone to failure. Is there any sustinance to this?

 

I owned a 95 f-350 crew cab 4x4 with the auto and the 460 gas.I used this truck for work both on and off road. My average G.V.W. averaged about 9000 to 9500 lbs. The tranny went at 56,000.Fortunately I purchased the extended warranty and Ford repaired it no questions asked. The service writer did inform that there were some problems with that tranny.On a better note I am now driving a 96' ,same package,same workload, 72,000 mi. no problems.

 

Just key in E4OD on any search engine and you will find enough to fill several days reading which includes some real horror stories. The early E4OD was prone to problems. There are modifications that can be added during a rebuild that helps the reliability of the tranny. Ford has issued many TSBs on this tranny. IMO, it shifts too softly and that equates slipping. I just can't think you can constantly slip a tranny under load and expect it to last. I put a Banks TransCommand in my current 1996 F53 chassis. The Banks improved the shift. I had a '95, ran it 37,K miles-NO problems. I had a "90 behind a 7.3 also. It never gave me any problems in about 50K miles. I would change fluid, filter (expensive), and see what is in the pan. All my trannys had paint in various locations on the case. My guess is that it is a "tell tale" if the tranny overheats.Good luck with it.
ray

 

 

I was wondering if anybody has new info on what year the E4OD was improved and what years to avoided, also how it is holding up today. I have a 4R70W in my truck and it lasted 130,000 miles, no problems. I usually pull a bass boat every few weekends but no real towing other than that.

 

I have a 95 F-150 2WD automatic with the inline 6. Do I have the E40D transmission?

 

This site (LINK) probably is the best site for Ford Tranny info. The page I linked has a rundown of the E4OD with various year's improvements.

 

Yeah the early E4OD especially diesels had problems. I think 1995 and up are considered to be reliable.

A tranny shop owner told me the torque convert on the early models was not strong enough and that was generally the start of problems. The diesel's torque really gave the TC a wrok out. Ford has upgraded many of the components since then.

My 94 F250Supercab longbed 460gas with 4.10 4x4 used for trailer tow went around 50K(bought used at 36K) but I believe much of the problem was my not checking the fluid regularly while towing. I was low when I noticed some harsh shifting and the fluid was pink, not red.

Good Luck,

Jim Henderson

 

My 2001 Excursion with the V10/E4OD is in the shop right now being rebuilt. With only 84,000 miles the shop owner said that he wouldn't have expected so much wear. He showed me the pieces of parts that had come apart and said that he was surprised to see that Ford still put the aluminum planetaries in the Excursion. He told me that the trucks had steel planetaries in them. Built on the same frame and weighing more than the trucks, I'm surprised too. I had this same thing happen to my 90 F-150 with the E4OD. Also my Excursion was one of eight Ford trucks in his shop for similar reasons with the E4OD. It is being rebuilt with all steel planetaries, conversion kit, better torque converter, and whatever else.