Clearing computer by disconnecting battery cable

[sgtduckyboy]

If i do this, will it remove learned data from the transmission? reason why i ask is this; i have a 94 f-150, 5.8, auto, e40d tranny(i believe), and 250k miles on it. bought it last winter as a vehicle to move things around with once in a while. i needed it to actually move over the winter and it was fine, but i believe i was driving it hard with a large enclosed trailer hooked up and made several 30 mile trips with it full. as a result (possibly) i have the shudders in OD from 45-60 mph and giving it more pedal doesnt help. it goes away but occassionaly slips out and back in over 70 and when Cruise is on its just horrible, both systems are reading each other i beleive and neither can make adjustments. fluid looks fine, light red, and not smelling too bad(not scientific, i know, but fun to do). i remember another car i had, i had to disconnect the battery cable and leave it off for awhile as it had learned some bad habits from bad sensors and when i did that, (after replacing sensors) everything was fine with shifting etc... can this possibly help? i know it wont hurt to try, but wanted to see if anyone else has tried or if any of the experts have some insight. truck was running fine before i used it to tow the trailer and i was hard on it, i believe. thanks in advance for any advice. James

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[jethat]

in a couple of trucks actually. You tranny is on its way out. You can delay the inevitable rebuild by changing the fluid and filter but at some point in the future that's gonna get worse. Thet was my experiance any way..

[RaWarrior]

Unless you replaced some faulty sensors, disconnecting the battery (resetting the computer) won't help. It will just re-learn the same problems within a few drive cycles.

250k on the E4OD means it's had a good life. Time for a rebuild, or just buy another old used truck somewhere.

[sgtduckyboy]

even if learned behavior was because of the trailer in tow? i am thinking there might be a small chance it needs to relearn the shifting patterns and demands on the truck again. like i said, cant hurt but not likely.
thanks for your input! i am never always completely right, just lucky a lot!

[casey_1]

Originally Posted by sgtduckyboy

even if learned behavior was because of the trailer in tow? i am thinking there might be a small chance it needs to relearn the shifting patterns and demands on the truck again.

In '94 the transmission did not have any learned behavior. You can disconnect the battery without hurting anything, but it isn't going to help it, either.

[sgtduckyboy]

Thanks. my last one that did was a 95 eclipse, so I wanted to make sure.
its getting better, albeit temporarily, but maybe long enough for us since its our spare project vehicle.
thanks

[Steve83]

Yes, the E4OD adapts, and yes, pulling the (-) battery cable for ~5 min will clear ALL the adaptions (engine, too). But I agree that this PROBABLY won't help. You probably need to drive it a few hundred miles, and then get the fluid changed. A flush should do OK, but a real pan-drop & filter change would be better.

[casey_1]

Originally Posted by Steve83

Yes, the E4OD adapts,

The first year that Ford did adaptive on ANY transmission was 1999. And the first one was not the E4OD/4R100.