man am i glad i found this site.this is my first ford and first auto in a truck.bought a 91 4x4 36 days ago. drivin home tonight i saw smoke in the mirror so i pulled over and got out . looked like id parked over a campfire.i smelled atf so i hauled it on home(20 mi. rural interstate)and crawled under it and saw that my undercarrige is now well protected from rust.tranny had shuuddered since i got but had heard that was common.so i get to lookin on the web for a new tranny and found yall.got to readin and figured out that its probably the torque converter.so do yall think i can just replace the TC or do i need to keep lookin at trannys? i need help!! it didnt feel like it was slippin till about 2 miles from the house and then it wasnt bad.what do yall think did i fry the tranny, or stress it enough to need a rebuild soon? its got 134000 miles on it so what is it new TC or new tranny?

 

I think you might wanna give a little more info..

Like, did you check the fluid level and quality when you first drove truck.

Front seal leaking?

Is there a tranny cooler on it?(there should be,if not and you're keeping truck install one)


Were you towing anything?

Is your OD light flashing?

Was it shifting funny prior to fluid problem?

Etc.

I'm no expert,but have read alot due to I just purchased a higher mile truck with a E40D

If truck sat for an extended period prior to you buing it front seal may have given out or been on its way.

The first thing I'd do, knowing what I've learned recently is go to your local auto supply store,buy 16 quarts of mercon fluid and a good drain pan and a new filter.

My new advanced auto filter came with a new rubber gasket.

Drain torque converter and pan,check for metal pieces on magnet in tranny pan.and fluid quality. then go from there.

It took me one hour to do mine and I learned alot .

To drain torque converter,lay under tranny and look for 2 inch rubber plug in front of tranny,pry plug out and slowly tap key until the 7/16 bolt head is visible through hole.remove and let torque converter drain for 25 minutes.Then slowly lower tranny pan and drain the remaining fluid out.

Magnet should have a fuz of metal on it with no large pieces of metel on it.clean magnet and pan,change filter and fill back up.

Fill 4 quarts at a time,between fills start truck up and shift through each gear for 5 seconds then fill 4 more quarts untill you put 12 in.then drive truck and top off whats needed.

I though my tranny was toast,but after a back to back tranny drain in 2 weeks,it drives better.

My truck also shudders and am leaning on a bad torque converter,and I too have a front seal leak.

when I drop tranny next week, to change front seal which is semi easy,Ill inspect torque converter.

They say obvious signs of a bad converter is a bluish purple front from over heating.Its kinda common from 1988-1997

 

cool man i appreciate the advice. i wasnt towing or hauling anything. just doin 70 down I49 on a friday evening.ill run to autozone tomorrow afternoon.i hate to sound stupid but what fluid do i need?i bought it from the local chevy dealershipit was a super clean trade in. you can tell its never been in the woods.but it had no owners manual.and i havnt got around to go buy a chiltons on it yet. on second thought ill get it tomorrow while im at it.

 

Sounds like decent truck

Here's what I've found out about fluids.

E4OD's came with Mercon/Dextron III

Do not buy Mercon V.

It's for new trucks say 1997 and up and its a bit more money too.

You should buy 2 large/1 gallon mercon's

and 6 seperate quarts of mercon.

When job is done put old fluid all back in the gallon jugs you bought.

Ask your advanced auto,mine took old fluid back for disposal,some dont.

Pour one gallon in dipstick hole,and shift through each gear for five seconds. another gallon repeat shifting then 4 seperate quarts repeat shifting,then drive it.

I drove mine with 12 quarts for 1 mile then pour a half a quart at a time till its on dip stick.

Too much tranny fluid is no good cuz it foams up and can mess up shifting. and over pressure tranny.

I put too much in then I had to drop one quart out of torque converter to get proper level.

IF you lose fluid again after the filter change,atleast you can get some ideas on what your inside trann looks like metal shavings etc.

when pulling down filter,make sure you get rubber seal that holds filter in place,mine stuck up in hole so I had to pry it out with a hook screwdriver.

Spray WD40 in new filter seal to let it slide in hole better on install.

Good luck.

 

thancks for the info but im gonna bite the bullet and have it rebuilt.i plan on keepin this truck for a long time so im gonna replace the tranny with a P.A.T.C ENFORCER . dont know how to do links sorry.do a search for e4od youll find it.anyway the shop is 30 min from the house so im gonnafill tranny up and fog for sketters to the shop. i plan on running 36 inchers on this truck so might as well add the beef while im at it.by the way the truck will be my daily driver also plan on 6 inch long arm system.thanks for the advice and ill be seein yall around.

 

For what it's worth....fluid changes are good preventive maintenance, but it will not fix anything. If it blew fluid out the vent, or the front, it has a problem. Sorta' like changing the oil in a motor with a rod knockin'.......