17 replies to this topic

[Terry Haines]

..a while back I said I would post some info I dug up on the 'runaway line pressure' and some common faults on the CD4E trans...well I found it.From 'TransGo' who make the CD4E shift kit...early docs(scanned to Word) but the info re mech issues,pinouts etc may be of help to all...




 tg1.doc   2.71MB   403 downloads  tg2.doc   2.42MB   281 downloads  tg3.doc   2.45MB   255 downloads  tg4.doc   2.6MB   265 downloads





..I should also add that this info make reference to the 'Code 628' so I advise you read it all before you start changing TSS and other sensors!!!!

[bmxcontour]

is that the info from the kit i brought to you for install a while back? looks very familiar to me. i am glad you kept that b/c i was going to ask you for those papers back, but i forgot at that time.

Ben

[Terry Haines]

..yes and that was a few years ago!! So how is the trans 'today'????

[bmxcontour]

well when i drove it last time, june 07, it shifted smooth as butter still. i did the first fluid change since you did the VB in june 07. i couldn't really drive it too far, since it has no current registration and it acquired a bad exhaust leak from a spot in the exhaust that rusted from it being stored the year before last... but once my tour in Iraq is over, i will be getting some work done on it...i have some slight power plans andsome visual plans as well.

-Ben

[Terry Haines]

...well that TransGo kit has been in a fair number of years so from that I think we can say it works very well!...Not a bad install eh!!

[bmxcontour]

i would say it was a great install....would recommend it to anyone with a CD4E. i only have driven it about 30K miles or so since way back then......but still as good as the day those gaskets finally came in, and it was finished!!!!

Advisory to anyone wanting to do this: the kit does not come with the VB gaskets. make sure to have them before the install happens. it has been so long since i gone over the car i can't remember how many or exactly what gaskets they are. Terry do you remember?

[Terry Haines]

..you need 4 on the valve body, 2 of each part number...and a pan gasket.
I'm considering selling some valve body assys with Sonnax valves and the TransGo kit fitted for exchange. Two levels of valve body here 95>96 and 97>up....

[mjhootman]

My wife bought a 95 Contour for $500. It had 113k on it, and started great, and ran good-- until it warmed up-- then the trans would "slip"-- (explained further later)

I feared the worst, since I've owned a few POS's in my day, and figured the tranny was on it's way out-- until one day, it started to run a little hotter than normal, and the trans shifted fine, no "slips".

Took it to trans. shop, they did a diagnostic on it and road test-- their "expert" resolution-- a $1700 rebuild.

No way was I going to drop $1700 into a $500 car.

After driving it myself for a while to see if I could figure out the issue-- I decided it wasn't "slipping" per se, but moreso like it was hunting for the gear it "should" be in-- as determined by the car's sensors, etc. (You'd think the trans shop's electronic diagnostics would have checked for this)

Anyway, after hunting the 'net, etc. (this site lol)-- I took a shot in the dark and yanked a trans. range sensor off a junk car for $8. Put it on our car-- TA DA! Fixed. No "slips"-- no more running hotter than normal (I think it was running a little hot because it would usually end up being put into a lower gear than it needed to be in, causing the engine to run harder)

So... thanks to the site, and to You-Pull-It junkyard for my $8 repair instead of a $1700 rebuild which probably wouldnt' have solved the problem.

Now if I could only figure out why it idles rough in drive, but if you put it in nuetral, the idle is smooth as silk.

[BuckeyeSVT]

mjhootman, on Oct 19 2008, 01:05 PM, said:

My wife bought a 95 Contour for $500. It had 113k on it, and started great, and ran good-- until it warmed up-- then the trans would "slip"-- (explained further later)

I feared the worst, since I've owned a few POS's in my day, and figured the tranny was on it's way out-- until one day, it started to run a little hotter than normal, and the trans shifted fine, no "slips".

Took it to trans. shop, they did a diagnostic on it and road test-- their "expert" resolution-- a $1700 rebuild.

No way was I going to drop $1700 into a $500 car.

After driving it myself for a while to see if I could figure out the issue-- I decided it wasn't "slipping" per se, but moreso like it was hunting for the gear it "should" be in-- as determined by the car's sensors, etc. (You'd think the trans shop's electronic diagnostics would have checked for this)

Anyway, after hunting the 'net, etc. (this site lol)-- I took a shot in the dark and yanked a trans. range sensor off a junk car for $8. Put it on our car-- TA DA! Fixed. No "slips"-- no more running hotter than normal (I think it was running a little hot because it would usually end up being put into a lower gear than it needed to be in, causing the engine to run harder)

So... thanks to the site, and to You-Pull-It junkyard for my $8 repair instead of a $1700 rebuild which probably wouldnt' have solved the problem.

Now if I could only figure out why it idles rough in drive, but if you put it in nuetral, the idle is smooth as silk.

Does it idle rough (to the feel) or idle rough as engine is missing?

95's were very common for the left side framerail upper mount to completely collapse causing the transmission to sit on the cradle. This causes a rough idle while in gear... You may want to peak behind the left front wheel and see if the bottom of the trans case is sitting on the subframe.

-Dom

[KAOS_2.5M]

is it loosing power when it "rough idles"?

some stuff I'm just going to through out there--

dirty MAF

cruddy wiring at the EGR solinoid

dirty IAC

[Terry Haines]

Now if I could only figure out why it idles rough in drive, but if you put it in nuetral, the idle is smooth as silk.


....engine type is...V6 or 4 cyl??

[mjhootman]

Terry Haines, on Oct 20 2008, 04:15 AM, said:

Now if I could only figure out why it idles rough in drive, but if you put it in nuetral, the idle is smooth as silk.


....engine type is...V6 or 4 cyl??

Sorry it took so long to respond-- work has been CRAZY!

It's a 4cyl. When at idle (in Drive) it's almost as if the car just wants to cut out-- the lights dim, etc. When you take your foot off the brake, it lurches forward -- I'll try to describe the best I can in text, and since I'm not a mechanic, I definitely don't know the proper technical terms to use.

Idling... in drive.... foot on the brake. Idle is rough, almost like it's going to cut out, lights dim, car shakes a bit. Release brake, and it rhythemically (is that a word?) lurches forward, as if it were getting "gas.......no gas.......gas.....no gas" very quickly... but once up to idle speed... it's pretty smooth.

And--

Idling... in neutral... smooth as silk. No misses, no lights dimming, no rough shaking of the car, nothing.

Anything obvious I'm missing? It has new plugs and wires, and the air filter is pretty clean, no crud build up in the MAF sensor-- but doesn't mean it's not bad--

Someone mentioned a mount to check for behind the driver's wheel to see if it's busted loose or rusted off-- but not sure where I'm supposed to look for it. Couldn't find a diagram online.

Thanks in advance for your help (everyone)-- I'll check back and go through your list-- when I pinpoint it-- I'll be sure to post the solution.

[Terry Haines]

.....switch the heat control (vent/floor etc etc) to the 'OFF' position...does it still have a rough idle? (This turns off the A/C compressor that does operate even in most heat modes and takes that load off the engine)

[giganto]

Terry Haines, on Oct 29 2008, 04:01 AM, said:

.....switch the heat control (vent/floor etc etc) to the 'OFF' position...does it still have a rough idle? (This turns off the A/C compressor that does operate even in most heat modes and takes that load off the engine)

That's some handy non-intuitive information for my conversion. I want to run the A/C off a belt drive, but I only want it pulling a load if the switch is on "A/C" or "MAX A/C" to minimize battery drain. Should I run a manual bypass switch to the dash, or are there simply some settings to avoid? I have to also run the heater core with a ceramic heating element, so I don't want a double-drain if it's trying to run the heating element and compressor at the same time!

I just got my transmission adaptor plate and clutch plate motor coupling, so now I have to drill mounting holes, outline the bell housing on the plate, and cut away the excess metal.

[Terry Haines]

...if you study the wiring diag you could put an in-line switch in the A/C clutch circuit...but be aware both the clutch and the A/C compressor take quite a draw on both the electrical system for the clutch...and the power from your elect motor...

[giganto]

Terry Haines, on Oct 30 2008, 06:31 AM, said:

...if you study the wiring diag you could put an in-line switch in the A/C clutch circuit...but be aware both the clutch and the A/C compressor take quite a draw on both the electrical system for the clutch...and the power from your elect motor...

I guess that's why some converters just put in a separate little motor to run the A/C compressor. The shop manual says 4.36 Amps at 12.6 Volts. It's part of the compromise between the losses from the electro magnetic field engaging the A/C compressor clutch, plus the complexity of adding a drive belt and mounting the compressor and the loss due to the weight of the the extra motor to drive the compressor.

If I have to spec a motor to drive the compressor, I'd probably need the optimal RPM. The manual says I need a maximum of 7 lb-ft of torque to turn. I'd guess it's optimized at cruising speed, say 2000 RPM on the tachometer. The tachometer read what drives a 6" diameter pulley wheel for the belt drive, which then drives a 5" diameter pulley for the A/C clutch pulley. At 2000 RPM, the belt passes by the 6" pulley (with a circumference of 18.85") at 37700 inches per minute. Running 37700 inches per minute past a 5" diameter pulley (with a circumference of 15.71") results in 2425 RPM. So, I need to spec a 12 or 120 V motor about 2400 RPM with a maximum of 7 ft-lb of torque. Wish me luck!

[ChrisH]

This is an old thread so my comments may not be of value anymore but i had a similair problem with trany bouncing off subframe in front of wheel on left side.

I shimmed mount up with flat washers until i had a chance to replace mount. i think it went approx 20km that way lol...
Solved my problem.

[FastCougar]

Not trying to hijack this, but I just want to let everyone know that I have rebuilt a CD4E and have all the specialized OTC tools for the job along with the factory rebuild manuals, so if its looking like something you want to bite into, let me know and we can work out a deal for the tools & manuals.