Problem After Transmission Rebuild

[Jeide]

I have a 2000 Ranger with a 3.0 flex fuel engine and a 4R44E transmission. I had DTCs P0715 and P1901, both having to do with the Turbine input shaft speed sensor. I took it to a shop to have the sensor replaced and do a rebuild while they were in there. I got word from the mechanic this past Friday that they have finished the rebuild and the transmission is installed again but that the engine immediately dies when putting the transmission into drive. I desperately need my truck back. I’m loosing work. The mechanic seems to be at a loss at this point. He says that it’s almost like the torque converter is being commanded on. I’m just trying to help my mechanic help me. Does anyone have any ideas as to what may be causing this? I personally don’t think that it’s the PCM because prior to taking it in, I swapped the PCM with a PCM that I had recently replaced and it gave me the same codes. Any explorable ideas would be greatly appreciated.

 

[franklin2]

Sorry to say, professional mechanics are not immune to making mistakes. If the truck was fine before, and now stalls after transmission work, then most likely it's something wrong in the transmission. Hold his feet to the fire, he is going to have to take it apart again.

 

[Jeide]

Update:
So after having an electrical guy look at it, they determined that it was the internal harness. I could’ve sworn that was on the long list of parts that they said they needed to replace.
So now, after that was sorted out, they need to test drive my truck. Apparently it started fine and ran fine for a few minutes, then shut off. They haven’t been able to start it since. I’m in a severe time crunch and they are not interested in trying to get it running (not their forté). I’ve been down there every chance I get and I need help. I’m at a real risk of losing my job this week if I don’t have a vehicle.
What I’ve done so far:
I did RonD’s 50/50 test and putting fuel into the throttle body gave me no signs of wanting to start. I put a fuel pressure gushed on the rail and have about 60 psi when the pump is engaged. I’m down to spark. I have 12V at the coil pack connector and tried a new coil pack. No improvement. I’m at a loss to know what to check next.
More info:
When I insert my key, the theft light comes on then goes out and remains out. I’m thinking maybe the truck doesn’t know it’s in park? I tried starting in neutral. No difference. I’m going to consult my shop manual next but please, any help is appreciated. Sooner the better. Compression? Ignition?

 

[Jeide]

Update:
I got a compression gauge and checked the compression with all the spark plugs out and removed the connector from my coil pack. 2 of the cylinders read about 110 psi (a little low from my research) and the rest were at about 150psi (a little high from my research). The plugs were all a bit wet. Could be wet from fuel but there was a smell of anti-freeze that began when I started testing the compression and lasted until I was done. A couple of the plugs had a muddy brown colored corrosion on them and one had a droplet on it that must have been water as it did not evaporate as I would have expected gasoline to do.
I’m not quite sure what my compression readings mean yet but I have a theory that when the mechanic reported that the engine stalled when they put it in gear (no telling how many times this happened), since the combustion wasn’t moving the pistons, the pressure had to go somewhere. Could this happening repeatedly have blown the intake manifold? They then tore into the tranny again and replaced the harness and put it back together and back into the truck. They started the truck just fine but after a few minutes the water worked its way into the cylinders to the point that it stopped and hasn’t started since?
Does this theory hold weight? I’m not quite sure how I should approach the mechanic at this point.

 

[franklin2]

Have you got it running yet? If not, you said some of the plugs were wet with fuel. If the plugs get fouled, sometimes they will not fire unless you take them out, clean them off with brake cleaner, let them dry, and then re-install them. They will sometimes get fouled if you are messing around with the engine a lot, cranking it with something disconnected but the fuel supply is still on.

 

[Jeide]

No. It’s still not running. I took off the intake manifolds and found a couple of spots on the gaskets where it looked like water had been passing. I decided to be thorough I might as well take a look at the head gaskets. As soon as I got the first head off, it began to rain. So I covered everything up and took a break. I resumed this morning and got the first head on just fine. But when I was torquing the second head, one of the bolts snapped. So I need to get another gasket and set of bolts and resume tomorrow. Thank you for the spark plug advice franklin2.

 

[franklin2]

The google AI says the 2000 ranger 3.0 has torque to yield head bolts. So you do need a new set, you can't reuse them. There is probably a special procedure for torquing them also. And as with all engines, there is a special sequence to tightening them. Good thing that one bolt broke.

 

[SenorNoob]

I hate changing TTY bolts, but they do work very well.