vibration, and rough transmission?

[Explorin]

My first problem is my transmission seems a little rough going in and out of park to drive, or to reverse..it seems to make a clunk, then its fine..it doesn't whine or anything. i talked to Ford and they said they put a different transmission in on the 2003, and its not a problem, so I'm hoping I'm not going back there cause my transmission blew up...What do you guys think??

My second problem, and i think biggest problem is what i think is the 4x4 system..when i make turns coming out of my street(decently hard rights, and lefts) is seems to vibrate like 3 times, each lasting probably a 1/4 of a second..it does it every-time, and any time..doesn't matter if i just drove 100 miles, or drove down the street. What is it?? am i ok?? by the way, it goes into 4x4, and 4x4 low with out any problems. Doesn't make any weird sounds, and things like that..so i have no idea what going on.

The last thing is when i go up steep hills(7%) and give it a lot of gas(ok full throttle) when it gets high up in the rpms like around 5k, it shifts fine, but when it starts to climb in rpms, the engine goes back and forth about 100rpms...you can hear the engine i guess regulate between rpms..it does continue to go up in rpms, it doesn't just stop at a certain rpm..And this ONLY happens going up some type of hill..never in the flats

the explorer is a 2003 Eddie Bauer 4.6l v8 with 40k miles on it

I'm probably going to find a identical one to test drive to see if it does it..Hopefully I'm in the right forum..probably not though..SO i hope someone can help me out here thanks

 

[Old As Dirt]

None of the symptoms sound normal, but the last symptom of fluctuating RPMs lead me to believe that the problem is electronic as opposed to mechanical. That could cause all the symptoms stated.

Someone here with much more experience will probably head you in the right direction - probably preceeded by retrieving codes with the help of Auto Zone or a simular facility in your area.

Yes, I believe you are in the right area to get the information you need. Good Luck!

 

[Explorin]

ok thanks alot...ill be waiting for answers

 

[Explorin]

anyone else??

 

[Explorin]

come on now

 

[Explorin]

vibration and rough transmission??

My first problem is my transmission seems a little rough going in and out of park to drive, or to reverse..it seems to make a clunk, then its fine..it doesn't whine or anything. i talked to Ford and they said they put a different transmission in on the 2003, and its not a problem, so I'm hoping I'm not going back there cause my transmission blew up...What do you guys think??

My second problem, and i think biggest problem is what i think is the 4x4 system..when i make turns coming out of my street(decently hard rights, and lefts) is seems to vibrate like 3 times, each lasting probably a 1/4 of a second..it does it every-time, and any time..doesn't matter if i just drove 100 miles, or drove down the street. What is it?? am i ok?? by the way, it goes into 4x4, and 4x4 low with out any problems. Doesn't make any weird sounds, and things like that..so i have no idea what going on.

The last thing is when i go up steep hills(7%) and give it a lot of gas(ok full throttle) when it gets high up in the rpms like around 5k, it shifts fine, but when it starts to climb in rpms, the engine goes back and forth about 100rpms...you can hear the engine i guess regulate between rpms..it does continue to go up in rpms, it doesn't just stop at a certain rpm..And this ONLY happens going up some type of hill..never in the flats

the explorer is a 2003 Eddie Bauer 4.6l v8 with 40k miles on it

I'm probably going to find a identical one to test drive to see if it does it..Hopefully I'm in the right forum..probably not though..SO i hope someone can help me out here thanks

 

[Explorin]

someone has to know something

 

[Explorin]

...

 

[red82gt]

I've had 2 of the three problems with my 2002 4.6L 4wd explorer.

Sounds like the solenoid body in the tranny for the first problem, very common, not sure about the second problem.
As for the hill one, does it seem to be hunting in between gears? Kinda shaking? If so, that is also due to a failed solenoid body in the tranny.

I had the first symptom, which started as a "thunk" and will eventually become a delay in engaging reverse and then again going into park. It'll start to hunt at moderate to full throttle going up steep hills. These problems were all fixed by replacing the transmission solenoid body.

The part was $400 Canadian (probably about $350 USD) at the dealer but you can get it from online suppliers for a substantial discount.
It is something that can be done at home as it is just a straight swap, the toughest part is re-filling these transmissions with fluid.

I'm not sure if the early 2003 explorers still have the transmission with the problematic solenoid bodies (same as 2002) or not. I know that they definitely made changes to the 2004 transmission but I've run across a lot of people who have had the same problem with their 2003 explorers and Lincoln LS's with the 5r55w and 5r55s transmissions, so I'm not sure if there was a running change in 2003 or not.