Harsh shift after replacing transmission

[Gormy]

Hey guys,

You've always been a lot of help with all my posts on here and it's time for another one. I really, really want to ditch my Explorer because it is such a p.o.s but I'm stuck with it due to being cash strapped. It is a 2002 Limited, 4.6L V8, 3.73 LS rear, AWD.

I have a hard shift issue as well as a slow shift issue that differ depending on the circumstance. But here's the thing, I've replaced the trans with a rebuilt one and it's still doing it. So I don't know if it is something else entirely. I apologize in advance for how long this description will be, but I want to give you as much info as I can. If you think you know what it is, please stick it out and read it all and comment below. I am at wits end and I can't afford to replace the vehicle right now.

Conditons:
-Shifting hard between gears, sometimes after a slight delay (slow shift).
-After pulling a trailer (~1,000lbs) for 30 miles I backed it up my driveway which has a very slight incline. When I shifted it from park to reverse to get closer to the garage, it sounded and felt like someone took a huge swing at a metal work bench with a hammer. It shook so hard and sounded like something was slamming metal together, about to break out of the truck.
-Going into or out of OD it up/downshifts with a hard hit.
-On a cold start when I put it into reverse to back down the driveway (again, very minimal decline) and press lightly on the gas, the engine revs up to a higher rpm than it should for how slowly the truck is backing up. It seems like reverse isn't fully engaged or the fluid isn't doing it's job.

That's all I can think of right now. I will add more later if I remember.

Recent repairs: (I will list to rule out any other possible problems)
-All four wheel bearings replaced (one rear was seized to the knuckle so bad a 30 ton press couldn't separate, so I put a new knuckle and rear half shaft on as well).
-Brakes all the way around
-Rear toe arms
-All four front balljoints (uppers w/ control arms)
-Front sway bar links
-All three diffs flushed
-Rear coil springs
-Rear brake caliper
-And of course the biggest one, the transmission. Replaced with a reman unit that was supposed to have a new torque converter, new shift solenoid and whatever upgrade can be made to the servo bore pin wear issue (or whatever it is, I don't know entirely what the issue was with that, I just know these transmissions are terrible).

All of these repairs were done in the garage by myself with the exception of the transmission replacement and diff flushes. I am very mechanically inclined with all of the basic repairs. Problem is, all the Ford dealers in the area are not very credible in my eyes (I've worked for half of them). They drove it and said they can't feel anything wrong with it. Last night when it shifted terribly hard with the trailer I was home alone, otherwise I would have had the wife come out while I laid under it to find where the noise came from. I wanted to put my hands on the transmission and the t-case while someone shifted it to see where the slop is coming from.

So with all of what I said above, does anyone know where the issue may be or have dealt with something similar? Is it a bad transmission still? Or an internal transmission part like a shift solenoid? I have a warranty on the transmission, so I need to get it fixed soon if that's the problem. Could it be in the t-case, u-joints, etc? All I know is it's not the front or rear diffs (I believe at least) because I can hear it coming from right under the seat. Diff fluid looked good on each, no metal came out.

Any ideas at all would be a huge help guys! I apologize for how long this is, but I've invested $5,000 this year into this piece of crap and it's still not where it needs to be. Body is in great shape, no rust (amazing for a Wisconsin vehicle), fully loaded. It still has a lot of value which I'm counting on when I sell it for a pickup in the next year.

I really, really need help on this one.

 

[fusseli]

Sorry, but I'm in a rush and didn't have time to read your whole post.

I will say, after having my tranny replaced by Ford, it took a good 1000 miles on the new one for the PCM to learn how to shift smoothly all the time. The electronic transmission is very advanced and "learns" how to apply each shift every time the computer is reset, which compensates for wear and tear with age. I'd say give it time.

On my new tranny I have what I would describe as a noisy torque converter. It hasn't caused any drivability issues but I do get the occasional thud while letting off the gas going up hills or coming to an abrupt stop. I haven't tried taking it in for a warranty claim yet since it seems fine everywhere else.

 

[imp]

Ditch the "P.O.S." and spare us here the frustration of trying to help out here, where MOST guys are appreciative. imp

 

[LubeMan1]

Wtf ??? Imp??

 

[JoshMcMadMac]

If it is covered under warranty, make them fix it properly. You paid good money for it, so use it!

 

[Gormy]

My old transmission had the really noisy torque converter. Sitting at a stop I could hear the thing whining/rattling. Drove me nuts. This one had a few of the harsh torque converter "bumps" when quickly letting off the gas since it was replaced. But what I'm getting annoyed by is that the tech said it is fine. That's why I said I don't have confidence in the dealers near me. Since then it keeps getting worse. I don't have the money to take guesses at this thing and replace one piece at a time, so that's why I was asking if anyone has had similar issues. Does it sound like the tranny is bad? Is it a specific part of it like the shift solenoid? I've put about 4,000 miles on this tranny so I think how it feels is how it's going to be. I just want to rule out as many other problems and narrow it down to the transmission if that's what's shot again.

 

[fusseli]

Yeah, I don't really have anything to suggest. I drove on my dying tranny for a couple years before replacing it so it's hard to know how the new one *should* act... For example, my old dead torque converter would grind and rattle at a stop and was so loud while driving it sounded like I had a diesel. The new one is silent at a stop but is audible while driving until it locks up above 40mph. I'm not sure if it's worth taking in and I'm sure they'd tell me it's "fine"

 

[imp]

Wtf ??? Imp??

OK. Maybe I'm at fault here, but....

The money invested is already more than the truck is worth, even though fixed to some degree.

It's all being done to ostensibly "dump" the result on the next unsuspecting buyer.

Most guys fix for future enjoyment, unless in the repair business. Those I have "heart" for, a lot.

Lastly, I foresee a nightly rigmarole over this one, a lot of time invested with no rewarding returns.

So, maybe I'm wrong. Happened before. Bail out this vehicle, and I'll keep quiet. Always have been too outspoken, anyways. Sorry! imp

 

[LubeMan1]

Hey IMP, Not trying to bust your balls or anything, I pretty new to this forum and I can see you've been here awhile and probably know more about posters motives better than I, so Sorry if i came off like a D**k.

I just saw someone who needed advice or help is all.

 

[pet575]

Maybe the simplest thing to check is to make sure the proper amount of fluid is in the transmission. I've heard of people having these types of problems after working on a tranny because they were a couple quarts short on fluid even though they thought they filled it. Cheap and easy first step.

 

[Gormy]

Hey imp. Can you do me a favor and just stop commenting on my post? You're really not helping anything and you're becoming quite annoying. I don't appreciate being accused to "dumping" it on the next unsuspecting buyer. If I were going to screw someone over I would have passed the noisy back wheel bearings off as chopped tires and the transmission slop as worn out u-joints.

I wouldn't have invested $5,000 into this thing if I was intent on screwing someone with it. I am at a crossroads trying to continue fixing this thing or getting rid of it (in good shape, i.e. after this issue is fixed). This thing is damn near new now, mechanically, and the only reason I see to get rid of it is I just inherited a boat w/ a tandom axle trailer weighing ~4,500lbs. I don't know yet if this thing will ever get to any kind of shape to pull it w/ the shifting issue (maximum towing capacity of 7,000lbs). If it won't, I need to get it running correctly and sell it after that. Otherwise I will be keeping it. Either way I am tried of how it shifts after this kind of investment.

Thanks for the tip pet575. I am going to check it soon. I am on the phone with my connection at the Ford dealer that installed it, and he is explaining how to check it. I will post my results. Besides that he isn't sure what else it could be. This is why I am looking for answers in this forum - no dealers in my area know what to do next.

 

[Gormy]

Hey guys. Sorry for the delay on an update. I work from home in real estate and with how slow the market has gotten it, I've only put a couple hundred miles on the Explorer in the past several weeks.

I checked the fluid level and it is fine. I made an appointment with another Ford dealer (one I used to work for - not entirely happy about having them look at it but there aren't many other options unless I am going to drive a very long ways). It goes in Friday. They are going to hook it up to computers to scan for codes (which I know there aren't any), pressure check it to see if it is shifting how and when it should, and so on. So hopefully I'll have an answer later in the week.

I will update you with what they find. From the description I gave them they believe it is a shift solenoid issue, but I still think it's more than that with how hard it slams in to gears. It sounds like it could be a shift solenoid and a torque converter. We'll see.

 

[D Hook]

I was reading something today on this forum about resetting the PCM by disconnecting the battery cables and crossing the two cables to drain the capacitors. It said the PCM can cause bad shift points and needs to relearn the shift points properly or will result in the symptoms you describe. Let me try to find the thread. Maybe it's part of the problem, maybe not.

 

[D Hook]

Here it is:

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=396533

 

[Gormy]

Thanks for the tip D Hook. And it's actually funny you mention that. The battery went dead a couple weeks ago (old battery combined with it's been sitting for a while). I had the battery out and disconnected for several hours while I ran and got a new one. Since then the truck has been shifting a little better, but some issues went away while others arose. Now it doesn't want to hit OD while it's cold. I ran it a solid mile/mile and a half down the highway at 60+ MPH and it was at 2,500 RPM. Suddenly it shifted hard and RPMs dropped to 1,800...

Ford has it now and they just called saying it's done. They couldn't find anything wrong, of course, after driving it 25 miles. He said the tech actually commented about how he liked the way it shifts. They pressure tested it on the computer for the shift points and the solenoid is within spec. They did find a reprogram/update for the shift points pertaining to the adaptive learning of the transmission. The fact that it wasn't done when I had the transmission installed by the other dealer really pisses me off.

I don't know if that is going to help it any or not. I hope so, but we'll see. It's getting pretty annoying because I know I am not crazy. Friends and family have ridden in it and have all felt how bad it shifts.

I will update once it is driven a couple hundred miles to see if anything changed.

 

[D Hook]

Very interested to hear how it comes out.

 

[howserss]

update

Any update on this. Did your problem get corrected.

 

[Gormy]

Sorry for the delay guys. It still does it from time to time. I haven't pulled much since the reflash so I cannot speak to that. But it does have a random hard shift here and there. I notice it every time I go through a roundabout. It revolves around the speed at which I decelerate to go through it and what gear it's in going into the turn. All of a sudden as I'm 1/4 of the way through, BAM. It slams hard into the lower gear.

Something else I've noticed too; I don't know how this relates; I will be at highway speed, slight pressure on the gas to maintain speed (no speed changes), and if there is any bit of snow on the ground or any kind of concrete that could be slick, out of nowhere as I'm lightly applying pressure to the gas it slams hard and feels like it downshifted abruptly (although it did not because the RPMs didn't change). I don't know a good way to describe it besides feeling like a harsh shift, or like a brake caliper locked on it and caused it to suddenly jerk back and then released (but with a loud metal noise). I watched the tach the other day as it did it. I was going 60 at right around 2,000rpm as it slammed.

I don't know if that has anything to do with it. It could be happening often and just lining up sometimes with a shift point. Who knows. But this just started in the last two months (the jerking at times other than shifting).

At this point I don't know if it is worth it to keep looking. I may just start stockpiling money towards a new pickup and let this thing fall apart under me. I wanted to get it mechanically sound as the body is in great shape and it has every option, but some of these gremlins may never be worked out. I may just need to drive it and trade it in knowing it will go to auction and onto a parts shop so nobody else gets stuck with it.