MY trucks issues

[james t]

Originally posted by aldive
Still, he admist he has little knowledge and pays some to do all the work, vould it be a different story with say, you, James, driving?

good point. however, traffic is traffic, and if it takes 3200 rpm shifts just to keep up with the retired couple in the 81 Caddy next to him, there HAS to be a problem. i drove around awhile ago in town driving "as Darkfox would". i accelerated hard enough from each light to shift in the mid-3000's, and every time i was first at the light i briskly pulled away from all around me. most times, i was stuck behind traffic and couldnt even do the test. and i know its not the fact that we have slow drivers in my town, because it is the same here as it is in Houston, Dallas, etc. people drive like idiots in town. if the speed limit on "main street" is 45, traffic usually flows atleast 55mph.

 

[aldive]

I would like to hear what an experienced driver says about a test ride.

 

[DarkFox1]

yes traffic here flows at 55 in the slower parts.. as high as 65 in the faster ones.. but only at 5PM... heh any other time its about 55..

how about what the tranny guy said?

"I have a v6 here right onw with transmission problems that would smoke you right here" or something along those lines.. obviously I couldn't remmeber verbatim

 

[SaleenEXP]

Originally posted by aldive
Not necessarly so. I had a fuel smell problem a year or so ago that I just could not find. There is a thread about it on here, It turned out to be a pin hole size hole in the graded fuel line on the front of the motor. The FP was normal and never could we see a leak.

maybe on a pinhole, but my friends Tahoe sprung a leak lol, covered the whole carriage and section near the line with gasoline and the fumes were seeping into the cabin, but the tear was a little bigger than a pin hole though so.......maybe the fuel line pressure is greater in the Tahoe?

 

[DarkFox1]

ok guys, I'm goin to the transmission shop in just a minte for a transmssion diagnosis.. gonna have him testdrive it once again (this shop has a very good rep. here) I dont know what is entailed in this diagnosis, but I will ask when I get there, they said I could wait on it and it would definatley be a same day thing so I'm just wondering if they're efficient.. or if the test doesn't cover much.

at any rate I printed out a list of potential problems they need to look for.. heres what I came up with

Transmission/Engine symptoms

*Vehicle is very slow

*as rpms increase in 1st and 2nd gear entire vehicle seems to tense up, ending in a hard shift (intermittant)

*when accelerating in cold weather vehicle hesitates to move even though pedal has been applied

*vehicle takes unusually long to downshift

*whlie putting vehicle in gear, or when pressing the gas during acceleration vehicle will seem to stall as if pedal was let off.. and then re-applied, yet no such thing has occured (intermittant)

*Transmission has a whining/wirring sound accompanied with a slight vibration as rpms climb in 1st gear, most often heard above 3000 rpm

*vehicle seems to lack power in upper rpms and acceleration seems to be uneven

*vehicle runs gears unusually long before shifting

Most of this stuff I think I've told yall, dont think I've left anything off. I'm thinking some of these items may give the tranny Xperts a direct idea of what could be a/the problem and could perhaps persue a test of that particular component..

I'l have a full reports when I come back

 

[james t]

good luck bro, were prayin' for ya.

and not to sound morbid, but i hope they find something wrong... and its a $30 part... and you are happier than you've ever been after they fix it...

 

[DarkFox1]

oh yea I'm hoping so too.. my dad says they're not going to.. he swears that theres nothing wrong.. but he drives soooooooooooooo slow.. hes only in his 50s.. but he drives like hes in his 70s..

he never drives the truck, and when he does he doesn't push it at ALL so.. I dont beleive him

ya if it were like a $30 part that would be jts fine.. especially if it were something that was like.. terminal that could have left me on the side of the road or something.. I dont think shortterm theres any danger of that.. but longterm there may be.

 

[V8-X]

Good luck, and again lets hope it's not something too expensive.

I know what you're going through, so there must be something wrong, or else our X's wouldn't act as they are currently. I would suggest going with the tech on the test drive to explain what happens and to show him when the problem occurs.

My X is going back in on Friday for further testing. I'm hoping to find the problem then, or at least narrow down the problem to a specific area. I'll keep everyone posted with my results or findings.

DarkFox1-Let's post both of our findings to see what the two different shops determined to be wrong. That is if they can find anything.

 

[DarkFox1]

ok, I will not hesitate to say what comes out of it

we drove 1/4 of a tank off it on test drives today.. it wasn't doing anything unsual today (it knows when a tech is there) whether I drove or him.. not even the whine in 1st wihch it ALWAYS does.

I left it with them to test drive tomorrow morning when its cold. he said theres no point in dropping the pan in its curent state and dind't want to have to charge me for that until he sees for himself anything thats cause for such an inspection.

I wish one of these workers drove a v8 X.. then they'd know what its SUPPOSED to feel like..

 

[V8-X]

"I wish one of these workers drove a v8 X.. then they'd know what its SUPPOSED to feel like.."

My thoughts exactly!!!!!!!!

Sorry to hear that nothing was found so far. Hopefully in the morning they'll be able to find it. I know exactly what you're going through, acts up all the time, except when you want or need it to. This morning my X felt almost right, but not perfect. Where last night the truck was having all the symptoms it usually does. I'm hoping when the X goes in tomorrow, it's acting up. A resolution to this problem would be nice, since it's been going on for so long.

Thanks for the FYI on your situation. Keep us posted and tomorrow I'll let everyone know what's up with my X, if they find that darn gremlin.

 

[DarkFox1]

thats always the way it is

if theres one thing the ford PCM knows how to do is hide from mechanics lol man I've taken this truck to like 3 or 4 different shops.. every single time my problems hide themselves.. bury themsevles deep..

the only thing that remains.. is that its slow as anything.. and apparently mechanics care nothing about speed.. they dont consider a vehicle being slow a "problem"

I hope it does too.. its very **** in the mornings for me.. lets see how it treats them at 9AM when its like 40 outside.. cos its like trying to wake up a little kid for school when I have to head to campus

 

[V8-X]

I was checking through another Ford Forum and came acoss the following information. Check this out, as I believe this may be part of the problem. From what this Forum is stating, my bogging feeling is due to the Torque Converter locking up. This talks about tightening the Valve Body bolts when you drop the pan on the transmissions. This should clear any shudder in the transmission. What are everyones thoughts on this post?

http://www.ford-trucks.com/dcforum/DCForumID27/65.html

 

[james t]

hmmm...... sounds like part of Darkfox's problem...

 

[SaleenEXP]

Originally posted by james t
hmmm...... sounds like part of Darkfox's problem...

could be....maybe thats why it sounded like it shifted like a manual 5.0 Mustang, slams into each gear with a hard clunk, and has that shudder noise......could very well be the problem I think

 

[DarkFox1]

I've thought about it being the TC for a whlie.. but I thought maybe the transmission shop would find this themselves if they start having the problems.

if it is such a problem.. how can it be so intermittant?

hey v8 does it bog on you like.. mid drive? the other day I came to a stop at a redlight on my way to campus with it driving fine.. I didnt' feel any changes.. but when I took off again the truck felt like it weight twice when it did when I stopped.

could this TC issue do such a thing? and still maintain how intermittant it is?

glad you found that v8, this is the only explorer forum I'm a member of besides an MSN community, so.... I dont talk about this anywhere else but here and wiht my friends/family

 

[Jason_25]

V8-X, I'd like to thank you for posting that. Our 97 has had that problem for some time now.

 

[V8-X]

DarkFox1-My problem comes and goes as it wants. I can always tell it's not working perfectly, but it gets worse at times. Like you this does happen a lot after I stop, and with me evidentally after the TC locks up (bogging down between 30-40mph). I mostly notice this after I get off the highway and make a complete stop. When I try to get going again, it's like someone dropped a ton of gravel in the back. The X just doesn't respond. Other times it's not as bad.

I'm with you on the TC issue. I thought this may be the problem, but why it works bad sometimes and some what okay at others has gotten me puzzled.

I've gotten some pretty reliable info from this site before, but it covers all Ford Trucks/SUV's, not just the Explorer. Hope it helps though.

 

[DarkFox1]

oh ya, its definatley a lead.. infact I'm tempted to sign up there myself and see what they have to say..

 

[V8-X]

I've been using both these Forums to diagnose this problem, which so far I haven't gotten it fixed. I would still recommend signing up, a lot of good info on this site. It's all about Ford, so there are some good suggestions and ideas to go off of.

 

[V8-X]

Does anyone have thoughts on what a bad Vehicle Speed Sensor would do? If anyone would mind checking out this site. Think this might be part of the problem? Thanks


Dead Link Removed

As stated before, I have an idle problem, and the X starts to bog down I believe when the TC locks up?