2008 v8 sloppy shift 1-2

[RichCresci]

friends,

I’m looking into purchasing a 2008 V8 4x4 with 165k miles. The truck is in great shape and seems to have been really well maintained. The only issue I found was that it shifts really sloppy from 1st to 2nd. Ex every other shift point is fine. Is this normal for the high mileage v8’s? Any proposed fixes?

My last explorer was a 2003 V6 and that transmission has been clunking for 7 years and 40k miles.

Thanks in advance

 

[mounted]

Has the fluid and filter been changed? I'd start there. My 1-2 is a little "rougher" when cold if that makes sense but I wouldn't call it sloppy. After a few minutes warming up it shifts just like all the others.

 

[RichCresci]

I didn’t buy it yet, and it’s from a dealer so I have no way of knowing. It’s not a hard shift and it doesn’t slip. It’s just a clunky shift. But it’s only from 1 to 2 at low speeds.

 

[MNgopher]

Our '07 sometimes exhibits the same, only at slow speeds. The usual scenario is a rolling slow and hit the gas scenario, and good jerk when the shift happens.

That being said, its been that way since we got it, and my F150 with the same transmission does not exhibit the same problem. Thinking this is more a shift logic issue more than anything...

 

[RichCresci]

I’m not too worried about it. I’ll be sure to post if I get it! Thanks guys.

 

[mounted]

Mine is also clunky. If it makes you feel better just about every Ford vehicle I've owned has had some sort of clunky shift. Our 2017 Ford Fusion has a clunky 3-4.

 

[rustylugnut]

My v8 mountaineer has a pretty sloppy 1-2 shift. 166k miles. It's not very bad, but it isn't smooth. It upshifts smoothly around 3500rpm; but anywhere higher or lower and it acts strange. Sometime's it'll kinda flare on high throttle 1-2 upshifts too. I can also feel it kinda clunkily downshift back into first shortly before you stop when you're slowing down. I'm not sure the cause. I've looked around and I haven't been able to identify the issue.
If you want to check for another problem that may be related to the sloppy 1-2 issue, get going about 45mph, steady throttle, flat road. Look at the tach real close and see if the rpm jumps up and down about 200rpm every few seconds. Mine does that, and its a torque converter lockup problem. I've confirmed that the 1-2 flare is torque converter lockup related, and I've read that the slowing to a stop 2-1 downshift "bump" can be torque converter lockup related as well.
Possibly the sloppy 1-2 is also a torque converter problem. I'd look out for these other symptoms.

 

[ThunderbirdSport]

Mine feels a little jerky if I'm barely on the gas...if I get on it a little bit, it shifts fine. I don't abuse my ****, but a couple days ago, I pulled out of a gravel onto a two lane blacktop, there was a hill, can't see traffic...anyway, I ended up pulling out in front of a big truck..so flat out matted the go pedal and the thing took off like a rocket. Glad for full time 4wd and.or trac control, if it had been true 2wd, I'd have spun the hell out of the tires, I was on it that hard. 4.6 don't fawk around, lol.

 

[rustylugnut]

Mine feels a little jerky if I'm barely on the gas...if I get on it a little bit, it shifts fine. I don't abuse my ****, but a couple days ago, I pulled out of a gravel onto a two lane blacktop, there was a hill, can't see traffic...anyway, I ended up pulling out in front of a big truck..so flat out matted the go pedal and the thing took off like a rocket. Glad for full time 4wd and.or trac control, if it had been true 2wd, I'd have spun the hell out of the tires, I was on it that hard. 4.6 don't fawk around, lol.

Mine is the worst when I'm barely on the gas too. Like cruising through a parking lot. Shifts a lot better when I get into it. WOT can be real funky sometimes, but it's a TC issue I think.
The 3v 4.6 does move these things quite well.

 

[Arfunkel]

I am getting this on my 00 ford ranger with 4r44e. My next step is to adjust intermediate band. Check out this pdf, by process of elimination the intermediate band or low sprag are the only things that are different between this shift and the rest. I also recently replaced my valve body to eliminate 2-3 shift flare http://atraonline.com/gears/2003/2003-05/2003_5_50.pdf