Felt like Trans. slip, AC not cooling, bump on stop returning

[FStephenMasek]

Today we noticed a big and strange problem. After driving about an hour, with stop and go, on the way from Orange County to LA, I noticed the engine roar increasing, and each shift seemed to take place at a higher RPM. The AC also stopped cooling well. Engine temperature was in the normal range. When I finally was one a surface street, it really slipped, with the engine speeding well up, but not much forward movement. Still, I made where I was going. After about 5.5 hours parked, I started it and it ran fine for about the first hour on the way to the San Fernando Valley. Again the higher shift points started. I mad it back to Garden Grove, then home to Mission Viejo. Any ideas on what could cause this?


I had the hard downshift to first problem on my 2006 Explorer V8, so Santa Margarita Ford worked on it just before 36,000 miles. They kept if for a few days. Now at 137,000 miles, the harsh downshift to 1st is occurring during some stops. When I first posted this after a Friday during which it acted really strange on a 60 mile trip to LA, as if the transmission was slipping. It also seemed at one point that the AC was not working well, not blowing cold air. However, on the way back it ran fine. It also ran fine the next two days it was driven.

 

[FStephenMasek]

The problem was a plugged radiator and sticking thermostat. The temperature gauge was not going into the hot zone, and the check engine light never came on. By the way, I did drain and refill the radiator coolant several times over the years.

I also had them reprogram the transmission and change the transmission fluid. I have only driven it one day after the repairs, but it seems to be working well.