"Hard" shift at about 25 mph

[76L82]

My '02 XLT experiences what I would call a "hard" shift in the transmission when I hit about 25 mph. This typically happens when I am driving around town and lightly accelerating. The sound usually occurs when I am slowly moving up in speed, the vehicle hits about 25 miles an hour and I let off the gas pedal...it feels as if the tranny has been "tricked", as it wants to go into 3rd?? but the gas pedal has been released and it is slowing down...just as this happens..there is a pretty good 'lurch' and a quite a loud "Ka thunk" from the transmission. This doesn't happen everytime around town or when I am accelerating up through the gears..but it happens when the above conditions coome together. When there is a constant acceleration, for example on the highway, the thing shifts as smoothe as silk. It also doesn't use a drop of transmission fluid either. I had a tranny flush at 35,000 and the technician said that the fluid looked good.

On my old th350's, the cause of this would be an unadjusted vacuum module...heck on something like this thing it's probably the 'flux capacitor'. I also realize you can't check the fluid on these things either.

Any thoughts??

 

[JasonF]

My 04 does a similar thing although I believe it is a bit slower, more like 15-20 mph. Like you it happens when coasting and then lightly re-applying the accelerator, the tranny just seems to decide to change gears at the last second and results in a bit of a lurch forward. I have sort of gotten used to it and try to bring the revs up as slow as possible to minimize it, since I don't think this is enough of a problem to warrant bringing it to the dealer and going through that headache.

 

[trucku]

My damn truck does the same. I took it to the Ford Service Center and they could not duplicate. I can never get it to duplicate when I need to. And on highway I can accelerate like a champ. Gonna do a tranny flush and filter change myself, and then install the remote filter.

 

[76L82]

Hey guys! I think we're on to something here. I actually had my tranny flushed at the recommended mileage and still no change. Now here's something...my wife had 2 kayaks loaded on top with 4 bikes on a rack..she drove it up country..more hilly terrrain...and she said that due to the load added to the vehicle, the thing shifeted like a champ..no problems!

I'm not exactly sure what this means but the thought of adding 500 extra pounds to the vehicle doesn't sound like the best solution to me...especially with the cost of gas these days.

Any other owners who have had this diagnosed and solved?

 

[Glacier991]

can you tell me what gear change this happens in ? 2-3? 3-2? what ?

 

[76L82]

Glacier - I really don't know much about these vehicles but I would guess that when I take off I am already in first gear, so to speak, I can feel it shift again with no problem before it reaches 25 miles an hour...however right about 25 mph, the vehicle shifts again and that's when this problem comes to light...it seems to me that it is when it shifts to "3rd gear" but I really don't know if what I described as 'shifting' actually correlates to the correct gear...sorry about that.

 

[Glacier991]

It sounds like you may possibly have a torn gasket in your main control body (sometimes called valve body), or it may just need to be retorqued. Ask the dealer to run the TSB's (technical service bulletins) for you. I think you may find something.

 

[awdrocks]

enjoy!!!

http://forums.carreview.com/showthread.php?t=93&page=1&pp=25

These trannys are JUNK!!!

 

[trucku]

Starting to hear noise from the rear. Kinda whirring noise, but when I let off the gas. Got a extended warranty, I will wait till the crap blows up into pieces then they can fix it. Ford service can't fix anything on its way out. It has to be totally broke or them dumb jerks wond know hat to do. What ever happened to mechanics that can fix things?

 

[92greenexplorer]

My 93 Ranger Does The Same Thing I Cant Find Out What It Is Id Does It About 25 Mph And It Is Only Between 1st And 2nd

 

[E.B. Cornburner]

enjoy!!!

http://forums.carreview.com/showthread.php?t=93&page=1&pp=25

These trannys are JUNK!!!

They're no worse than any other domestic-made electronic overdrive box.

At the dealership I work at, we see just as many Chrysler and GM trannies bite the big one as we do Fords.

 

[awdrocks]

enjoy!!!

http://forums.carreview.com/showthread.php?t=93&page=1&pp=25

These trannys are JUNK!!!

I take this back. My tranny is holding up like a charm...

 

[kstng50]

I had the same problem with my 02 EB. They had to replace the torque converter. After that it was fine. Now I am just having other problems with this crappy transmission.

 

[tomwom]

I had the same problem. When I took it in to have the rear bearing changed they up-dated the PCM with new software and all is well.