SoHK_alumni
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- July 29, 2014
- Messages
- 462
- Reaction score
- 12
- City, State
- Tampa, FL
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 5.0 V8 2002 Ranger
My '96 Expo 5.0/4R70W driven Ranger has an irritating bad habit: An agonizingly slow then abrupt down shift on hard acceleration. Only on hard acceleration.
Normal day to day driving, with "easing" onto the throttle, the transmission will downshift fine. Really makes driving the Ranger a joy after years of putting up with a gutless 3.0.
But, when I ask the 5.0 push it hard, the transmission goes all stupid, seems to unlock the torque converter so RPM's can climb and then all but bangs into gear. If I catch the RPM rise, I can feather the throttle to "encourage" the down shift to behave much more gracefully.
Don't know, a bad TPS so the PCM doesn't detect the sudden WOT condition maybe? The climb in RPMs without the acceleration would suggest the PCM is doing something with the 'box.
If internal to the transmission, why only under WOT? Maybe an accumulator spring somewhere? Afraid I just don't know the internals of a slush box all that well.
Normal day to day driving, with "easing" onto the throttle, the transmission will downshift fine. Really makes driving the Ranger a joy after years of putting up with a gutless 3.0.
But, when I ask the 5.0 push it hard, the transmission goes all stupid, seems to unlock the torque converter so RPM's can climb and then all but bangs into gear. If I catch the RPM rise, I can feather the throttle to "encourage" the down shift to behave much more gracefully.
Don't know, a bad TPS so the PCM doesn't detect the sudden WOT condition maybe? The climb in RPMs without the acceleration would suggest the PCM is doing something with the 'box.
If internal to the transmission, why only under WOT? Maybe an accumulator spring somewhere? Afraid I just don't know the internals of a slush box all that well.
