MisFires - How long to log a code?

[PotatoExplorer]

I say try it out, what's to lose? I also thought about redoing the reset after I got the fluid to the proper level, but at that point I had lost any motivation to try and fix that problem.

I just thought of this...since all this PITA fluid checking and whatnot next to the hot exhaust was necessary when changing the filter, if in the future I just want to swap in some new fluid, couldn't I just do it cold? I could put the explorer on ramps, suck out 5quarts from the pan and just replace with 5 fresh quarts and call it a day?

 

[tripplec]

Drive it some more. Might just be air farts clearing out of the system or converter. I doubt you'd need to pull and force relearning since it won't bucking. Was it hunting in/out of OD and I guess not way to know if the lockup clutch is acting up or not. Run with OD off for a while especially up hill or under more load situations and see if its normal.

 

[07EddyB]

Drive it some more. Might just be air farts clearing out of the system or converter. I doubt you'd need to pull and force relearning since it won't bucking. Was it hunting in/out of OD and I guess not way to know if the lockup clutch is acting up or not. Run with OD off for a while especially up hill or under more load situations and see if its normal.

That's what I'm hoping for. Trying not to put it under the microscope just because I worked on it - that's a hard thing to do though. Will run in and out of OD to see if it helps. Without the one case of bucking I had today the OD has been much better behaved overall than it was before.

 

[Max422]

Check your harmonic balancer and serpentine belt. If that balancer is off it will throw out misfire codes and jumping rpms. Take if from someone who spent a summer hunting down misfire codes on a 2006 Explorer after changing plugs and coils multiple times.

 

[tripplec]

Sure you don't have a "Tiger In Your Tank"? Old commercial for Esso LOL But White Lightning in your case. That will make it buck!

 

[Explorer_PL]

I am sure you guys read my post, but I stopped using the dipstick method .
I drained 6 qts, refilled with 6, it was working before, and it still does.

Fluid and filter replacement on 6R60

 

[07EddyB]

I am sure you guys read my post, but I stopped using the dipstick method .
I drained 6 qts, refilled with 6, it was working before, and it still does.

Fluid and filter replacement on 6R60

I did - and it was a good post. I wish I could have kept a precise measurement of the fluid that I removed. But spillage occurred and spillage is pretty much impossible to measure. Between spilling both old and new fluid it pretty much became impossible to know exactly where I was at on the quantity coming out and the quantity going in. It did, however, give me a pretty accurate starting point. for when I needed to start watching the dipstick.
Using the dipstick is a pain - what I learned online was that if I took it to the bottom of the hash when it was just warm then the fluid would expand into the cross hatch zone when hot since it expands. I have no way of knowing if that is 100% accurate but I look at it this way - that starting point ensures that it is not under filled. Now that I have hit that point it should drastically reduce the amount of time I spend fine tuning the level in the searing heat.
It takes more time to do it that way - you basically run it for a bit while checking and adding - once it starts getting uncomfortable to work with you cap it and shut it down. Let it cool and hit it again. The only problem there is that it does need to be hot to circulate which will affect the level. Once I got to a point where I thought I had put as much in as I took out I drove it for 10 miles or so to circulate and then let it cool down. I still ended up putting at least another quart in at that point. I will still probably check it while hot this weekend just to verify that it isn't overfilled.

 

[Explorer_PL]

...and then in about 5k miles you can replace the fluid again and you would have pretty much fresh stuff in there

Just for reference, and I am really not sure what made mine last that long, this is what I did with mine so far:

60k, 120k, 190k - dealer flushes only

At around 213k, I opened it for the first time and replaced the valve body, filter and fluid of course (all that for no reason, the VB was still good - dealer diagnosed the car going into limp mode on TCM and VB, but it was just coils # 3 and 4)

254k - filter and fluid again

My truck works harder and more than 95% Explorers out there: regular towing duties with my personal trailer, some camping, pulling RV, I am the designated tow vehicle in my son's Boys Scouts troop, and some residential plowing every winter for the past 10 years.

Just hit 259,000 yesterday and it's smooth like new. I think the VB replacement helped the kick back a little. Before I would have that occasionally, now I can't recall when it happened last time.

PS: Apologies if it sounds like I am rubbing it into you guys - not my intention - just stating maintenance history.

 

[07EddyB]

Well it's been about a week now.
To quote a Jimmy Buffett song - I've had good days and bad days and going half mad days.
I've seen an overall improvement - the throttle seems crisper. The surge is mostly gone - I've gotten a few little ones that you wouldn't notice if you weren't watching for it. No rumble strips at all. However, I've had a few occasions where I had some moderate bucking that was worse than before. As usual, this is around 45 with a load in OD. I've gotten to the point where I can make it happen - or I can prevent it from happening. To prevent it I just give it a little more gas to unlock the TC and get the RPMs up a tad. Other than that, the transmission is absolutely fine.
So, it may sound counter intuitive, but I'm back on a misfire again. It gets hard to blame the transmission when a little more aggressive throttle application makes the problem disappear. Well, maybe not technically a misfire but at least a weak coil. Actually, I will first recheck my fluid level to make sure nothing has changed.
After some consideration, since I can't pinpoint the cylinder, I think I'm going to order 2 Motorcraft coils and start swapping and running and see what happens.
As usual, I'll keep you updated. After all, to quote another great man - We're all in this together.

 

[07EddyB]

PS: Apologies if it sounds like I am rubbing it into you guys - not my intention - just stating maintenance history.

No apologies needed - you've reminded me and probably others that the 6R60 is not a weak transmission. You did more maintenance than most, but worked it harder also. I often wonder how many of these transmissions have been replaced or worked on due to an unrelated problem. It's good to hear about your success - I doubt you got the only good 6R60.

 

[PotatoExplorer]

Oh my, I can see you're heading down the same path as I did. Starting with one thing then switching over to another thing... then maybe back to the first thing... then... Oh my!! Haha, it's like a rabbit hole for sure. One thing you have going for you - you seem way more mechanically inclined then I am and probably in return you're probably way better at diagnosing this problem. God speed EddyB, may the force be with you.

Besides this little hiccup, this transmission feels so buttery smooth and solid. It just sucks that for a few of us that it's over shadowed by this one little crappy problem.

 

[Explorer_PL]

EddyB -

If you are starting with 2 new OEM coils, I'd strongly suggest put them on 3 and 4 - long shot but worth it.

If you look there, the TCM harness runs right over them. In my case, I had bad coils there, and under the load it created some interference/resistance field that got thru the harness. When the place I bought the valve body from told me to check the coils first, I ignored them since I had clearly transmission error codes.
So I replace the VB (twice) and still had same problem. In the end replaced all 8 coils with Motorcraft ones and the problem has been gone for 2 years.

When I shopped for the 5R55 for my son's car, the tranny shops had them stacked up on the shelves ready to go - that's how "popular" they are.
When I asked about 6R just out of curiosity at Street Smart Transmissions where I ended up buying the 5R, they said they just started selling 6R60's recently since there was no market for them - so go figure (taking into account of course how few v8 were produced - but still).

 

[07EddyB]

I fired it up today and checked the fluid and it's only halfway up to the checkered full range. Of course, it hasn't run since Friday afternoon so I'm just going to sit on it for now instead of adding. I know I had it to the bottom of the range last weekend so I'll check it again tomorrow after driving it while it's at least warm.
In other news - our septic stopped flowing Friday night. Hopefully it's just a clog because I've already had new field lines and a distribution box replaced. Unfortunately my guy can't make it until Monday so it's been toilets only this weekend. No showers.
The joys of car and home ownership.

Edit because I know you're interested in my septic system - system was fine - clog in line to tank. Line snaked - tank pumped. Several hundred rather than several thousand spent.

 

[07EddyB]

Last night after I got home from work I checked the fluid. Had Torque running and the wife started the Ex. After a minute or so the trans temp was reading 185 - I hadn't been home long at that point so it was a the right temp. Crawled under and checked the level - the fluid was all the way up the stick - and I mean ALL they way up the stick. So I checked it a few times - same result. Knowing I would need to drain some fluid I just put the stick back in and told her to turn it off. I had my finger on the stick - when I lifted it off fluid went everywhere. Bad move on my part. I lost an undetermined amount there and then drained about 1/3 to 1/2 a quart. Fired it back up and gave it a few minutes and checked again - this time at the top of the cross hatch. Hoping I have the level nailed this time. Not much difference driving it today - I want to think it's a little better but it's hard to tell. Haven't ordered any coils yet but probably will this weekend. Overall, it's doing pretty good. I just know it's still a little off - no one else would probably notice but you do when you've driven the thing for 10 years.

 

[07EddyB]

An update on my thread - I haven't actually done anything new since my last post. The Ex is running pretty good since I got the transmission fluid level correct. It's not quite 100% but it made a big difference. I haven't followed up on the coils because frankly, even though it's still not quite there, it's close. I'm sure I still have a weak coil or two but changing the transmission fluid made a big difference. Currently, the big difference I've noticed in my transmission is that it is much more willing to unlock the torque convertor and drop a gear than it used to be. It does this very smoothly. Since it now doesn't stay locked in OD then it has less bucking and surging issues due to the coils. So - I'm pretty much at a point now where I'm waiting for it to get worse again before I start working on it again. The only thing I'll point out is that it does seem to be down on power some but that's such a subjective thing that it's hard to prove.

 

[07EddyB]

The Ex continues to run good. I plan to do one more check on the fluid but it is looking pretty good at the moment. But that doesn't apply to the current problem. Why is there always a new problem????
For several weeks now it has been making a strange sound at start up. I would describe it as a chirping sound that lasts all of the time that it takes settle down after starting. It doesn't continue after starting. If I turn the radio off I can also hear a faint tapping/knocking sound for an additional few seconds. Problem is it isn't anything I've heard before - and I've heard bad followers, bad exhaust manifolds, etc.
I ordered a new set of valve cover gaskets last week. I need to go back in and check on my follower fix and make sure everything is still OK so I picked up a set of gaskets just in case. While I'm in there I'll check the tension on the passenger side chain. It seems to me that I may have a tensioner bleeding down on that side since the noise clears up pretty quickly - as in when the oil pressure comes back up. With the valve cover off you can see the chain and play with it some.
Normally I would have done this over the current weekend. But instead I worked on a piece of furniture and spent some quality time with the riding mower today. Regulars will know that I bought a car last week and honestly it's made me lazy. I'll drive the car and worry about the Ex later. After the problems that I've had keeping the Ex up as a daily driver the car has let me step back - take a deep breath - and take a break for a bit.

It feels good.

The Ex will be fixed though.

 

[PotatoExplorer]

If it's not one thing it's always something else I feel like (even when it's not related to the Explorer). Life is nothing but a series of hurdles, no matter how small.

 

[07EddyB]

Catching up - if there is anything I've learned over the last month or three is that I don't really know how my Ex should actually behave. I've always been impressed at how my Ex would not drop a gear under load - I would puff my chest and extol the virtues of a V8.
It does now that I've changed the trans fluid. And it doesn't have the problems that caused me to start this thread.

Go figure.

I'll admit that it does seem to be a bit down on power but - that's extremely subjective.
So was my prior experience a problem and the current experience the solution or vice versa?
Is it fixed or do I have a different problem now? Are Aliens somehow involved?

That is a rhetorical question.

Dammit - I will find a bad coil to blame my problem on no how matter long it takes!

Moral of the story is - we don't have one.

 

[gdgiordano]

Catching up - if there is anything I've learned over the last month or three is that I don't really know how my Ex should actually behave. I've always been impressed at how my Ex would not drop a gear under load - I would puff my chest and extol the virtues of a V8.
It does now that I've changed the trans fluid. And it doesn't have the problems that caused me to start this thread.

Go figure.

I'll admit that it does seem to be a bit down on power but - that's extremely subjective.
So was my prior experience a problem and the current experience the solution or vice versa?
Is it fixed or do I have a different problem now? Are Aliens somehow involved?

That is a rhetorical question.

Dammit - I will find a bad coil to blame my problem on no how matter long it takes!

Moral of the story is - we don't have one.

Maybe reset the stuff by unhooking the battery and tieing the cables together.