No 4th? Stuck shifter?

[239]

Hey everyone, I had a problem today when I was driving to work. As always I started the truck and let it warm up until the rpms settled. I hit the road and noticed my tranny wouldn't shift into 4th gear, I was doing 2500 rpm at 40 mph. I noticed a slight delay from 4th to 5th a few months ago but didnt think it was major until today. Well I drove back home and looked under the truck. Idk if it helped but I sprayed the shifter(I think that's what it's called) with wd40, it looked corroded. I think it was stuck because I drove it again and bam, shifted into 4th and 5th. The delay is still there at 5th. It revs to 2000 rpm before shifting. I dont know if the tranny just had to warm up first or if the shift motor needs replacing. Just wondering what you guys think. I'll post again later tonight after another cold start to see if the problem persists, maybe the fluid needs friction modifier. I hope its not a gear problem but being at 170k that wouldnt be surprising. Sorry about the long post. Thanks for any help.

 

[koda2000]

couldn't hurt to lube the leakage, but i doubt that it would help your problem. i'm no transmission, but it sounds internal. maybe a shift solenoid... ? you could also throw in a transmission additive like Lucas Trans Fix but don't overfill the trans. if your trans fluid is burnt (brown and smelly instead of bright pink) be careful about flushing it. could lead to a quick demise after flushing if your clutches are toasted.

 

[239]

couldn't hurt to lube the leakage, but i doubt that it would help your problem. i'm no transmission, but it sounds internal. maybe a shift solenoid... ? you could also throw in a transmission additive like Lucas Trans Fix but don't overfill the trans. if your trans fluid is burnt (brown and smelly instead of bright pink) be careful about flushing it. could lead to a quick demise after flushing if your clutches are toasted.

I sprayed it with wd40 and it shifts fine now. I'm gonna give it a few days to see what happens but if it is internal I'll be getting a rebuild. I love this truck too much to junk it lol. And I was thinking red lube for an additive, I've read on here that it works great on high mileage 5r55e's.

 

[koda2000]

I sprayed it with wd40 and it shifts fine now. I'm gonna give it a few days to see what happens but if it is internal I'll be getting a rebuild. I love this truck too much to junk it lol. And I was thinking red lube for an additive, I've read on here that it works great on high mileage 5r55e's.

well, i don't know why spraying something on the outside of the trans would help it shift any better, but i'm glad it seemed to help your problem. i'm not familiar with "red lube". is that a brand?

i know what you mean by loving your truck. i just bought my 3rd gen II. by the time i'm through i'll have my whole family driving them, but i'm switching to the v8 models. same fuel mileage and much more reliable engine and trans.

 

[239]

well, i don't know why spraying something on the outside of the trans would help it shift any better, but i'm glad it seemed to help your problem. i'm not familiar with "red lube". is that a brand?

i know what you mean by loving your truck. i just bought my 3rd gen II. by the time i'm through i'll have my whole family driving them, but i'm switching to the v8 models. same fuel mileage and much more reliable engine and trans.

I sprayed the motor that automatically shifts the gears. If you think about it, it's been down there for 13 years shifting away through rain, heat, cold with no maintenance. I think it was stuck and couldn't shift, after I sprayed it down with wd40 it shifted fine. It's still fine today but I will keep it in mind. And yeah we used to have a 99 V8 Mountaineer. That thing was awesome, as far the mpg the v6 gets worse mileage since it has to rev so high just to get the truck moving, the v8 doesn't have that problem so v8 is definitely the way to go.