Possible tranny problem

[biglovemp]

OK, so i just bought this truck about a week ago. It has been driving great, and shifts very smoothly. So yesterday i and going up a slight hill (not steep at all) and noticed that the tranny kind of slipped.
When it did this i released the gas paddle and gave it gas again and it grabbed just fine. Two minutes later when i left the store it did it again.

Now i am scared and confused. The tranny shows NO signs of being bad or on the way. It shifts VERY smoothly.
The car does run a little rough, but i was just assuming it was because it needed a tune up. Even with running rough it runs good.

What could this be? I am really hoping its NOT the tranny. I just had to rebuild the tranny of my last car and i really dont want nor have the money to start spending hundreds on this truck.

 

[Hitchhikingmike]

You will most likely need a rebuild. Either way your transmission has some issues for sure. How many miles on the transmission?

 

[biglovemp]

You will most likely need a rebuild. Either way your transmission has some issues for sure. How many miles on the transmission?

The odometer reading is at 136k.
If there any way for me to tell if its the tranny for sure? I am really not into this fixing tranny thing I rather get rid of it. I just dont get how the tranny could just at up periodically. I am so surprised it shifts and runs this good if the tranny is bad.

 

[biglovemp]

No more guesses?

 

[99ex22]

Have you checked the transmission fluid at all? The transmission fluid is supposed to be pink. If it's kinda dirty then take the transmission pan off (under the truck), let the fluid drain, change the filter, gasket and then refill it with new. dirty or old transmission fluid can cause slipping. Also when you check the fluid smell it. If it smells burnt then thats a good sign your transmission is not in good shape but do the fluid change anyway to see if it takes care of your problem. you can get a kit at napa that has the filter and gasket for right around 70.00 I think then all you need is ATF fluid.

 

[Hitchhikingmike]

Have you checked the transmission fluid at all? The transmission fluid is supposed to be pink. If it's kinda dirty then take the transmission pan off (under the truck), let the fluid drain, change the filter, gasket and then refill it with new. dirty or old transmission fluid can cause slipping. Also when you check the fluid smell it. If it smells burnt then thats a good sign your transmission is not in good shape but do the fluid change anyway to see if it takes care of your problem. you can get a kit at napa that has the filter and gasket for right around 70.00 I think then all you need is ATF fluid.

No problem with a transmission will ever be fixed by refilling it with new fluid. If you are having troubles, new fluid will never fix anything. If anything new fluid will make your transmission slip worse. Definitely do not flush your transmission. The only problem you could possibly fix this way would be a filter that is not properly connected and allowing air into the pump. If this is the case then replacing your filter will fix the problem. I would try it. And btw you could pick up a new filter and gasket + ATF for way cheaper then 70$.

MIGHT also be a bad torque convert too, but I'm not sure on that.

Either way you should have a professional check out your transmission and see what he says.

 

[96eb96]

Did you check the fluid level and color?

How fast are you going when it slips? Does it always happen?

Are you shifting correctly into second gear?

Like others said, probably your best bet now is to drop the pan. Hopefully you wont find any fragments in there. Add new fluid (there is a slim chance that could kill it, but if its that bad you are in trouble anyway) and a filter. Sometimes this can help things if the fluid is very tired. No drastic measures like flushing. The filter is another thing, I had one that was hanging off.

There are good additives like Lubeguard Red that you can try too. However if you find something in the pan that don't belong you will need a rebuild.

See where we can go from there.

 

[99ex22]

No problem with a transmission will ever be fixed by refilling it with new fluid. If you are having troubles, new fluid will never fix anything. If anything new fluid will make your transmission slip worse. Definitely do not flush your transmission. The only problem you could possibly fix this way would be a filter that is not properly connected and allowing air into the pump. If this is the case then replacing your filter will fix the problem. I would try it. And btw you could pick up a new filter and gasket + ATF for way cheaper then 70$.

MIGHT also be a bad torque convert too, but I'm not sure on that.

Either way you should have a professional check out your transmission and see what he says.

Thats not exactly true, I worked at a shop for 3 years before I got laid off back in april and I cant count how many fluid and filter changes we did that cured the slipping including my truck. I have heard that it can somtimes make it worse but more often it helps. Right now mines got 160K on it...just waiting for the tranny to go out so I can slap a brand spankin new one in their.

 

[Hitchhikingmike]

Thats not exactly true, I worked at a shop for 3 years before I got laid off back in april and I cant count how many fluid and filter changes we did that cured the slipping including my truck. I have heard that it can somtimes make it worse but more often it helps. Right now mines got 160K on it...just waiting for the tranny to go out so I can slap a brand spankin new one in their.

hmm, do you contribute that to the new fluid or the new filter or both? I don't see what new fluid can do. When you clutches and bands are worn down and have trouble holding, adding new, more lubricative and slippery fluid does not help. Like I said maybe your filter was not sitting right and air was getting past the filter o ring seal???

 

[99ex22]

Personally I think it's both but the o rings on the filter do get old quick from heat. My filter wasnt any older than 3 years and the O rings had tiny cracks on on them....Kinda like they were dry rotted....thats probably the best way to describe the condition they were in.

 

[Hitchhikingmike]

Still makes me wonder why Ford sugested that the 3 gen transmissions do not require any maintence until 150,000 miles. It's not like the 5R55Es & 5R55Ws are vastly different from each other. :scratch:

any way... back on topic now.

 

[99ex22]

by the way I am no mechanic but assisted mechanics in my last job and learned quite a bit. It's up to you biglovemp to change the fluid or not...Check it and smell it, then let us know what the condition the fluid is in.

 

[biglovemp]

Thanks for the replies.

Ok, so i checked the fluid and it is NOT low. The color has a slight pinkish color to it but it was more clear than pink. Maybe it was a little dirty but it was NOT black.
I did not get a chance to smell it, so i will later and get back to you guys.

As for how many times it has happened, it was ONLY that ONE time. I mean twice but in a matter of minutes. Other than that the tranny shifts VERY VERY smoothly and without a problem. Not once has it slipped or went into a gear hard. This is why i was confused as to how this could happen only once.

The only simular issue i am noticing is that, when i move the shifter into "D" it takes a second to realize its in gear. So i would have to put it in "D" and then wait a quick second then take off.
Could this have something to do with it?

 

[99ex22]

The only simular issue i am noticing is that, when i move the shifter into "D" it takes a second to realize its in gear. So i would have to put it in "D" and then wait a quick second then take off.
Could this have something to do with it?

Thats normal. Also I guess you could say a tansmission thats 12, 13 years old whith a good amount of mileage on it is also normal to slip every once in a while.

 

[biglovemp]

ok so i have another thread about a whining noise that i have coming from the truck. Apparently its coming from the gas tank and its possibly the fuel pump.

So my question is this. Is it possible that a bad fuel pump caused what i thought to be the tranny slipping? Putting two and two together it could possibly be or not?

 

[crestman]

I certainly don't want to hijack anyone's thread, however, my 97 XLT has had a slipping issue for a few years now. When I take off slow and keep a slow gradual speed increase (granny style) it will slip going from 1st into 2nd. Sometimes, if I don't let off it will just continue to slip, but most times it just gets to about 2100RPM then grabs and back at it. If I get on it a bit harder it doesn't slip at all. When I shift to reverse, I have to wait sometimes about 1.5sec for it to engage. I've been told on occasion to people I have spoken to on this (car people) that it may be a computer issue? Anyway, I thought this may be similar issue to yours biglovemp. O ya, it also seems like this issue gets worse when its wet out, like when the snows melting or it's raining. It also seems like it does it more in the summer than winter.

One more thing. When this first started happening I took it to a tranny shop and they didn't find anything abnormal. All they said was that these trannies were known to be bad so I should expect things like this. I then took it to a steelership and they did a flush which didn't help at all. This all started at about 85thou and it's now got 160kms on it!! I have; however, stopped all pulling with it such as my camper trailer (small but a bit heavy) which hasn't left my family too happy!!!

Keith

 

[biglovemp]

ok so my tranny is def going. Today i was on a one hour ride back upstate and half way thru the o/d light started flashing and wouldnt go away. Once i got to where i was going i parked it and started it up about 15 minutes later. This time i noticed that it definitely slipp going from 1st to 2nd.

This one mech suggested for me to change the fluid and filter. and another said that i should just through some lucas in there and take my chances.

I do not want to fix this tranny. I really would rather not spend the money on it. I am figuring that it will run me somewhere around 1000-1500 to fix it?

 

[alohamonte]

swapping out the tranny for one from a donor vehicle is half the price of getting the original rebuilt. the downside is the swapped part wont have a warranty/guarantee.

 

[biglovemp]

swapping out the tranny for one from a donor vehicle is half the price of getting the original rebuilt. the downside is the swapped part wont have a warranty/guarantee.

Yeah i know and thats what scares me. My last car needed a tranny but changing the tranny with a new one was actually the same price.

A rebuilt scares me because it NEVER runs the same again. And a getting one from a donor scares me because its possible that it could come out bad. Either way its a chance.

I got rid of my last car because i didnt want to deal with the headach of fixing it any longer. I just wanted a car to last me a few months without problems.

 

[Chameleon]

I certainly don't want to hijack anyone's thread, however, my 97 XLT has had a slipping issue for a few years now. When I take off slow and keep a slow gradual speed increase (granny style) it will slip going from 1st into 2nd. Sometimes, if I don't let off it will just continue to slip, but most times it just gets to about 2100RPM then grabs and back at it. If I get on it a bit harder it doesn't slip at all. When I shift to reverse, I have to wait sometimes about 1.5sec for it to engage.

Keith

Mine was doing that up until last week when the tranny gave out completely...the 2nd tranny in a 99 XLT. I had the tranny flushed months before which didn't help the slipping problem.

I am in the process of installing the 3rd tranny. I just paid it off 2 months ago!!!