TELL TALE TRANNY PROBLEMS?? How do I know if my tranny is about to take a dump?

[Fischer]

What are some things to look for to tell if my tranny is about to go out?

Here is what I have been experiencing.

**At stop light in D it sometimes lunges forward -or- makes a soft grinding noise while stopped.
Bad torque converter?/
What does a new one cost? Can I do it myself?

**Occasionally right before shifting it revvs a bit high then shifts into higher gear.

These are the two major things. I am just not sure whether to sell it before the tranny takes a crap.

If it is just the torque converter I can probably handle that repair but definately not the cost of a new tranny.

Anything will help. Please.

 

[Fischer]

that is a 95 auto

I forgot to tell ya that that is a 1995 xlt automatic

 

[Bill Kemp]

Doesnt sound too good.
How many miles do you have on it? Have you changed fluid & filter?
I think I would start there and see if it does any good.

 

[Jason_25]

I second changing the fluid and filter. When I had mine changed the fluid was burnt all to heck but now it's fine. Also consider changing the TPS.

 

[Fischer]

Filter and Fluid Okay??

I think that the fluid and filter are fine as I just installed a new 'remote filter' a few thousand miles ago. This could be adding to the problems though I added it to help filtration.

The fluid is fine too, nice and red and it smells fine. Not to mention that all the times that I removed the secondary filter I have probably added 2 qt. of fresh fluid over the last few months.

What really worries me is the lurching and the rough grinding noies. The grinding noise is not that loud though.

Another worry is when shifting from 2nd to 3rd or OD it sometimes has a prolonged rev like it is trying to shift and there is less of a load on the engine though I am not feeling any accellertion.

Does this make any sense.

 

[Jason_25]

Yikes, that is NOT good.
How many miles on the truck?

 

[TPLYNCH]

Not sure about the grinding, that could be trouble, but the tranny is electronic, and it has been found that if your alternator is going, it will effect the shifting of your tranny. Have your alternator tested to start (it's usually free)....

 

[DarkFox1]

AOD transmissions

it seems everyone has horrible luck with the ford AOD these days. I'm on my 2nd one at 61k miles and I'm getting weird stuff like that too.

I took it to the dealership (still under warranty) and they replaced the whole thing.. they told it can cost up ot $700 to replace the tranny depending on whats wrong. What you described does sound like a toque converter tho

I have the same problem with it reving extremley high, but I also have an accompanyment of horrible accel and it wanting to get stuck in overdrive. sometimes I'll hafta downshift 4 times tryinfg to go up 1 hill on my way to class cos of it.

If yer dealership tells you theres nothing wrong like mine did.. don't beleive them. I've about came to the conclusion they eithre don't know what they're talking about at dealerships, or simply don't care.

Good luck

 

[Jason_25]

Darkfox,

This guy has the 4R55E, not the 4R70W, and BTW, I thought the 4R70W was supposed to be a pretty stout tranny?

 

[DarkFox1]

hrmm, well, I dunno much about it.. all I know is mine sucks lol, I'm not that mechanically inclined about ford drive trains, I was under the imrepssion that there was a generic AOD tranny or something they used. Thats kind of a stupid assumption on my part, sorry if that interferes yall.

Jason, any ideas whats up with mine? I'll be going down a level road that I KNOW is smooth.. and the vehicle will be jerking. mimicing bumps in the road. it shifts hard too. I'm not sure which one I have, standard issue 2wd '97 mountaineer with a 5.0....

 

[theoutlawtorn14]

Actually, I believe both the trannys in question here are 4R55E..I believe Ford didn't install 4R70Ws until 98.. or I guess it could be the 5 speed auto... I dunno..I think the trannys should be mechanically the same/similar. By the way, the one in my '97 seems to act up a lot too. Sometimes when I switch into reverse nothing happens... have to switch back to Park/Neutral a couple times before it goes. And when it does finally go there is nothing for a half a second then a large thump and a lurch. I dunno what the problem is... maybe a broken tooth on the reverse/idler wheel or something... 65kmiles and I believe still under warranty.

 

[Jason_25]

No actually that's not right.

91-94-A4LD
95-96 with V6-4R55E
97-2001 with V6-5R55E
96-2001 with V8-4R70W

 

[espnfreak]

Anyone elses truck jolt when they shift to reverse?

 

[theoutlawtorn14]

tranny probs

Mine does, as i just described.

Is there an easy way to tell whether I have the 4 or 5 speed auto without just flooring it from stop and counting the gears? I have the '97 OHV and Jason just said 97-2001 V6's are the 5R55E.. but when I check some websites it says both the 4 and 5 speed autos for 97..I'm confused.. and what should I do about that reverse problem, any suggestions short of taking it out and replacing it?

 

[Jason_25]

The clunk is just your u-joints. No big deal. Just get them replaced for like 50 bucks.

To the best of my knowledge all 97's have the 5R55E, and the only way to tell is to examine the computer or count the shifts (not sure if that will work though), because the 4R55E and 5R55E are mechanically identical, and only different because of a computer program.

 

[theoutlawtorn14]

I thought the 4R55E was 4 speed and the 5R55E was 5 speed... are they still mechanically identical with an extra speed? and shouldn't it be possible to count that extra shift if you are going to a high speed(highway) from a stop/near stop... do the Auto trannys ever skip shifts?(ex.1-3-5 or 2-3-5 shift pattern)

Besides the thunp, what about the fact that sometimes(hasn't happened in a week or so) when I switch into reverse nothing happens, and I need to shift back into park then reverse a couple times till it finally catches... and when it catches it sounds like the whole transmission wants to drop off the car?