i have a 1996 explorer 4.0 auto it has 167500 when accelerating it shifts smoothly through the gears and and around town it smooth also. but when im going up a hill and the transmission has to down shift it chatters! will a trans fluid flush/exchange cure this problem? Very doubtful. and whats causeing the chatter?I believe '96 4R44E or 4R55E first unlock torque converter clutch when added power is called for, after which an actual downshift from O/D gear to 3rd. gear occurs, if the clutch unlock was not enough.
So, could the TCC chatter on release? Yes, and that could be caused by a sticky TCC solenoid, in the trans. If your chatter is resulting from downshift out of O/D, there is likely a problem developing within the trans. Sticky solenoids here would be unlikely, my guess, since it does not happen under low-power demand driving conditions, only when surge in power is needed for hill-climb. imp