Transmission or torque converter?

[anthonymtz]

Hey guys hows everybody doing? Well I have a question for you guys and was wanting some input, I have a 2004 Ford explorer 4.6L v8 2wd, thing is when I bought it this truck was mint, 6yrs ago w/ 120k (174k now) on the dash it drove good nice take off, now i have a lead foot, and sometimes put my explorer to work, towing someone/ moving stuff, maybe a little racing, just a little anyways the issue here i was able to light my tires up with no problem i mean i could smoke them in less than 10 seconds, now i try and burnout and sometimes it won't and others it'll get going and spin them slow like its struggling for about 20 seconds and then you hear it start revving up and just lights the darn tires up like crazy, also when i take off it feels as im in 2nd gear and as im taking off you feel 3-4 small little jolts almost like your hitting the brake lightly, so my question is would that be my torque converter acting up or my transmission or both? I have also been changing fluids, nothing bad in the pan, fluid is always a light brown with a hint of red whenever i do drain it. Any inputs would be greatly appreciated! Thanks guys! I also forgot to mention when it won't burnout, with my foot on the brake, it will just rev to 3k rpm and just sit there and will even break the tires loose or even chirp them.

 

[Mbrooks420]

In less than 10 seconds? If you can’t light them up immediately what you’re roasting is the clutches in the transmission. If you don’t need a full rebuild now, you will need one soon.

 

[anthonymtz]

In less than 10 seconds? If you can’t light them up immediately what you’re roasting is the clutches in the transmission. If you don’t need a full rebuild now, you will need one soon.

It won't spin them only when the cars been on a long drive like built up heat, i never just sit there and try to burnout when it won't, but mostly everytime it spins them its at like 15mph and after 15 ish 20 seconds it'll light them up so idk whats going on here... when i got it 6yrs ago i'd stomp on it and it would burn them pretty quick. Probably need a new trans.

 

[TechGuru]

Sounds like the transmission is slipping.

 

[anthonymtz]

Sounds like the transmission is slipping.

Thank you it does have a 2 to 3rd flare up every now and then but im probably going to go with a rebuild, cheers.

 

[Josef161]

It won't spin them only when the cars been on a long drive like built up heat, i never just sit there and try to burnout when it won't, but mostly everytime it spins them its at like 15mph and after 15 ish 20 seconds it'll light them up so idk whats going on here... when i got it 6yrs ago i'd stomp on it and it would burn them pretty quick. Probably need a new trans.

Maybe check the transmission fluid? What color is it, does it smell burnt, are you low on fluid?
Maybe try to drop the pen, replace the fluid that was in the pen, clean the pen/magnet and replace the filter. Once i had problems too, so i decided to add 2 bottles of lukas stop slip transmission fluid. After i changed my fluid and added some lukas my tranny was better. I also had a leaking rack and pinion (a new one costs $1000, and they are a PITA to replace) the leak got so bad that i needed to top it off before every ride, i added a bottle of lukas stop leak power steering fluid, i still lost fluid but less so i put another bottle of lukas in it and since then i didn't lose any fluid (1 year+).

Lot of people don't like those "snake oils" but i only uswd lucas products and i had great experiances.

 

[anthonymtz]

Maybe check the transmission fluid? What color is it, does it smell burnt, are you low on fluid?
Maybe try to drop the pen, replace the fluid that was in the pen, clean the pen/magnet and replace the filter. Once i had problems too, so i decided to add 2 bottles of lukas stop slip transmission fluid. After i changed my fluid and added some lukas my tranny was better. I also had a leaking rack and pinion (a new one costs $1000, and they are a PITA to replace) the leak got so bad that i needed to top it off before every ride, i added a bottle of lukas stop leak power steering fluid, i still lost fluid but less so i put another bottle of lukas in it and since then i didn't lose any fluid (1 year+).

Lot of people don't like those "snake oils" but i only uswd lucas products and i had great experiances.

Hey thanks for the input, ive changed it recently its always a light brown with a hint of red not cherry red but not burned I've used lucas stop slip on the past but recently stopped with my last transmission service since i noticed delayed shifts and delayed gear input, since i stopped using it the issues have since resolved but not back to 100%, also when i start it up in the morning and put it right into gear the truck won't move, it revs to 3k and does a (crawl) until i stop let it run a second and then go, guess my trans is telling me shes on borrowed time

 

[Josef161]

Hey thanks for the input, ive changed it recently its always a light brown with a hint of red not cherry red but not burned I've used lucas stop slip on the past but recently stopped with my last transmission service since i noticed delayed shifts and delayed gear input, since i stopped using it the issues have since resolved but not back to 100%, also when i start it up in the morning and put it right into gear the truck won't move, it revs to 3k and does a (crawl) until i stop let it run a second and then go, guess my trans is telling me shes on borrowed time

You said that you change the fluid yourself? Maybe it is low on fluid, try to put a quart in there and see what happens (keep in mind too much fluid is bad too because the transmission oil will start to bubble and not be able to cool the transmission). I think it might be "low fluid" because you said that the symptoms get better when the car is hot; oil expamds when it is hot so your your transmission fluid would increase in volume a little bit. Maybe give it a try for less then $10...