Wednesday, December 16, 2009

1995 F-150 E4OD Transmission Hard Shifting

     I had a very weird and scary situation this week with my truck. Even though it has 360,000 miles on it, it had been running fine.  All of a sudden, it started shifting hard.  I don't even have gas money this week.  I was afraid I would have to find another $1600 for a transmission overhaul.
     Exact symptoms:
     1. Hard shifting in every gear no matter how lightly loaded.
     2. Doesn't shift as hard under heavier load.
     3. Sometimes 'catches' or 'bumps' in reverse - like a delay before engaging or something.
     4. No slipping in any gear or at speed.
     5. A slight whine (I thought it was some other little car nearby).
     I looked at all of the Ford troubleshooting threads without finding anything but horror stories and bad news.  I finally found someone who had exactly my symptoms on a snowplow website!  It seems that I had recently pulled a heavily loaded trailer.  When the computer detected the slippage due to the heavier load, it applied full line pressure to clamp the clutches and bands tighter.  It never reset itself.
     I disconnected the battery for 30 minutes.  The computer reset.  It shifts as smoothly as new now.  Wow!
     Even if I could have found someone honest enough to check it and tell me what is wrong without arbitrarily rebuilding the whole transmission, it would still have cost me $50 to $100 minimum.  More likely, $300 or $400.
     God bless the internet and thank You for the word of knowledge.
     To everyone out there: do your research.  ...and always look one more time.  Good luck!

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