OT: F-150 possible transmission issue

[Red Tornado]

2005 F-150 4WD 5.4L 136K miles

Yesterday when taking off from a stop felt like it was up shifting then down shifting a couple times very quickly. Did it within a few seconds and started as soon as I let off the brake and the wheels started rolling. Once it got going up & down shifted fine. Same thing every time I stopped on the way home from work. Got into my neighborhood. Stopped truck put it in neutral, then into drive and it took off OK. Repeated several times with no issue.
First thought maybe engine misfire or similar. However, it had plugs & coil packs replaced last summer, not throwing any codes and motor running great. Also had a new rear axle put on in December and it's been problem free.
Gut tells me transmission, or maybe a collar wearing out in the U-joint area or driveshaft related. I could understand a clunking noise, but don't think U-joint/driveshaft would cause up/down shifting. I've had to replace U-joints before on other vehicles and this isn't the same "feel" as then. Leaning towards the tranny. Previous owner pulled trailers, truck has factory towing package and transmission cooler.
Anyone have this same truck and/or same issue? Been to some Ford truck chat rooms but most there say it's motor-related. I'm not so sure seeing that I've had the "problem" areas of the motor fixed and the past history of the truck.

[andeww]

We have an 02 at work. We did the transmission under warranty at 5k miles and then again last month at 250k. My Indy shop took it out sent it for a rebuild and it took 1 week and $1800 all in --for reference. At both of these break downs it was completely immobile. Sounds like it could be the transfer case perhaps?

[AngryScientist]

first obvious question: have you checked the fluid level?

note the color and clarity of the trans fluid when you check it also. if it has a "burned" smell to it, that indicates overheating and trouble.

also, when was the last time you changed the trans fluid and filter? auto transmissions have lots of porting and valving that is sensitive to the fluid being the correct viscosity and clean. if you havent done so very recently, i'd do a full flush and fill on the trans as a first step here.

[Red Tornado]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

first obvious question: have you checked the fluid level?

note the color and clarity of the trans fluid when you check it also. if it has a "burned" smell to it, that indicates overheating and trouble.

also, when was the last time you changed the trans fluid and filter? auto transmissions have lots of porting and valving that is sensitive to the fluid being the correct viscosity and clean. if you havent done so very recently, i'd do a full flush and fill on the trans as a first step here.

Checked it last night as soon as I pulled in driveway. It was at the "full hot" marker, pink, no burned smell that I could detect.

Changed fluid & filter last fall. Drained (did not flush) fluid, replaced what came out with new plus filter. Bought the truck last summer, no idea how previous owner serviced it, so figured a change couldn't hurt. Shop told me the fluid that came out didn't look worse than what they normally see. Has always shifted fine until yesterday.

[Red Tornado]

Originally Posted by andeww

We have an 02 at work. We did the transmission under warranty at 5k miles and then again last month at 250k. My Indy shop took it out sent it for a rebuild and it took 1 week and $1800 all in --for reference. At both of these break downs it was completely immobile. Sounds like it could be the transfer case perhaps?

Hadn't thought of that (xfer case), but I sure hope not. It's been in 4WD a handful of times. No issues taking it in or out of 4WD and no funny noises, feels or smells when in 4WD - that I can detect.

[Red Tornado]

My wife took it to her work this morning, needed some extra room. She said it shifted fine for her. We'll see how it does on the way home after it's been driven for a while in the heat of the day.

With something like this it's difficult to know where to begin if it has to go to a shop: mechanic or tranny shop? Do transmission guys typically work on transfer cases? I believe they don't have all the valves, etc. so may be a regular mechanic. Been down that road before where you start at one place and have to go to the other; good way to burn an extra day or two without getting the problem fixed.

Guess I'll wait and see what happens. If it's legit it will do it again and probably more often.

[Ralph]

Lots of times a complete flush and filter cleaning or replacement (if it has one) fixes minor shifting issues.

[chrismoustache]

Ran into a similar sounding problem with gf's 2003 Rav4. After a little digging, I came upon a thread that referenced a recall for Rav4 ECUs because of conditions that were consistent with what I experienced.

Pulled the ECU, sent it for a rebuild, plugged it back in, good to go!

ECU is easier to pull than the trans, might be worth looking into.

[JAGI410]

Fluid level was checked in neutral with the engine running, on flat ground?

[Red Tornado]

Originally Posted by JAGI410

Fluid level was checked in neutral with the engine running, on flat ground?

Yessir and at the end of my 12 mile commute home (everything was warmed up).

[ntb1001]

Is there a check engine light on??

If so...a shop can checked what codes are showing.

I had a ‘10 F150 with 5.4 and had problems start that turned out to be caused be timing chain tensioners failing causing engine damage.

Very expensive repair...and the biggest insult was the parts counter guy at Ford saying this was the 3rd truck this week with same problem... but no recall. Ford doesn’t even sell a vehicle with that motor any more.

I also would stick with a GOOD mechanic over any transmission shop...those guys aren’t mechanics.

Ford... the reason I bought an Audi Q5tdi





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[Red Tornado]

Dropped it off at my mechanic this morning. Praying it's a bad sensor or something they can detect and/or fix. It acted up a couple times starting from a stop, and also up/down shifted abnormally a couple times when slowing down from highway speeds on exit ramps, so hopefully it will do it for them. No dash lights, but they can throw codes even with no lights. I've had vehicles before where I was sure it was a tranny issue but turned out to be something else cause it to act up.
Transmission shop is plan B if mechanic can't do anything. We have a couple very good tranny places in town, but they ain't cheap.

[AngryScientist]

could be throttle position sensor going bad too. if the engine intermittently doesnt know what throttle position is being called for (due to faulty sensor), that'll cause the trans to hunt.

hopefully they can sort you out, this kind of stuff can be maddening.

[Big Dan]

Back in the day we would add a quart of Trans X and hoped for the best.
Also the transmissions for American cars rarely survived 80k w/out rebuild.
That was then.

[Red Tornado]

Update:
Mechanic checked everything out. No codes at all, motor running great (no misfires, etc.), tranny fluid looks good, filled to correct level, nothing wrong at u-joints or on driveshaft or anything in that area. He said it got noticeably worse during test drive. Their diagnosis is that the transmission is "failing internally". Told me this isn't the first one for that vintage they have seen do this. Is that the truth or they just telling me that? Doesn't matter at this point.

Got a heckuva deal on the truck and figured I either struck gold or would have a few expensive repairs over the years. Decided to roll the dice instead of shelling out big bucks for a newer truck with less miles. On the bright side, I'll have a "new" tranny with a 3 year warranty next week.

I have a "fleet" of vehicles (min, wife's & three kids) all now with over 100K on them; and two of those are over 200K. Once my kids are off our books, I'm thinking the wife and I will get something a little newer for ourselves. No car payments with high mileage vehicles, but man they can nickel & dime you to death sometimes.