Ok!

I have read my owners manual and a Haynes manual... still cant figure it out. 1999 4x4 5.4L Expedition. Not sure which tranny

I warmed transmission to operating temp and checked the dipstick:

1. While idling in park
2. While idling in drive (wife holding brake pedal for me)
3. While idling in reverse
4. While idling in neutral

Everytime a level did not register on my dipstick in the crosshatch area. So I figured I'd try it this morning while cold.

The oil level this time was clear up to the cold crosshatch area... So, is it low or not?

I ask because the vehicle shudders, jerks, while under load going up hill. It will not shudder or jerk under full throttle or while in 2nd gear. I changed the fuel filter so that's not it. There are no check engine lights. I do not lose RPM or anything while it shudders/jerks...

Simply can't figure it out.

Sure would appreciate your help.

Thanks.

 

If it was cold when you checked it and the fluid was in the cold hash marks then its where it should be.

How many miles does it have? If you feel like your tranny is shuddering I bet the tranny oil hasnt been changed since ford put it in.

I'd drop the pan, change the filter, and fill it up with clean fresh fluid then see how it goes.

 

Your truck should have the 4R100 transmission.
On page 163 of the owner's manual is complete info to do this check.
The trans fluid level should be checked at normal operating temperature. First shift through all of the gears, put it in park and check the level on the dipstick by making certain the stick is seated in the tube. The truck must be on a level surface. Any other method will not be accurate.

Changing the fluid and filter at every 30,000 miles will keep your trans happy.

 

If you did not have fluid on the stick as stated when warm, you need some fluid. But since there was enough on the stick when cold, you don't need much.

Check for codes. If you don't have a scanner, Auto Zone and some others do it for free. The check engine light may not come on even if you have a fault codes. I experienced the same shudder a few months back. Driving up to Big Bear, it would shudder/jerk/miss up the hill, but when I floored it, it did not happen. I thought the trans was going south until I checked for codes and found a COP was bad.

 

You might want to check the fluid level in your transfer case and if it is over full you probably have a bad seal between the t/case and the trans. Just one more thing to worry about.

 

Ok. I finally got the fluid level up to par. ...added 2.25 quarts of fluid... Yes it was low. When I check it cold - the engine was not running. My fault. I didn't see in manual that it was supposed to be running when cold.


Any way, that did not fix my shudder problem. I would try to see if there were codes but the check engine light does not come on...??

Maybe an injector is clogged? It's not the fuel filter which I already replaced.

It has 141,000 miles on it. Tranny fluid was last changed at 90,000 miles.

lv2 race,

you did have a 'check engine' light on when you found the COP to be bad correct?

 

An intermittant misfire would cause what feels like a shudder and it might not show a code until it happens several times. There might be a "Pending Code" that will not trigger the check engine light but most code readers will show it.
You are a bit past the fluid change interval and I suggest that you do it if the truck means anything to you.

 

When you changed the trannyfluid at 90k miles, did you drop the pan and change the tranny filter? And did you change or flush the fluid still in the torque converter? And did you use a brand name synthetic tranny fluid? Did you only need to add ~6 qts, or all ~19 qts?

Does your overdrive light blink on and off?

How many miles are on the sparkplugs?

 

I had a shutter in my 99 Expy, shifting from 3rd to overdrive. It sounded like runnning over BOTS dots when placed on the road coming to a stop sign. Drove me crazy so I changed the tranny fluid, including converter and changed the filter.
It wouldn't go away entirely so I emptied out a qt and added a qt of Slick 50 tranny additive. It probably took 25 miles to work it's way in but the problem then went away.
I know many don't believe in additives but this worked great.
Now 285k on the tranny and I change the tranny fluid every 50k with a qt of Slick 50.

 

I'm not big on additives however there are a few that actually work. Mercon V is supposed to reduce or get rid of the shudder as well.

I have never added anything to the trans except for the recommended fluid, however if the problem still persist then trying a highly recommended additive can't hurt & if it cures it then all is good.

I just changed the fluid in my 04 explorer, it was 2 1/2 quarts low. The previous owner was an idiot!

 

I use BG ATC Plus in both my Fords, 166k and 81k and they both feel tight.

 

Not at first, that's why I thought I had a tranny problem so I changed the filter and did a full flush, then I thought it was the fuel pump so I tested the pressure and put in a new fuel pump, but I still had the shudder issue.

I even drove around with the reader plugged in giving me live data and no codes. I didn't get a code until I lightly sprayed the engine compartment clean. Must have found a crack in the coil and the code finally presented itself. Before I bought a coil, I spent a few bucks on boots and that didn't fix it. Then I swapped coils and the code moved with the coil. Got a full set from E-Bay for $80 and it runs great.

 

Possible bad plug or coil. When I had a bad coil it would only misfire while going up hill under load. After doing it several times in a row I finally got a code to pop up.

 

That shutter is caused by your torque converter and it's common. Do a complete flush of your transmission.

 

Guys,


I never claimed to be the brightest light in the harbor... But it was one of the coils... Since this initial thread I have replaced them a couple of different times... at first, I would replace one at a time till the problem went away... Most recently, I just replaced all 8 of them at once...


No code ever came up... I just decided to start replacing coils and that was the fix...