My friend stopped by last night to talk about some symptoms he is having with his transmission. Described as slow to engage in Drive....like he has to rev the engine a little bit before the vehicle moves forward. Also noticed that the vehicle would roll backwards while on an incline in Drive when he lets off the brake.

I searched around a little bit and found this thread with similar symptoms on page 4 and Mark Kovalsky's response on page 5.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...-advise-5.html

To save time browsing that thread....here is the text from those two posts....

Quote:

Originally Posted by svspeeder

...the engine would rev slighty before 1st gear engage. Also when in Drive and on an slight incline, the van would roll back if I release the brake untill I give it (throttle). ....

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Kovalsky

There are two shift solenoids. Neither one will cause the problem you're having. You are losing pressure to the forward clutch. There are several things that could cause that:
Low trans fluid
Loose/missing internal filter
Loose feed bolts between the valve body and the case
Worn seals in the forward clutch
Worn pump

Of course first thing we checked is the fluid level and it appears to be in range but it did appear more brown-ish vs the regular red-ish color. Also had an unusual odor best described as 'smokey'. He wants to change the fluid and see if anything improves. I offered to help. My thoughts are that we should drop the pan first and see what sort of material might be discovered in the pan. Is this the best next reasonable step?

Let's say we drop the pan and it looks somewhat normal....shall we check the torque on the VB bolts and confirm the filter is installed properly and then proceed with the fluid change?

I presume worn seals in the forward clutch or worn pump aren't going to fix themselves or be helped by a fluid change. Would either of those conditions cause the change in fluid color or odor? If we drop the pan and find lots of abnormal material, then it doesn't make any sense to change fluid because my friend is looking at a rebuild anyway....correct?

Thanks for the help.

 

I would proceed exactly as you have laid it out.

Hopefully there won't be a bunch of metal stuck to the pan magnet and an ATF flush and filter will be all that is needed. And another hope is that the long overdue for a flush ATF didn't ruin any seals. I guess you will find that out if you change it.

Remember, 2wd and 4wd use a different filter.

Was that smokey smell mesquite or hickory?

 

Thanks for the reminder. Maybe he should pick up a filter since we'll be dropping the pan anyway.

The smokey smell was more on the hickory side.....I hadn't had dinner yet so I was probably a little bit hungry

 

That doesn't sound good at all. I am thinking you are going to have to get a rebuild for that truck. Even if it works, it will be a matter of a few miles.

 

I have heard that most all of the 4r100 transmissions use the 4x4 pan, from what I know it is the early years that use the short 2wd pan.
On my truck it was the converter, it would go forward but not back. We pulled it all the way apart and everything looked good, we replaced all the wear parts and solinoid pack, and converter. We reused the pump.

It sounds like you have the proper course of action planned. Hopefully it is something simple like loose bolts....

 

Brown fluid with a burned smell? Not sure it is going to be simple

 

I tend to agree. At this point we have decided to make plans to drop the pan so I'll post some photos on Sunday before the game...

 

i missed that part, mine was just starting to turn color from pinkish, i tried a flush first too... $2900 later it drives perfect.

 

Mine was more since I bought a BTS

 

You probably won't see much in the pan. I suspect clutch friction material damage, and often that doesn't put much into the pan until it gets REALLY bad.
Maybe, but not usually. If the leak is bad enough that the clutch is slipping then the burnt clutch will do that, not the bad seals.

That's right.

That's right if we are talking about an E4OD ('89-'97) but false if we are talking about a 4R100 ('99-'04.)

ALL 4R100 transmissions use the deep pan.
That's impossible. The torque converter doesn't know if the trans is in reverse or drive. It can't work in one direction and not work in the other.

I'm pretty sure you're right. Once the fluid is brown and smelly there is quite a bit of damage done.

 

If you drop the pan and don't find much friction material, it may be worth dropping the VB's and Separator Plate to access the Feed bolts. This could be the cause of Forward Clutch pressure loss. It may not be a permanent fix, but may buy some time on the transmission.
Photo of loose Feed bolts
http://i571.photobucket.com/albums/s...s/dscn0333.jpg

 

Other thing, how cold has it been? sometimes when its real cold out this will happen.. seen it in a lot of aode trans and other off springs.

 

Thank you all for the responses.
It hasn't been terribly cold here. Overnight lows in the 50s I think...
So, the feed bolts are accessed by dropping the VB and plate, great info! Are there any ball bearings and if so, are they above or below the plate? Meaning, if we drop the VB (with trans still in vehicle), will the ball bearings stay in their correct positions (as long as we won't tip the VB over...)?

 

Yes, the check ***** are above the plate. If you lower it carefully, they will stay in their respective holes. I have a picture of their locations. I will look for it and post it, if you like.

 

That would be helpful just so we aren't in a mad panic on Super Bowl Sunday trying to get the trans back together in time to watch the game.