Hey guys,

I have a 1987 Ford F-150 XLT Lariat. 5.0L V8 engine, with 73k miles. I'm having a problem that I haven't found much info on... The other day I was on a steep hill, and was in traffic, while on the hill, my truck was in drive (It's Automatic) and when I went to hit the pedal, it reved, but it rolled backwards as if it wasn't in gear at all. Luckily for me the guy behind me was texting and was a good 20ft behind me, I was able to get it going by pushing the brake and holding down the pedal until it finally caught and I moved a few feet. I really don't trust my truck now after that, and that's not a good thing, I love this truck. Thanks guys, if you can help or have any suggestions they're appreciated. (Yes, I am going to take it in to be checked out, but as a college kid I don't have the money to pay a mechanic to actually check it out at the moment, so I'm hoping that I can fix it myself.)

 

Check the simple things first......transmission fluid level.

 

Unfortunatly I did check it, and it was in the normal range, just about half way between low and full.. It happends every now and then, for a while it won't happen, but it happend twice to me since then, so I have the slight feeling that maybe a small problem has become a larger problem.

 

Did this happen shortly after beginning to drive from a cold start or was the truck fully warmed up? I have seen this happen with the aod trans on cold starts when temps are low.. below freezing, sticking valves are not uncommon and they usually act up when the fluid is thicker. There is no fix really besides a trans rebuild but if it's only happening when it's cold out then it's more of a nuisance than anything and doesn't present any imminent danger to the transmission.

 

AOD trans?

 

I checked, and it is indeed a AOD transmission. Since then I've been letting my truck warm up for a few minutes before putting it in gear and it hasn't acted up since and it has been anywhere between below freezing to mid 50s since then. Thanks for the help guys!

 

Glad to hear you found it!