I have a 2001 Ford F-150 5.4L Supercrew that won't seem to shift out of 1st gear. This morning coming out of stop light on the way to work, the truck seemed to jerk when it was supposed to shift into 2nd gear. I was told by a friend that the speed sensor may be it? Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

UPDATE: So I took the truck around the block just so I can get a feel for what is going on. So the truck shifts into 2nd, but not past that. It seems that around 30mph the RPM's go up jump up quickly to 2k+ and no shift or increase in speed. I was reading up a bit on it and came across the possibility of a TPS?

 

Sounds like the direct clutches are burnt. How does the trans fluid look? Pull the pan and check for debris stuck to the magnet.

 

The trans fluid looks fine, no shavings or anything. I think I'll proceed with dropping the pan as you said. What cost am i looking at to replace the clutches? I've never done any transmission work so i may just take it to a shop so that they can diagnose it. What do you suggest?

 

I just got my '00 back from shop yesterday, had identical issue...3rd gear is a direct drive shaft, the splines in the drum hub had stripped/failed, I had other hard part damage as result.

Complete bench disassembly, installed rebuild kit (clutches, bands, filter, bushings, & seals), along with new direct and reverse drums, shell/gear, servos, and piston. Torque converter rebuilt as well, new ATF.

I got three local estimates (SF Bay Area, CA), and looked into online options. Wasn't interested in a junkyard pull.

~$1000 in parts, ~$1300 labor (R&R, +rebuild)

~$2400 total, w/warranty.

 

Sheesh, well I doesn't come to that. I went ahead and took into a transmission shop earlier this morning. I should have a solid price by the close of business today.

 

I have a thread here about my truck doing that same thing every time it snows. Drive it till it warms up, and let it idle for a half an hour, and the trans shifts perfectly. Something in the electronics gets wet or freezes up and screws up the shifting. I think it's the Manual Lever Position Sensor on the side of the trans, it's also the neutral start switch and the backup light switch. About a hundred bucks at NAPA or 200 at Ford. I'm just going to drive it like that until Spring and dump it on some other poor schmuck.