For the the last two months I've been noticing my transmission wasn't acting normal. Basically it seemed like the RPMs were higher than what they should be for the speed that the truck was producing. This was only noticeable from a dead stop and would disappear quickly. It also wasn't happening very often. It seemed like there was slippage only when the truck was first taking off. This was very random and sometimes it had me wondering if I was just imagining the problem. Then a couple weeks ago I was backing into my driveway. I shifted into R and the engine revved up, but no movement. I put it in park, then back to R and it functioned fine. This had me waiting for a complete failure. Now two days ago my trans met its fate. I had taken the kids to school in the morning and noticed no issues. Returned home, backed into driveway and parked. No problems. Two hours later I leave the house and all is good. About a mile and a half from my house I stop at a traffic light. Light turns green and I begin to accelerate. Engine revs up, then suddenly 1st gear grabs and truck begins to move forward. I quickly notice that it isn't shifting out of 1st. I pull into a housing track and proceed to make a three point turn, only to find that there is no reverse. Luckily the driveway of the random house was steep enough, so I pulled up and used it for momentum to back up. I stop by a trans shop and naturally they can't tell me much without getting into it. He did say that it seems weird that I lost 2nd, 3rd, 4th and reverse. He said that losing reverse would mean a mechanical problem internally. He made it seem like I have two different problems. I returned home and called another shop, who also made me feel like my situation wasn't normal. After a lot of research online, I can't find anyone with the same issues as me. Most seem to lose only reverse or it's a problem shifting from 1-2 2-3 3-4, but not both issues. Before I pay a shop to look at it, I'd like to make sure that it isn't something I can fix. I never heard any loud sounds, like a pop or bang from the trans. After driving in 1st for a bit, I noticed that the OD light began flashing. Only code that came up was P0720 for the OSS. Fluid levels are perfect as well as the fluid color. I haven't dropped the pan yet to inspect internally. I'm wondering what the chances are that this could be an electrical issue? I know Mark is very knowledgable about transmissions, as well as some others. Any advise is greatly appreciated. If it matters, the truck info is as follows. 2004 f-250 4x4 v10 with 124,000 miles. I am the original owner and the trans has been serviced two times. Last service was around 100,000 miles. I've never seen my trans temp gauge move from normal operating temps. Any other questions please ask.

Update: some info that I forgot to share. If I shift into 1, then it performs normally. If I shift to 2 or D/OD, then it stays in 1st until I let off of the throttle and appears to shift, because the RPM's will drop at a faster rate without any drag from 1st gear on the motor. Also, when I shift into R, there is a very slight drop in RPM's. Could there be valves stuck open that could cause this?

 

There are no valves that will stick open. It is possible that the problem is loose feed bolts. More likely is a mechanical failure inside the trans.

 

So in your opinion, I shouldn't waste my time opening it up?

 

If you can find a way to check the feed bolts without opening the transmission please let me know. I'd like to have that piece of information.

If you don't want to check those, then replace the transmission.

 

Not sure about the sarcasm, but I did not imply that the feed bolts were accessible without opening the transmission. I was ruling them out of the equation based on your first comment. I, as do many, value your opinion. I felt that you didn't believe it was the feed bolts, and you felt that it needs a full rebuild.

Just to educate myself, I thought that there are valves that transfer fluid for the 1-2 2-3 3-4 shifting, and they can stick open preventing the shift?

 

There are shift valves. They each have two positions, I would not really call either position open or closed. My first comment has no bearing on the feed bolts. They are a possibility. I think it is more likely that something has broken inside the trans, but I have no way to know that without removing and opening the trans.

It seemed to me that you had just ignored my comment on the feed bolts.

 

Thank you of your time! I will post an update of what the results are.

 

Mark, I believe all 4r100's are built the same. If this is true, then an expedition 4r100 is just as strong as one from a superduty?

 

It isn't true. A 4R100 from a V10 is stronger than one from a 5.4L. A 4R100 from a 7.3L is stronger than one from a V10.

And a trans from a gas engine won't bolt to a diesel.

 

Ok. Thank you!

 

Hope this is what I'm looking at and Mark can advise me here. I have an 01 250 V10 w 4r100. The wife came back home about 4 months ago and told me that when she left the house the truck would not shift, I noticed the O/D light on, switched it off drove the truck and it shifted fine, so I dismissed it. She went back out without incident. I've had this truck since new with about 125K on it and don't use it as much with the gas prices. The other day I was running some errands in town and after one of the stops I took off and it would not shift out of first. I pulled the lever into second and it shifted ok, went back to drive and it shifted fine. After that it has shifted fine every time. BUT it sure gave me a wake up, fluid level is fine, although I have not changed the fluid and filter in a while. I'm scheduled to do a 600 mile trip pulling a trailer in the next week with the truck, so I am concerned.

 

This is just a guess. In 2001 Ford changed the intermediate one way clutch to a new design called the Mechanical Diode. It was a disaster. It was so bad that the decision was made to replace every one in the gas engine trucks before they left the factory. The diesels kept it, because at the time it was thought that the disaster only happened above 4,500 RPM.

All gas engine trucks were supposedly changed. I've heard of a few that slipped through. If you have one of those the first symptoms is intermittent no 1-2 shifts. If that I'd what's happening this will get worse until you have no 1-2.

 

I forgot to update what my problem was. Apparently there is a retaining clip that holds a gear that is in the center of the sun gear. That clip broke, which was probably only a couple dollars, and caused the inner gear to have slop back and forth. Eventually it put enough stress on the sun gear and caused it to split in half. It basically caused a catastrophic disaster. The mechanic said there was almost half a cup of metal debris collected by the magnet. I guess once the sun gear breaks, there is no way for the trans to shift into any gears.

 

Mark, the build date on the truck was June of 2001, so if that was an early catch, I would assume that this would not be the case... of course I know all about 'assume'. Would there be any way to determine if this transmission was one of them? Obviously at 14 yrs old and 125K Ford would not want to offer any support if it was.

 

It won't have a mechanical diode with that build date.

The intermediate one way could still be failing. The sprag type that your trans has is MUCH better than the mechanical diode, but nothing is absolutely 100% perfect.

It could also be a sticky shift valve in the valve body, or a sticky solenoid.