im totally in the dark on how the connector could cause hard shifting. but as for your tranny, i dont think yours is a blown gasket. if you still have engine braking that you are most likely ok there. i would suggest a tranny fluid change and a new filter. than put in one quart of lucus transmission addative and see if that can help lossen your tranny up a little
Comments based on my limited experience:
The OD light flashing started a long time after the flare manifested itself and was intermittent and inconsistent
After the repair, manual first gear braking was very pronounced, before the repair it was more like letting off the gas in 3rd or higher, meaning it was not the same as being in neutral but it definitely was not slowing the vehicle
In mine, the flare was quick and raised the rpm substantially, it did not feel like a slip, more like a very quick pop into neutral then back in gear without the jerk that would happen if you did that with the gear selector
im beggining to question if the ford tsb would help you. the new sep plate and bonded gaskets cannot hurt. if i was you i would try to install a shift kit or put in the same ford kit i did in the article.
Fordboy - thanks for your reply.
The connector was a TSB I read. Like I said - it looked okay.
The fluid and filter were changed about four weeks ago, and I added the Lucas treatment (after draining some tranny fluid to make sure the level was right) last week with no improvement.
I was gonna do your gasket procedure, but I'm just not sure it would help .....
It sounds like the transmission problems that your Ranger is having are very similar to the ones on my Ranger. The only difference is that my O/D light does occasionally flash. (See my earlier posts in this thread.)
Can you tell me about the connector TSB that you mention in your post? Where is the connector located? I doubt that it is the cause of the problems with my truck, but I'll check it out just in case. I don't think the valve body gasket issue is causing my truck's problems either.
If you do fix your transmission troubles, I would like to know what ends up being the solution.
BTW, my symptoms are intermittent so it is hard to diagnose the problem.
Electrical - Water Intrusion Into Connectors
Article No.
01-5-2
March 19, 2001
^ DRIVEABILITY - ROUGH IDLE - DIAGNOSTIC
^ TROUBLE CODES (DTCS) P0500, P0501, P0503,
^ P1721, P0176, OR P1000 STORED IN MEMORY -
^ WATER INTRUSION AT CONNECTOR C309 OR
^ C340 UNDER DRIVER'S SEAT - VEHICLES
^ PRODUCED BEFORE 1/2/2001
^ ELECTRICAL - ANTI-LOCK BRAKE (ABS) LAMP
^ ILLUMINATED - DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODE
^ (DTC) C1230 OR CODES 9 OR 16 STORED IN
^ MEMORY - WATER INTRUSION AT CONNECTOR
^ C309 OR C340 UNDER DRIVER'S SEAT - VEHICLES
^ PRODUCED BEFORE 1/2/2001
^ ELECTRICAL - SPEEDOMETER - INOPERATIVE OR
^ ERRATIC OPERATION - WATER INTRUSION AT
^ CONNECTOR C309 OR C340 UNDER DRIVER'S SEAT - VEHICLES
^ PRODUCED BEFORE 1/2/2001
^ TRANSMISSION - 4R44E - ROUGH/HARSH OR
^ DELAYED UPSHIFT - WATER INTRUSION AT
^ CONNECTOR C309 OR C340 UNDER DRIVER'S
^ SEAT - VEHICLES PRODUCED BEFORE 1/2/2001
FORD:
2000-2001 RANGER
ISSUE
Some vehicles may exhibit a rough idle, Anti-lock Brake System (ABS) warning lamp illumination, inoperative or erratic speedometer, Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) P0500, P0501, P0503, P1721, P0176, P1000, ABS DTC 9, RABS DTC 16, or a delayed or harsh shifting automatic transmission. This may be caused by water intrusion at connector C309 (2000 model year) or C340 (2001 model year) under the driver's seat.
i think a shift kit could help your ranger, by all means it wont hurt (if installed correctly). you may also benifit from a band tightening (dont ask me how to do tho, i have no clue)
Electrical - Water Intrusion Into Connectors
Article No.
01-5-2
March 19, 2001
^ DRIVEABILITY - ROUGH IDLE - DIAGNOSTIC
^ TROUBLE CODES (DTCS) P0500, P0501, P0503,
^ P1721, P0176, OR P1000 STORED IN MEMORY -
^ WATER INTRUSION AT CONNECTOR C309 OR
^ C340 UNDER DRIVER'S SEAT - VEHICLES
^ PRODUCED BEFORE 1/2/2001
^ ELECTRICAL - ANTI-LOCK BRAKE (ABS) LAMP
^ ILLUMINATED - DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODE
^ (DTC) C1230 OR CODES 9 OR 16 STORED IN
^ MEMORY - WATER INTRUSION AT CONNECTOR
^ C309 OR C340 UNDER DRIVER'S SEAT - VEHICLES
^ PRODUCED BEFORE 1/2/2001
^ ELECTRICAL - SPEEDOMETER - INOPERATIVE OR
^ ERRATIC OPERATION - WATER INTRUSION AT
^ CONNECTOR C309 OR C340 UNDER DRIVER'S SEAT - VEHICLES
^ PRODUCED BEFORE 1/2/2001
^ TRANSMISSION - 4R44E - ROUGH/HARSH OR
^ DELAYED UPSHIFT - WATER INTRUSION AT
^ CONNECTOR C309 OR C340 UNDER DRIVER'S
^ SEAT - VEHICLES PRODUCED BEFORE 1/2/2001
FORD:
2000-2001 RANGER
ISSUE
Some vehicles may exhibit a rough idle, Anti-lock Brake System (ABS) warning lamp illumination, inoperative or erratic speedometer, Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) P0500, P0501, P0503, P1721, P0176, P1000, ABS DTC 9, RABS DTC 16, or a delayed or harsh shifting automatic transmission. This may be caused by water intrusion at connector C309 (2000 model year) or C340 (2001 model year) under the driver's seat.
As you can read above, did the separator plate and TSB fix and it seemed to work great, until the next day. Now it is doing exactly what it was doing before, flare on 2nd to 3rd shift. I do now have 1st gear manual engine breaking, however.
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