Alright guys, more work done on the Van. Today I dropped the pan, changed the filter, AND flushed it out all with the engine running and disconnected cooler lines and dumping everything in a pan. I also added a magnetic in the pan.

I was expecting to find that little white plastic plug the factory puts in the dipstick tube when they make the transmission, meaning it would be the first time the pan gets dropped, but nope.

Anyways, the oil was BLACK. Brownish/black. It was nasty looking, but did not smelled burnt at all, so that's good. Didn't find nothing interesting in the pan, so alls good.




So now on the test drive, it STILL shifts 1-2-3 pretty much all at once.

From a dead stop, the engine will rev up to about 1200RPM (light throttle) then you feel it shift, to 2nd, then right after 3rd, and lugs the engine.


If you manually shift it, it shifts great! What can be causing this? I was thinking either sticky valve body from the old fluid, but that's not the case anymore. Or to much vacuum.


If you floor it from a stop, then it shifts normal in D.

Does it sound like the VRV is bad, or needs adjustment? Anyway to check if it's still good? I know (I think) to adjust it, pull it forward for higher RPM shifts, toward the back, lower RPM shifts....correct? I did some research but can't find a direct answer on testing the VRV.

 

Tip it forward for quicker shifts, tipping it back will delay upshifts and cause quicker "kickdowns". Bad VRV's can cause many different issues, I had a sheet that explained settingand testing them at one time, I will see if I can find it tomorrow.

 

outside of the transmission, all thats there is the VRV and the vacuum can on the back of the tranny, i can't remember what its called, but there is an adjustment inside it (that i never got around to adjusting on mine)
if i leave mine in drive, it'll run first gear to darn near 30 MPH (revving like he!!) before it hits second, then to 3rd around 45, which is about right. i just manually shift it all the time and it doesn't bother me

for testing the VRV, i believe i read that the correct way is to supply a constant vacuum of around 20" to the valve, and place a vacuum gage on the tranny end of the valve, and with the engine off (but vacuum applied), open the throttle slowly, watching the gage. it should have full vacuum at idle and zero at WOT, with a smooth transition in between, taking most/all of the pedal stroke. this is set up to imitate the vacuum produced by a gasser under various throttle positions.
if you don't have a suitable supply of vacuum pressure, this test probably could be done with the engine running, on an open road, with the line to the tranny disconnected and connected to a gage run up through the window to where you can see it.

 

Closed throttle should be 14 to 17''hg and wot should be less then 5''hg. Sounds like you need to decrease vacuum, so tip the vrv forward a little at a time.

 

The high 1-2 shift is the way Ford set these up new from the factory. I have yet to drive one that is set up properly (as per Ford spec) that shifts before 25mph, at least in high range (if 4wd)

The reasoning behnd this was simple - it was the way Ford took a weak (for a diesel that has a realativly low rpm torque peak) transmission and avoided a high throttle position / high torque, low RPM lugging condition which can be a killer of not only automatics, but manual clutches as well.

Yes, Ford could have built up the transmission, or for that matter put stronger clutches in the manuals, but remember, these are production vehicles, built for a price point, (read as cheap as possible to produce, while returning good enough life to satisfy most users, while providing Ford a profit!) so it was basicly cheaper for Ford to raise the shift points on the autos and lower the tow ratings for the manual trannys.

David

 

Alright thanks guys! I'll play with it thursday and come back with results. Working from 7-5 and 7-8 tomorrow and wednesday.



Interesting setting from the factory.

 

So finally got around to this, working great now! All it needed was an adjustment.


3rd time was the charm.

Pulled it forward bit by bit till I got it where I like it.

 

Ya, sometimes there are diverse reasons behnd why something is done the way it is, not always for driveability, economy or life span, but all three in combination, along with that price point / profit / reasonable life that Ford and every other for profit company needs to balance.

David