Hello everyone. My name's Brad and I'm a newer driver and the proud owner of a '96 F-250 (auto) 2WD with the 351w. Let me give you ladies and gentlemen a brief story on the history of the truck from what I was able to gather:

"Nappa" was used as a work truck for a company in western Alberta for the first 10 years of its life until the company sold it to an employee. He drove it fine until the smog pump seized and blew his serpentine belt. He parked it in a field for 3 years until I bought it. After a week of driving it I notice its starting to shift very hard into second gear. Other than that the truck seems to run fine but its almost as though in order to get into second gear the truck has to be revving much higher than normal and won't shift until its almost at 40km. The shift I would liken to being rear ended by a small car. Is this normal for these larger trucks? It doesn't feel very natural to me and I'm been thinking since the truck has been sitting for a few years I should change the tranny fluid, along with the engine oil.

Here's the thing, the guy came out and told me he changed all of fluids before it sat and said "that its a waste of time to change the fluids because they look good and that the hard shifting is normal for this truck", in fact he was adamant about not changing the fluids, and told me I needed to learn how to drive. Pretty much he kept repeating "This truck is made for Pulling" Ugh I was sick of hearing that. I drove Hino's that shifted smoother than my truck but he wouldn't hear that.

I guess what I'm asking is, is this normal? Is my transmission toast? I'm on a very limited budget until I can be sure my truck can get me back and forth to work so I feel like I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. I love my truck and I'm sure I can drive it the way it is but I don't want to risk further damage. I would appreciate any information on what I can and should do in my situation. I respect your opinions and thank you fine folks for hearing me out

 

First of all welcome!! There a lot of knowledgeable people on here. My '92 does the same hard shift into 2nd very rarely like when on the freeway when I do a hard stop and then take back off. I will subscribe to see if anyone else has any ideas.

 

Along with your thead title that is all the info I need, the transmission in this truck is COMPLETELY computer controlled so the FIRST thing you need to do is pull the codes. The easiest way to do that is to go get yourself an Equus 3145 code reader and post up the results you get.

 

Nope. The previous owner is full of BS, hard shifts ain't normal for this truck. He probably bought it like that and assumed it was normal. The stock E4OD shift feels soft and drawn out most of the time... unless you toe-shift it like I do.

Do as Conanski said and pull the fault codes, then post them up here so we can help you get it sorted out.

Do you have any other symptoms? Speedometer needle wavering? ABS light on?

Right now your transmission is in limp mode. This is where the EEC (Electronic Engine Control, your engine/trans computer) operates the transmission using a pre-defined set of parameters in order to protect the transmission from damage due to losing critical sensor input data, or some other fault.

 

Thank you guys so much for your info. I didn't even know I could use a code reader on my truck.

Dixie460, you gave me some great information also. I had no idea my truck has the E40D. When I googled it all I could get are results in the diesel category. I'm so new to vehicle mechanics that I didn't want to assume.

As for other symptoms .... hmm, the light on the gear shift flashes once in a while but its very random, manual shifting through the gears is ok, if I leave it in 2 I can drive around town fine. The speedo needle doesn't wobble but it doesn't shift until I get to almost 40km. Another previous owner quote was that since its a "pulling truck" I'm in fact driving it wrong. He assures me that the hard shift is due to it not having "enough weight" which would smooth things out.

Thank you guys so much for showing interest in helping a newbie. Its really appropriated. I'm going to try to grab a code reader tonight. Just so I'm certain is my truck OBD 1? Thanks again chaps!

 

Darn I missed this post And thank you all for having me!

It happens pretty much anywhere that requires a shift out of first gear and it doesn't matter if I drive slow or gun it. Once it shifts it shifts HARD! As I decelerate the gear down is also rougher than usual.

Here's to us fixing the issue

 

Yup, that's a dead giveaway you have transmission-related fault codes waiting for you to read.

On a Ford, the OD OFF light will flash to indicate the EEC has detected a problem affecting the transmission. It might not even be a problem with the transmission itself, just trouble with something the EEC needs to operate the transmission properly.

And you're welcome! That's what forums like this are for.

 

First thing you need to do is check the fluid. What color is it? Does it smell burnt? Is there the proper amount of fluid in it? (there's a proper way to check transmission fluid level, I could explain, but Google is your friend here)

 

The code-reader is a good idea, and so is this. I'd suspect the trans fluid would look and smell burned...

Wow. That sounds to me like it came straight out of the north end of a southbound bull. I'd guess that your truck was driven pretty hard, and you were given some lame excuses as to why.

By the way, if your truck is a '96, it should be OBD-2. And do you experience anything out of the ordinary if you run through the gears manually?

 

Thank you all for your responses. Before I get cracking on ordering the Code Reader that Conanski mentioned, could I just ask a question?

If I heard correctly, OBD 1 gives you two digit codes while OBD 2 gives you three correct? Or am I wrong? I just want to make sure that I order the correct code reader. My truck has the OBD on the drivers side engine compartment and it has a large black plug along with the grey STI plug hanging off. Just to make sure could someone confirm that this is in fact OBD and that the code reader Conanski recommended is the one I need?

I checked the tranny fluid again today and noticed that it looks fairly decent but there is a light soot like substance that is on the dipstick, not too sure if its just dirt or what. As for smell, Its not smelling disgusting or anything like that and the level is fine.

Hey Bright do you mean shift with the gear lever while driving? I haven't tried but other than that hard shift there's no issue shifting, I'm in a super tight parking lot and there is no hesitation when inching my way in.


One more thing I forgot to mention: Once the previous owner figured out that I'm convinced there's an issue with my truck he blurted out that the truck had a shift kit installed before he bought it, which explains why there aren't any receipts..... anyway I would appreciate any further explanation and clarification for what I'm about to say because I'm not a mechanic, just a technical/mechanically minded individual who is a fan of common sense.

Now lets just say for argument sake that a "shift kit" was installed, would a person honestly "set" it to shift that hard and at 40km? (24mph) I don't have a tach but I can feel that it's a higher RPM. Is there any physical indication that would show me such a kit installed to "Nappa"?

 

Yup...start off in 1, manually shift to 2 at about 1,500-2,000 RPM, and repeat for each higher gear.

An OBD hook-up point under the hood, on the driver's side, sounds like OBD-1. My '91 was set up the same way. Check the hook-up point before you buy a scanner; OBD-1 has six pins, and I'm pretty sure OBD-2 has more like 16 (someone here will know for sure and correct me if I'm wrong).

 

OBD-I vehicles will display two or three digit codes. Ford started to use the three digit codes in 1991 but there are trucks in the 95/96 range (usually have a C6 transmission) that still have two digit codes. Since your diagnostic data link is under the hood that means yours is OBD-I. The Equus/Innova 3145 is the code reader for you.

FWIW OBD-II codes are alphanumeric. Powertrain related codes are displayed as Pxxxx format.

 

I thought OBD-II was mandated for the 1996 model year...or was that effective as of the 1996 calendar year...or am I just wrong?

 

There is more to that story....Federal emission vehicles over 8500 GVW were exempt. Cali emissions raised it to ~14K GVW.

There are plenty of 1996 and later F250/350 Ford trucks running around with OBD-I PCM systems.

 

Almost all--if not every last one of--the '96s in my home state would have had OBD-II, but Brad's truck is most likely a heavy-duty 49-state truck. Makes more sense now.