To update, with the new Mercon V fluid and new filter my shudder I had on my 95 Lincoln Town Car (with the 4R70W transmission) is completely gone. First 50 miles it was there slightly, but then it completely went away. I guess the 184K mile 15 year old fluid was shot? Dont know why they would religiously change the oil every 3000 miles, but never even touch the tranny fluid.

However since the shudder is gone, I have noticed that NOW when it shifts into 3rd gear its like I can feel the torque converter engage within a second, even if still under moderate acceleration. Not sure if this is normal or not, but it was not doing it before the new fluid/filter since before at that point, it was shuddering and slipping until the new fluid... now the shudder is gone, but I can feel the converter engage even before o/d. Whats going on?

Thanks.

(maybe if I say its a 1997 F150 I will get more replies... LOL).

 

Ok, thanks for the reply. So could a misfire occur without throwing a code? Also, i get kind of jerky shift, i think from 2nd to 3rd, if I'm light on the gas. If I floor it, the truck shifts fine staight through. I just get a small shake at idle and at about 2k rpm. But what's strange is I get the rumble on accleration or off the gas. At 2k rpm and about 65mph the rumble is constant. I took it to ford, changed u joints, diff fluid, wheel bearing, tires been balanced over and over. Its just strange that I get it in drive and in park. What if I threw a weight from the TC? or flywheel? Could I tell without tearing it apart?
I'm just kind of fed up, bout to trade it in for a 2010.

 

zam, your hard to get through to.
YES a coil will act this way. It affects a cylinder and causes a miss without a code because it is NOT a hard fault..
If you go a new 2010 and it develpes an issue, will you trade again just because there is an issue that doesn't lead you by the hand to an easy conclusion?
I won't get any easier with issues later on, either. The systems are even more complex after 2004.
Sorry to get on you a little but step back and take a deep breath.
Good luck.

 

Bluegrass 7 I had the problem that many are describing. I changed out my plugs (well 5 out of 8, I ran out of time), but so fat this has eliminated my shuddering problem. I'll get the remaining plugs changed out on Monday.
Thanks for posting to check these out first.

I have ended up with a new issue. It seems that I don't have a passing gear now. When I really give it gas the truck just gently accelerates. No hard shifts, no shuddering, just gently gets up to speed.

I do have a CEL on now, but can't get to O'rielly's until tomorrow morning. Any ideas just from what I have provided?

Thanks,
Craig

 

mine was torque converter shutter its just an additive you put in to get rid of it stopped instantly.

 

Are you supposed to be able to feel the torque converter lock up as soon as it shifts into 3rd gear? Mine started doing this as soon as I put in Mercon V fluid. It was shuddering at this point, but after the new fluid/filter, the shudder stopped, but then the converter started locking in 3rd instead of overdrive. Dont know if this is normal for these or not.

 

Leave the transmission alone, you have one coil with shorted turns.
The 45-55 mph light throttle is the dead give-away.
The faulty coil will not set a code for you to see which cylinder it is.
Either swap one at a time or have a dealer stress test to pick out the offending coil.
The faulty coil missfires the cylinder because the EGR is operating causing a very lean mixture the coil cannot fire reliably due to LOW OUTPUT from that coil (it's not a 'hard' failure that will set a code).
Good luck.

 

Is it possible to track down one of these coil problems with a odb II scanner? Maybe one like this? Amazon.com: Actron CP9145 AutoScanner Diagnostic Code Scanner with Live, Record and Playback Data Capability for OBDII Vehicles: Home Improvement

Just thought it might be easier to to that than switching out the coils. I'm just not sure it will work.

 

A scanner with the ability to be set up to trap a fault may well point to a cylinder/coil causing the studder.
The reason this kind of fault is a pain is that it is not a "hard" fault but comes and goes as your driving load and speed changes.
As this happens, the PCM sees the fault but as soon as it goes away the PCM cancells the temporary record in memory such that no code is set to tell you which cylinder is the fault.
A scanner may be able to either trap a running fault or look at the ongoing record files of missfires for each cylinder.
Otherwise you would either have to replace with a known good set of coils or do cylinder coil swaps until you get to the offending cylinder's coil---- or have a dealer stress test all the coils to find the one with low output. Then if the coil is heat sensitive, it may be missed if it tests ok when cool or cold.
I have chased these issues a number of times and found OEM coils, and aftermarket coils to be faulty and even fail after some time in service. It was a research project in part, so learning becomes a big result of it. All coils are suspect until proven good.
To the first timer trying to solve this, it can cause a lot of confusion.
Always base the whole thing on the way the studder acts.
Namely a miss between 45 and about 65 under light loads. That's the key element driving this kind of problem.
The studder can even happen when the motor is relitivley cold and sometimes momentairly just off idle when leaving a stop or traffic light.
Good luck.

 

2001 F-150 129K

Had the same problem. I had the trans serviced at 60K and changed plugs at 70K. Started shuddering again at about 125K. Changed the fluid & filter. Still shuddered. Changed the plugs...no more shudder.

 

Thanks for the info guys.
Bluecobra, did you ever get a misfire code on the check engine? Also when you had the shuddering, did it affect your shifting at all?

 

I never got a misfire code. I did get a code that had something to do with the idle air control valve. When I changed the plugs, I also removed and cleaned the throttle body and iac valve. The throttle body was pretty gunked up despite the teflon coating that was supposed to prevent that. There were also a couple of vac hoses that were in need of replacement. I had tried the Ford trans additive...twice... didn't work. I'm pretty sure the plugs were the problem. A couple of them were pretty ashed up. I had always thought the trans was the problem because the shudder only happened around the 45-50 mph area when encountering a hill or slight incline where a downshift might be expected. I know the plugs are a bit of a pain to change, I've done it twice. I'll probably be changing the trans fluid again next summer and maybe the plugs too along with cleaning the throttle body. It made a huge difference for me.

 

Going to try this again.. not sure if my post are visible or not, or if no one knows....

Is it normal for the "lockup" to engage almost immedietly after it shifts into 3rd rather than overdrive and if not, whats likely the issue? Thanks.

 

Yes but depends on engine load conditions and speed.
All functions are controlled by the computer, electrically.
If there is a fault, it is detected and may flash the shift lever lamp or set as a code in the PCM depending on what and how a fault is detected.

 

Thanks. It does it all of time since I have changed the filter and put in Mercon V fluid. Before, it would shudder when it would try to go into overdrive.... now it goes in smoothly, but it goes in as soon as it shifts into 3rd gear, no matter the temperature or load. No codes flashing.

(btw, its a 95 Town Car, but same transmission)