1999 4.6 f150 191,000 miles 2wd

the rpm will surge around 500 prior to the 2-3 and 3-4 shift. Then the shift feels perfectly normal.
if accelerating at wot when you let off the gas the rpm just hang until you let all the way off the gas then it shifts nicely

this services was performed when it was my grandfathers truck and the shop won’t give me a straight answer on if they’ll honor the warranty since I inherited this truck. I’m trying to avoid spending money and am wondering if the symptoms are related to their repairs or if it’s a new problem.

is this something I can just live with and not cause a more serious problem? The truck is not a daily driver and will only be driven a few thousand miles a year. I do plan on doing some light towing, less than 2,500 pounds.

thank you

 

First I've heard of shift flares on the bubble bodies, but I'm not a transmission expert. It was a common problem in the early 6R140's and it was a solenoid pack problem.

My only real contribution is no, I wouldn't just live with it. It will likely shorten the life of the transmission.

If you can reach @Mark Kovalsky he really knows his stuff on autos

 

Don't live with it. It isn't good for the trans. Take it to them and see what they say.

 

Thank y’all for the info. I was really hoping someone would know exactly what it was and that it was something harmless.

the shop said they were slammed and asked if I would give them a week or two. I will update this thread when they give me a diagnosis.

I appreciate everyone on this forum.

 

You can try pulling codes. A funky VSS won't help shift points. It's a long shot but if you want to feel like you're doing *something*.....

 

Got it back from the shop, they only thing I can say positive about these people is that they didn't attempt to charge me a diagnostic fee.

They told me I, "need a tune up." I asked them to elaborate. He told me it's misfiring on cylinder number 4 and that's what I'm feeling.

First, I am a moron but not a complete moron. This truck is running perfectly, I have a nice code reader and have done a full scan and there is nothing wrong aside from a few random body codes.

I pushed him more and asked if I am feeling a misfire, why does it only happen prior to the 2-3 and 3-4 shift, regardless of speed or throttle input?

He responded with, "well cylinder number 4 only really comes on above 30 mph and that is why you feel it then."

After a long pause I politely said, "that is not how motors work, all 8 cylinders are firing in time the whole time it's on" He had nothing to say other than, "don't know what to tell you, nothing wrong with that transmission."

The whole story is, this was my grandads truck, he had the transmission rebuilt 2 years ago and only put 6k miles on it since then. I know he would have brought it back to them if it was doing this then. I suspect they just don't want to work on the truck, either because they know they have to do another rebuild or because they have no idea why it's doing this. I think I'm just going to scale back how much I plan on using this truck and sell it in a year or two and put that money towards a newer one. Grandaddy would have liked that.

Thank ya'll.

 

It's seems obvious they want nothing to do with it. If the trans fluid smells or looks burnt it may be too late for smaller issues, however it's possible there is a problem with the valve body, maybe a broken/cracked separator plate. I think I'd take it to another shop and have them diagnose it with a pressure test. Then removing the valve body and disassembled to check for broken pieces. They can also check the accumulator pistons at the same time. All that can be done without removing the transmission.

 

Most any warranties become null and void once the vehicle is sold. If that is the case here then the shop has no obligation to diagnose or fix it for free.

 

A flare between gears was standard equipment on the 5 speed automatics in '98 & '99 Explorers, maybe other years as well. I had mine swapped out by Ford under warranty and it still had a flare.

Local independant shop, all Ford guys, put some Justice Brothers transmission snake oil in it. No more flares, shifted perfectly after that but got hit and totalled.

If the fluid isn't bad or contaminated as described in post 2, check out an additive like the JB stuff.

Swerving suggestion.....

As for the guy who said #4 only cuts in at 30mph, he should never be allowed to do anything on any vehicle ever again. Hard to believe anyone would say that.

 

It's just DoD, dude! Displacement on Demand...

er wait I mean AFM (Active Fuel Management)

er wait that was GM....

I'm kidding (but not about GM of course)!!!!!!

 

In order to avoid posting too much useless information and wasting peoples time, I did not go into any of those details.

I called the shop, explained the situation; grandfather had it rebuilt, only has 6k miles on it since rebuild, he passed and gave the truck to me and they agreed to check it out. I appreciated them agreeing to this as obviously, I was not the owner at the time of the rebuild. However, simply lying and saying it's misfiring is ridiculous and leads me to believe some form of shenanigans are occurring.

 

The fluid is beautiful, any additives always scare me...

A new symptom I had not noticed before. I was going 30mph, floored the gas and let off to half throttle at 65mph. When I let off to half throttle it was like the truck was in neutral. It would just free rev and was slowing down, could not accelerate. I let off the throttle completely and it shifted into gear and drove normal.

I plan on babying this truck and only driving it a couple times a month to tow my 17ft boat or haul a load of mulch or compost.

LOL!