No 3rd or 4th gear, changed EVERYTHING
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No 3rd or 4th gear, changed EVERYTHING
So I have a 2002 f150 XLT sport 5.4L v8…200000 miles…4r70w tranny, my problem started almost a year ago, I wasn’t getting 4th gear at all, 1-3 seemed fine, it would just climb in 3rd, never shifting. I figured it was the transmission so I did a complete overhaul and upon inspection I saw no damage that would have caused this situation. I replaced all the soft parts and even some hard parts, all solenoids, all seals and bushings, clutches, steels, range sensor… I even rebuilt the transfer case, new chain, new fork, full rebuild kit, all bearings and seals , even brand new torque converter. I flushed the lines, I think I cleaned the coolers out pretty well…
so I put it all back together and I’m not getting 3rd or 4th gear… it hangs in 2nd a little longer than it should and then just neutrals out…BUT if I put it in manual 1st or manual 2nd it drives fine and will hold rpms at any speed. So that’s how I’ve been driving it, I just don’t go very fast so I don’t blow up the engine.
I saw a video where someone had this same situation, different model year truck. They multimetered the wire that controls SSB, or SS2, (from the pcm) and saw that it was feeding the wrong voltage to the solenoid so it wasn’t operating properly. I did the same test to the same wire and concluded the same thing.. so I got a used OEM pcm and got it all programmed in my truck only to find out that the issue was also not with the pcm… nothing changed with the new pcm installed, so I’m at a complete loss. A month ago I took the valve body down and checked to see if there were any sticking in the bores and to check for excessive wear in the pan, there was none. I also checked to see if the OD servo was not connecting with the OD band. This wasnt the case either.
I installed the sonnax zip kit as well as a transgo aode-hd2 shift kit during the original tranny overhaul.
where to look next??l
so I put it all back together and I’m not getting 3rd or 4th gear… it hangs in 2nd a little longer than it should and then just neutrals out…BUT if I put it in manual 1st or manual 2nd it drives fine and will hold rpms at any speed. So that’s how I’ve been driving it, I just don’t go very fast so I don’t blow up the engine.
I saw a video where someone had this same situation, different model year truck. They multimetered the wire that controls SSB, or SS2, (from the pcm) and saw that it was feeding the wrong voltage to the solenoid so it wasn’t operating properly. I did the same test to the same wire and concluded the same thing.. so I got a used OEM pcm and got it all programmed in my truck only to find out that the issue was also not with the pcm… nothing changed with the new pcm installed, so I’m at a complete loss. A month ago I took the valve body down and checked to see if there were any sticking in the bores and to check for excessive wear in the pan, there was none. I also checked to see if the OD servo was not connecting with the OD band. This wasnt the case either.
I installed the sonnax zip kit as well as a transgo aode-hd2 shift kit during the original tranny overhaul.
where to look next??l
Cargo Master
Joined: Dec 2015
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I can't help you with AFTER your overhaul but we experienced no OD when I made the mistake of installing the Dorman shift lever which conveniently came with 2 of the 3 wires crossed. I don't know why I buy Dorman anything.....at this point the joke's on me.
However since you've seemingly looked everywhere else have you looked at the tiny, failure-prone wires from the shifter into the column?
Are you getting any power to the OD cancel light? Or flashing (error)?
To be clear, I'm not suggesting this wiring would preclude 3rd but if the wrong one shorted to ground I believe it would be basically be a constant call to cancel OD
Beyond that, not much help.
@Mark Kovalsky
However since you've seemingly looked everywhere else have you looked at the tiny, failure-prone wires from the shifter into the column?
Are you getting any power to the OD cancel light? Or flashing (error)?
To be clear, I'm not suggesting this wiring would preclude 3rd but if the wrong one shorted to ground I believe it would be basically be a constant call to cancel OD
Beyond that, not much help.
@Mark Kovalsky
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I can't help you with AFTER your overhaul but we experienced no OD when I made the mistake of installing the Dorman shift lever which conveniently came with 2 of the 3 wires crossed. I don't know why I buy Dorman anything.....at this point the joke's on me.
However since you've seemingly looked everywhere else have you looked at the tiny, failure-prone wires from the shifter into the column?
Are you getting any power to the OD cancel light? Or flashing (error)?
To be clear, I'm not suggesting this wiring would preclude 3rd but if the wrong one shorted to ground I believe it would be basically be a constant call to cancel OD
Beyond that, not much help.
@Mark Kovalsky
However since you've seemingly looked everywhere else have you looked at the tiny, failure-prone wires from the shifter into the column?
Are you getting any power to the OD cancel light? Or flashing (error)?
To be clear, I'm not suggesting this wiring would preclude 3rd but if the wrong one shorted to ground I believe it would be basically be a constant call to cancel OD
Beyond that, not much help.
@Mark Kovalsky
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1) the direct drum was in good shape when I did the overhaul and you would think that I would have at LEAST had a few minutes of all the gears working before the drum blew out, right? But immediately following the overhaul I started the truck all I had was 1st and 2nd gear
2) the transgo kit comes with a EPC relief valve which I believe is supposed to allow for excess pressure to blow out of the valve, therefore wouldn’t allow such pressure to blow out the bottom of a drum, or direct drum in this case. The transgo kit instructions say this about the EPC relief valve.. “corrects uncontrollable line pressure due to electronic malfunction, stuck EPC valve, or cross leaks. Reduces the accidental neutral condition [run-away] and brutal 2nd clutch re-apply that breaks 2nd one-way or mid shaft”
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Oh yeah I forgot to mention the CEL is not illuminated and there are no DTCs. Just had a fresh battery and starter put in also.
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More Turbo
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You've replaced everything and still no luck. The only thing to do is take into a Ford dealership and pay to get a diagnostic run on it.
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Thanks for the input.. there are no codes at all even after it has been driven a few times. I also took a multimeter to my TPS and that too is working flawlessly. Anywhere else to check before giving in to a dealership diagnostic?
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I was using an elm327 with forscan. Can you recommend a good scan tool capable of reading trans codes from a 4r70w tranny? In a 2002 f150
Hotshot
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From: St Louis
Don't know if it matters or not, but do you have the extended license (if Windows) or the paid (not free) Android version of Forscan?
If the PCM does not post DTCs when the fault occurs, you'll have to diagnose it "By Symptom".
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