On Saturday I moved my 5th wheel from storage to my house to get ready for Summer. I have a 2002 F250 CC V10 that we use primarily for pleasure, (Haul the bikes, pull the trailer, weekend trips). Anyway, I hooked up, dialed my brakes in and headed home, (5 miles). Truck ran great, no problems at all. I live on a cul-de-sac so I back all the way down and then pull forward to spot in front of my house. When I moved the shifter from reverse to drive, drive did not engage, it just freewheeled as if in neutral, I pulled it down to second and the same thing, no engagement at all so I went to first and it engaged. I pulled up to my house and dropped the trailer. When I re-started and put the truck in gear, same thing, did not engage in drive or second but did in first, so I went around the block to see what was happining. As I accelerated I upshifted to second and at first it slipped but then engaged, went to drive and it engaged. From then on the trans shifted normal. I drove for about 10 miles, stopping frequently to check upshifting. I checked the fluid level and it was fine, the fluid looked great, (Mobil 1 mercon). What gives?

 

There were some problems with the 4R100 4-speed auto.

http://www.bankspower.com/tech_whyaddatranscommand.cfm

 

Hot trans fluid? Did the gages show that?

 

Temp was normal. I thought that perhaps the level was low but it was fine also.

 

This exact same thing happened to my '02, except I wasn't even pulling my 5th - just a small ATV trailer. My factory "idiot" temp gauge also showed nothing more than normal, however, the Isspro on my pillar (once I glanced at it) was over 210 F. Once everything sat and cooled, ops were normal. But every time I towed and it warmed up after that, the symptoms surfaced again. Finally had to replace the trans - only had 52k on the truck! If you do not have an auxilliary trans temp gauge, I would put one in. I have also addressed the inadequate cooling problem.