What modification (if any) is available that will soften up my shifting. Even under easy driving conditions, my truck sometimes even shocks me at how hard it shifts.

 

Hello John. You could get a VB, but you would need to have Max Chip tuned for it. I don't know a thing about that tuner, but if it's an off the shelf tuner, I don't think they can tune for your trans.

A trans guy will be here soon to give the up and up.

Good luck.

 

It is an off the shelf tuner...bought it from 4 wheel parts. Is it normal for these trucks to shift hard with a tuner? Is it possible to get this shift smooth again on a consistent basis...saaay with a DP?

 

You said the magic word, DP-TUNER. I was not going to say it but you brought it up and now you know the rest of the story. Call Jody and talk to him, he will fix that problem for you and have you shifting the way you want. A VB is a very good compliment to the DP, and DP and BTS can tune each to the other. That my friend is the way to go.

EDIT: I looked in your sig.

 

Take the chip out and see it that doesn't keep the shifting. If is does then there's your problem.

 

Does it "hard shift" every shift? All temperatures? All throttle pressures? All gear transitions?

If it's erratic, there's a common fix available, and it's cheap.

Pp

 

One other thought. It may already have a shift kit in it when you bought it. Have you had the truck since new. If not I would try to see if you could contact the previous owner and see if they may have installed one. It could also be a rebuilt tranny that has been set up to shift that way. There are several things to that could cause this.

 

I have the edge juice w/attitude programmer and mine seems to pause before shifting in the higher gears when I'm punching it. I plan on switching to the dp. I figured I would test this out since I have it installed and later this year purchase the dp straight from Jody on my way down to Florida. I'm not sure why it shifts like that when I have the boost turned up and on #5 (extreme).

 

It is erratic. Sometimes its smooth and sometimes its not and the rpms doesn't seem to matter.

 

I bought it when it was about 1 year old. It had a superchip "chip" that went out - actually I'll give you all the information so you might be able to help me better...Remember, this is the first diesel I've owned.

I bought the 01' used from a friend...He wasn't the best at being easy on a truck but hey, its a diesel. It was lifted 4", running 325's, with a plug in chip. the truck shifted hard erratically from the day I bought it. The friend said it was the chip.

Another issue with this transmission was that it would shift into overdrive almost immediately after shifting into high gear putting you at very low RPM's...I had to keep my foot in it too avoid that. (this problem has almost gone away now that I have the max tuner that I added a few years ago)

After I put a total of about 110,000 miles on it, the tranny without any warning other than the hard shifting, dumped a load of transmission fluid on the road and wouldn't move. It was unloaded at the time and it felt like i was hooked to a dozer. I towed it to a tranny shop and they couldn't find anything wrong with it. In fact, the uhhhh, tech, called me to say the problem was that it was low on transmission fluid. duhh. He refilled the fluid and the darn thing worked fine.

It ran fine with no more issues other than the same shifting habits - then, the truck started dying on me. I took it to a Ford dealer, they reprogrammed the stock program in order to service it. They flushed the injectors and the dying problem stopped. But when I went to plug my chip back in, it wouldn't program (wouldn't do anything). So i bought a new programmer, the max tuner that is currently in it.

The transmission did eventually go out at about 180,000 miles. So the transmission in it is a rebuilt job but the hard shifting is still there.

Thanks for reading all this...and I appreciate any advice you can give.

 

Take the chip and let us know what happens. That is the easiest thing to do at this point.

 

When I had the chip out, and before I bought the programmer, the shifting issues were the same...only the truck ran like a slug! I'm sure if i re-programmed to stock, the same would happen.

 

It may be your line pressure modulator valve getting worn. After a lot of miles, the valve begins to leak internally, and sometimes gets sticky, resulting in erratic shifting. To restore predictable shift points, Sonnax has developed a slip-in, o-ring'd replacement, specifically for this problem.

To see what it looks like, see:
Sonnax Transmission, Torque Converter, Performance, Driveline Parts :: Transmission Specialties® :: 96948-01K :: Part Summary

To order just this valve alone:
Sleeve & Plunger, Line Pressure Modulator , AX4N / E4OD / 4R100: Bulkpart transmission parts

If I were doing it again, I'd install a complete accumulator kit from site sponsor Pure Diesel Power (or similar):
Sonnax Valve 4R100/E4OD Ford Powerstroke Shift Improvement Kit

Pure Diesel advertises that it firms up your shifts, and if using the whole kit, it will. Maybe you just need the valve alone.

If you're comfortable getting your hands into transmission fluid, and willing to spend a couple of hours under your truck, you can do this yourself. The fact that your shifting is erratic, not just "hard" is why I think this is all you need.

It will also give you a chance to clean any gunk out of your tranny pan, and change the fluid.

Of course, if you want to spend more, there are lots on here with valve body recommendations.

I put this kit in mine and haven't looked back. I've put my primary emphasis on reliability, and I'm not attempting to make a lot of additional horsepower, either, and that should be part of your decision-making process.

Pop

 

I have a 2000 psd, i am taking it to get scanned today, but it shifts hard into od and seems early. just got the truck, only does this with od alll others are fine. No od light flashing or blinking, doesn't slip. It seems i am having the same problem you had, what was the cause,? any ideas on where to start?