Thanks to a little searching on the forum I got our 2008 EL's tranny fixed.

I had the usual harsh 1st gear downshift as you slowed to a stop, so we got the reflash for that. Hope it is a permanent fix.

The biggie, though, was that we had an absolutely horrible 6 to 4 downshift going down a highway onramp, that was absolutely an absolutely gut wrenching sound while towing our 30' 7klb trailer. Crusing along in 6th on flat land was fine until you hit an overpass or hill. When you hit the incline, the 6 to 4 downshift made you think the tranny would explode with a gear grinding riiiiiiipppp sound. Thankfully one other guy on the board had this problem and posted the TSB for it. Well, they had our truck 3 days performing the work, and the tranny seems as good as new!

I love how the internet has transformed getting your cars and major appliances fixed! Shared knowledge is a wonderful thing! Thanks for the help guys!!

We still love our Expy!

 

Brought the 08 Expy in to address the 2nd to 1st hard downshift problem, that I discovered the fix for on this website. Dealer said they've been doing alot of them with no callbacks. Definitely shifts alot smoother and the tech said a few more days of regular driving should smooth it out even more, once the TCM memory builds up a little history.

I want to say THANKS as well to those that make us aware of these problems and more importantly, the proper fixes for those problems. I have saved lots of headaches servicing my Expy and 6.0 Powerstroke with information I have found here.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, a thousand times thank you.

 

That is good to know.

Can you tell me what they did for the 6-4 shifting noise? I think mine has done this a few times. Sounds like the tranny will explode.

 

You are correct, it does sound like the tranny will explode! Sounds like you have the same issue. The symptom was extremely repeatable when towing. The TSB is 09-06-01 "Internal clutch failure", and though I don't have the warranty paperwork in front of me, I remember it mentioned replacing the overdrive clutch. Had to drop the tranny out. 10.9 hrs labor. At least I got new tranny fluid out of the deal. Haven't had such tranny issues with any of my new vehicles since my `96 Windstar. What a piece of junk that thing was!

 

Thanks for the info. I can't find that TSB listed anywhere, must be new. Did yours progressively get worse/more frequent? And did it only show itself on the 6 to 4 downshifts? Thanks again.

 

Yes, it got to the point where it was much easier to get it to do it getting on the highway, or romping on the accelerator pedal while on the highway. Our first symptoms showed up at 2k miles while towing our trailer. We have 26.5k one the truck now. I knew that early on I'd never get them to admit there was an issue, so I waited until it got worse. Good news is that it never stranded us, even on subsequent towing trips from the 2k miles incident.

I never noticed it on other downshifts than 6-4, but I am not the primary driver of the truck, my wife is.

Here is the original thread that helped me, and has the TSB reference on the 2nd page:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...r-blownup.html

 

That's where I am. I need to be able to duplicate it on the spot. It has happened 4 or 5 times. But I can't get it to repeat itself easily. I have 46K miles and a 100K mile warranty but I want to get it fixed before it hits 60K so I don't have to pay the deductible. Thanks for the info.

 

Berry just make it down shift at 65-70 mph like you are passing someone. That is where I really sat up and noticed the sound. It was faint but there when I was get on off ramps but man it reaaly stood out when you were passing or jockying for the left lane. Good luck they fixed mine and I have had no issues since..except for the bump/1-2 hard shift. Has never gone away and the surge when sitting at a full stop. Feels like the tranny winds up and then releases. You can feel it pull the brakes and if you are not careful(foot firmly planted on the pedal) you will move forward. Could this now be called unintended acceleration;-) I could easily bump someone in a drive-thru.

 

Are you flooring it at 65-70? I can't seem to make it do the noise. When it happened before I was flooring it at these speeds, but nothing now.

 

Yep...I have to hit the floor as it seems to shift when it wants to unless the pedal gets a shove. I have noticed that I keep my foot in the middle of the pedal and that seems to cause some of my issue. If I ride the top the downshifts happen more to my liking but still not perfect. Tech told me at the time that every down shift eats up the unit so the more it happens the worse read louder it becomes but they didn't know of any that totally failed...that was a while ago so the total failure part may not be true. I guess just keep shifting and maybe she'll cut loose more often.

 

Hey, our 2008 Expedition had the downshift issues which we had taken care of a while back. Now, we've recently had the 25-35 mph tranny noise going on. We just had the whole tranny pulled apart to replace the overdrive clutches which were listed as "binding". I can't seem to find the corect TSB online (09-06-01 4x4). Anyone know where a copy can be found. The problem appears to be fixed, but after owning 6 Fords without major issues, I'm getting a little nervous with two tranny issues in the first 20k miles. Thanks!

 

FORD: 2007-2008 Expedition

This article supersedes TSB 08-19-8 to update the vehicle model years and remove the production fix date.
ISSUE:

Some 2007-2008 Expedition vehicles equipped with a 6R75 transmission may exhibit a squawk type noise during hard acceleration down shifts (4-3), (5-3) and (6-3) downshifts. The noise is produced during the release of the overdrive clutch.
ACTION:

Follow the Service Procedure steps to correct the condition.
SERVICE PROCEDURE

Follow Workshop Manual (WSM), Section 307-01B to replace the overdrive friction plates.

PART NUMBER PART NAME
6L2Z-7B164-CA Plate Internal Spline - Overdrive Friction Plate
WARRANTY STATUS:

Eligible Under Provisions Of New Vehicle Limited Warranty Coverage
IMPORTANT: Warranty coverage limits/policies are not altered by a TSB. Warranty coverage limits are determined by the identified causal part.

OPERATION DESCRIPTION TIME
090601A 2007-2008 Expedition 6R75 Transmission 4X2: Replace The Overdrive Friction Plates, Includes Time To Remove And Install Transmission. (Do Not Use With 7000A, 7000A2, 7000AXQ, 7000AZT) 10.9 Hrs.
090601A 2007-2008 Expedition 6R75 Transmission 4X4: Replace The Overdrive Friction Plates, Includes Time To Remove And Install Transmission And, Transfer Case. (Do Not Use With 7000A, 7000A2, 7000AXQ, 7000AZT) 11.6 Hrs.

 

You can expect the downshift squawking noise to return. I too had the squawk type noise during hard acceleration 6-4 downshifts. At 40k miles, per the TSB the dealer replaced the overdrive friction plates (two-day job) and it fixed the issue. However…


At about 70k miles the transmission has the exact same issue again.<O</O


So in my case it looks like the Overdrive Friction Plates will need to be replaced about every 30k miles.

 

I agree. I had them go out at about 30K and 60K.

 

Do you guys tow alot? I tow a roughly 3000# trailer about 6 times a year. Certainly hope I don't experience the friction plate issue with my "new" '08 Expedition.