Sorry for the uber long post here, I want to describe my issue as best I can.
(background) I've had my '00 F250 4x4 for about two years now, about a year and a half of that has been with a DP 80 econ tune, and usually a 60 tow while towing. The truck has 135k miles on it, 25k of those are from me. I'd say the last 50k the truck had 33" tires, and a few months ago I went to 35's. AFAIK, the trans is original.

When getting on the freeway heavy into the throttle, the truck has a "weird" shift into 4th, I guess you could call it a flair. I'm not so sure that it slips, or if it just takes too long to shift, all other gears feel great, and I only seem to notice it with the 80E tune, so I blame it on the extra power. If I remember correctly it has always done this. I have always just let off the throttle to let it shift and then got back into it. However, my front trans seal has begun leaking, so if possible, I would like to take care of this problem while I fix the leak.
I did some searching and found "The Ford Transmission Cure", which sounds like it would take care of my issue, but it doesn't seem like it is available any more.
Has anyone else had this 3-4 shift issue? Does it sound like a Trans-Go kit could solve it or am I looking at a rebuild?

Thanks for any ideas or opinions, here is a recent picture of the truck for your viewing pleasure

 

It is a pretty typical issue with these transmissions. Most of use install a valve body from BTS or John Wood and that takes care if it as well as other things. I am sure others will chime in for you.

Riffraff Diesel: John Wood 4R100 Valve Body

 

Yep, what he said... Nice truck

 

Thanks, instead of a JW or BTS VB can I go with a Tugger kit?(trying to keep costs down where I can)

Also, I am considering going with a more efficient converter like a 6.0 or an aftermarket, would this be a noticeable upgrade?


Lastly, is there some way I can check the condition of my trans before I dump money into it? I exhanged the fluid about 20k miles ago with MercV, and it still looks clean, so I am assuming its not wearing too badly.

 

My fluid looks great, but its burnt and has very little discoloration to it. I now have to rebuild the darn thing. Luckly I have a friend who does these, and is willing to do it cheap in his garage. Sadly, I think Im goin to probably end up gettin rid of my truck. Good thing is, It will kinda stay in the family so to speak.

Pull the dipstick out and take a good smell. And compair the smell to your just opened bottle of MercV. Granted any trans fluid thats used is goin to smell different then fresh. If it has a really strong odor on the stick its probably burning. Mine shifted funny once goin up a hill into 2nd gear and it was all she wrote. I should have stopped right there but I limped it home and back to work the next day and let it sit. And its still sittin there as i type this out.

 

Well now you got me thinking
I have had a weird 3-4 shift for quite some time.
I was thinking my trans was toast but maybe just maybe....... a VB is in order?
Mine feels like it shifts twice when going into 3rd...Im thinking it shifts with the tc unlocked and them the tc immediately locks giving me the "bam bam" shift feel ????

Not trying to hijack the thread Tako, just giving you some symptoms to compare too.

 

The "Cure" is still available, but it seems mostly designed for our very close cousin the E4OD, not your 4R100. Bill at Racer-X automotive can help you if you go that route.

Most of us here do some sort of shift kit from TransGo or Sonnax. The modified valve bodies you can buy just have the one of these kits installed for you. JW uses the Sonnax kit. I belive the Cure was built around Sonnax parts as well.

If you're really on a tight budget, it seems like you can order just the Sonnax tricumulator springs to address the 3-4 shift only. Seems like Springerpop did that on his.

 

I'm having an issue with 2-3 shift. I talked to Brian at BTS and he thought just cleaning up the valve was worth a try. IIRC, he said to drop the pan, remove the front valve body, (see Guzzle's writup) and work the ball valves with an o-ring pick. He said it would be pretty obvious if they were sticking. He also said to used a 29/64 drill bit in reverse (use the part that chucks into the drill, not the fluted end) as a hone to polish the bore.
I found new, steel bodied valves on the internet, all 4 cost under $120, so as long as I'm in there I think I'll just replace them. He wasn't sure the drill bit size was correct, but if you have a full set of drills use the one that just fits in the bore. Apparently the original valves have aluminum bodies and get pretty gumed up over time, BTS replaces them with the steel ones when they do a re-build.

 

I just found new steel valves(3) for $16.81 at a site called transmissionpartsusa.com. I,m going to try to cancel my other order, feel kind of ripped off on the other ones.

 

when I had my whole trans built we took and did the sonex springs and superior valves and then we took and drilled a small whole above each valve so if the valve sticks it can still port fluid and shift. My stock trans went out at 132K so no being able to tell when they will go out.

 

Well I ordered the Tugger kit, as well as a 4R100-LU lockup kit. Will pull the pan next weekend, if there isn't an abundance of material on the bottom I will install the shift kit, and as long as that fixes my 3-4 shift I will pull the trans and fix the leak and more than likely install a 6.0 TC. Thanks for the help everyone. I will update when I find out more.

 

Tako, check out this thread, It shows the 6.0 tc upgrade.
You have to mill the flexplate spacer. Just so you know
Let us know how it works out, I may perform the same operation.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...de-w-pics.html

 

I found that thread already, I have a lathe at work I can turn it down on, but I'm gonna work on finding another spacer so I can have it ready to go and do the swap in my driveway. Thanks for the link though.

 

Update. I installed all of the In-vehicle portion of the Tugger kit except I didn't mess with the checkballs, that seemed like a disaster waiting to happen if I did it in the truck. I drilled the calibration plate at the max end of the diesel recommended sizes and it shifts pretty firm, but I wish it was firmer. I'm assuming that when I do the pump mods it will firm them up some more.
Now for my shift problem: the kit helped quite a bit, but I still have a problem with the 3-4 shift. I beleive my torque converter clutch is slipping. I went out and logged some data with my Solus and here are the graphs. This was done at WOT from a pretty good roll, you can see it drop into 3rd. Notice that the computer drops the TCC duty cycle to 50-60% for the 3-4 shift. You can see the engine RPM drop with the shift into 4th, but not after the TC is locked. Unfortunately I had to lift shortly after it went into 4th both times as I was running out of room, and my brakes seem to hate me now after multiple stops from 70-80. Does anyone have any similar logs, or want to go run some to see what another trans is doing to compare?

For some reason my Solus won't give me input shaft speed, so I can't tell for sure that it is the TC, but I have an NGS at the shop that should.



Anyone have any input here? to you all. Im gonna go sip some Jack and Coke and cook something up for dinner.

 

I have to say getting that shift kit was a smart move, very smart move. I went with the JW VB F-350-6 Chris mentioned with the Sonnex kit already assembled but I really think, IMO, this is your tran acting the way it was supposed too. Why I say that is, it almost seems like theirs an extra gear between 3rd and 4th where it doesn't nessesarly grab but the gear floats until 4th gear(OD) hits and the tourqe converter locks. Sometimes when I'm on it depending on my pedal action, it seems to shift from 3rd then boom, 4th gear with the TC lock, kinda confusing but I think you know what I mean. In no way an expert but I would call Jody at DP Tuner and tell him whats going on, he might be able to tweek the shift points out and with your shift kit installed, you'll be golden, think about it, its worth a phone call. Man, Jack and cokes, mmm.