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Old 05-13-2014, 07:27 AM   #1
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Early sign of tranny problems?

I have 85,000 miles on the stock tranny which came with my 2009 5.4 E350. I drive very carefully, baby the sucker, and generally take good care of it. Have had fluid replaced twice, once at 40K and once at 75K.

I just pushed 8000 miles in two and a half weeks - sorry I didn't post, but I was on a work thing - and all was well until yesterday. Coming back through Pennsylvania - think of long, endless hills - and I noticed at one point that the tach was at 3000 for routine driving - 65 to 70mph. I backed off, even tapped the brakes, but no dice, just stayed there. Normally, my tach is between 2000 and 2500, like a rock.

I was finally able to get off at an exit. I turned off the motor and started up again and got going and all was fine and back to normal. It was almost like it either didn't shift down or, more likely, felt like it was stuck in 2nd, even though it said it was in Drive.

One more thing - the column shifter had a crap-out not long before I went on this trip and Ford fixed it, but I don't think that was the issue. It has been fine for the past 9000 miles.

Do you think this is a sign of anything? Thank you, oh collective brain of the SMB forum.

Paul

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Old 05-13-2014, 08:15 AM   #2
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Re: Early sign of tranny problems?

Do you think it was in Drive rather than Overdrive? I had that happen and Ford replace the wiring from the Overdrive button to the steering column. The Service Manager showed me where the wiring insulation had been rubbing on something which caused it to short out. As I recall, he said that it wasn't uncommon...
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Old 05-13-2014, 09:33 AM   #3
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Re: Early sign of tranny problems?

^^ That's what I was thinking, that the overdrive was turned off by accident or due to a mechanical/electrical issue.
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Old 05-13-2014, 10:36 AM   #4
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Re: Early sign of tranny problems?

I just dropped it off at my local Ford truck dealer and will keep you all posted. my extended service plan is good until December or another 15,000 miles.
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Old 05-13-2014, 12:09 PM   #5
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Re: Early sign of tranny problems?

In 2 weeks, you drove the same amount of miles as I put on in one year! Thats a lot of driving in 2 weeks!
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Old 05-13-2014, 05:29 PM   #6
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Re: Early sign of tranny problems?

yeah, I'm tired...
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Old 05-13-2014, 05:44 PM   #7
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Re: Early sign of tranny problems?

It does not sound like an internal transmission problem to me. It does sound like possible the range selector switch need calibration. I had to do the calibration on my stepmom's Escape after replacing the shift cable. It's suppose to require a feeler gauge to calibrate, but I ended up doing it by feel because the proper feeler gauge was causing a intermittent Neutral error (sounds like yours is out of alignment the other direction towards 2).

Next time it happens, try wiggling the shifter, or maybe even shifting from Park to Drive without restarting. If either of those tricks work, probably just needs adjustment.
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Old 05-15-2014, 08:21 AM   #8
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Re: Early sign of tranny problems?

Ford just called me and they said they could not replicate the problem. I am not certain they actually went and tested the shifter, itself, but they are the best ford dealer for 100 miles.

I will keep a close eye on it and see what happens. The guy, of course, said "maybe it's one of those things that happens just once."

as I said, my extended service plan is good until December. if something happens after that, I have the address of a drivetrain place in Jersey that comes very highly recommended.

that's the way it goes. Thank you all for your advice, as always.

Paul
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Old 05-15-2014, 12:00 PM   #9
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Re: Early sign of tranny problems?

I did some internet (meaning it has to be true, not) research on Ford van transmissions before I bought Hal. 75K miles seemed to be the top of the bell curve in regards to when transmissions most often had to be repaired. Hal's original owner replaced it's at 79K.
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Old 05-15-2014, 09:30 PM   #10
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Re: Early sign of tranny problems?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nomadcat
Ford just called me and they said they could not replicate the problem. I am not certain they actually went and tested the shifter, itself, but they are the best ford dealer for 100 miles.

I will keep a close eye on it and see what happens. The guy, of course, said "maybe it's one of those things that happens just once."

as I said, my extended service plan is good until December. if something happens after that, I have the address of a drivetrain place in Jersey that comes very highly recommended.

that's the way it goes. Thank you all for your advice, as always.

Paul
You don't think it was some kind of computer glitch?
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