Trans problems

[NJGearhead666]

well I was driving my truck lastnight and the shift from first to second has some major sliping going on. the fluid looks nice and red so i never changed it but i belive the truck has been sitting for almost 2 years before i got it. should i risk just changing the fluid? I changed the fluid before on a truck with a iffy trans and new fluid just made it go south even more.

Anyone know any good trans shops in NJ?

 

[oldmisterbill]

Are you sure its first to 2nd or is it torque convertor slippage?

 

[NJGearhead666]

honestly Im not sure what convertor slippage feels like. but when the trans goes to shift into 2nd the tack goes to around 3K and then it comes back down when it goes into gear.

 

[david85]

It sounds like you could be skipping 2nd gear all together.

 

[trackspeeder]

OD off light flashing? You should be throwing a shift error code. Like david85 said coud be skipping 2nd gear.

It could be a stuck valve or an issue with the solenoid pack. Have it checked for codes. Drop the pan and take a look inside.

 

[icanfixall]

So if its a 94 truck it will have the E4OD trans. Sometimes the injection pump tps switch will wear out and cause all kinds of problems like you posted but it depends too on how many miles are on the trans. Seeing you "just got the truck" you may not know how many miles are on the switch or trans. The easy thing and cheapest to do is checking the warmed up idle voltage on the tps. Plenty of info on how thats done with a digital voltmeter. The idle voltage on the middle wire with the key in the on but not running position is .96 min up to 1.2 at idle settings. I run at 1.38 warm idle because mine was set using the Ford .500 spacer. The lower the voltage the softer the trans shifts. Wide open the voltage will reach around 4.85 or so. If it reaches 6 volts the trans will go into limp home mode because of the voltage excursion to the high side. Now there is another possible problem. The torque converter will unlock every time to step on the brakes. You can feel this by touching the brake peddle while driving. There is a switch under the dash connected to the brake peddle where this feed is from. Also if a stoplite has burned out and the filament is bridging the left or right tunr filament it will unlock and lock the torque converter as the bloinking happens. I know this is a lot to understand but these are a few or the possibilities and really easy to check for.

 

[NJGearhead666]

well the truck has 54000 miles on it, i know the trans was rebuilt around 50,000. I do recall that the brake light bulbs are burned out. so I guess ill drop the pan and see if there is any material in it. I hope i dont need a rebuild cause i cant afford it right now

 

[david85]

Is this symptom affected by temperature or load?

Have you contacted the shop that rebuilt the transmission yet?

 

[icanfixall]

Please.... Before dropping the pan replace the bulbs. That may be your only problem. After I rebuilt my motor and tested it on a run everytime I turned on the left turn indicater the torque converter would unlock and lock up with the blinking lites. A member told me to check for burned out stop lite bulbs-filaments. See... When the filament breaks sometimes it touches the turn lite filament and that grounds the converter lockup system and causes it to unlock. If this unlocking was not done when you step on the brake peddle the motor will die when you completely stop just like a standard trans when you don't push in the clutch... Its just the manner of the beast for an E4OD trans. Also when you let off the fuel peddle at anything under about 45 mph the trans shifts to neutral. As you are coasting along just add very little throttle and hear and watch the torque converter lock up. Don't drop the pan yet. Its a dirty job without a drain plug... And it will never stop dripping fluid after the pan is off. Things do fall in your face and trans fluid tastes awful...

 

[NJGearhead666]

thanks Icanfixall. believe me im not one to dive into the hard parts of a truck or car. I always start with teh cheapest fix and work my way up. tomorrow im getting bulbs for the 3rd brakelight like i should have a week ago when i noticed them out. then go from there

 

[NJGearhead666]

Is this symptom affected by temperature or load?

Have you contacted the shop that rebuilt the transmission yet?

the trans was rebuilt over 3 years ago before i owned the truck. I wish i knew where it was rebuilt

 

[RLDSL]

the trans was rebuilt over 3 years ago before i owned the truck. I wish i knew where it was rebuilt

Look on the tranny, the rebuilder may have put a tag from his shop on the thing. Barring that, is there any way you could chase down the previous owner? With the thing that new, there may still be a warranty on the thing.