I have 01 f150 4.6 auto 2WD sport with 127k, trans seems to shift ok. OD light started flashing 3 days ago and usually stops flashing when stopped. I checked fluid levels and its full, maybe not as red as should be though.

Another question, does changing trans fluid at higher mileage hurt??

 

The flashing OD light means something is wrong with the transmission. Get it checked before the trans dies. A small trans problem quickly can become a dead trans if it's ignored. You need someone that has a Ford specific scan tool. The generic readers that many places use to read codes for free won't read Ford transmission codes. They'll tell you that there is no code. Trust me, if the light flashed, there is a code.

It never hurts to change the fluid. Many people will probably disagree with this.

A lot of people don't do anything to their trans until something goes wrong, like a flashing OD light. Now that it's broken, they hope that new fluid will fix it. So they change the fluid and the trans dies. Now they say that replacing the old fluid killed it. They think that the old fluid held the trans together, and the new fluid dissoveled all the old, bad gunk that held the clutches together. They completely miss the fact that many, many miles of neglect killed it, not new fluid. Notice that this is completely hypothetical, it does not mean that's you.

 

I had the trans fluid flushed and changed, within 5 minutes the od light stopped flashing and hasnt come back on since. Trans seems to shift a bit smoother, but I dont know if this has solved the problem or not. Thanks for the help.

 

Anybody who disagrees is foolish, 30k intervals for flushing. I can't even count how many transmission we have rebuilt/replaced from lack of maintenance. The 4R70W's seem to hold up pretty good but I feel sorry for all of the AX4N Windstar owners out there.....

 

3 days after the trans fluid flush/change, the od light is sometimes flashing again. This time its only doing it when stopped, which is the opposite of before. I guess I'm gonna have to come off some $ and get it checked. Does anyone know if I have to go to a ford dealer to have the correct ford codes read, or is there another(cheaper) reputable shop to go to ?

 

The cheaper scan tools can't do it. Either pony up to the dealer, or find a smaller shop with the very expensive snap on scan tool like my buddy has.

 

Does anyone know what a Ford dealer charges to reflash a PCM and transmission control module?

 

Make a phone call to your local dealer and find out. Probably at least an hour of flat rate.

There is no "transmission control module" on these trucks, it's all done by the PCM.

Steve

 

Autozone can retrieve the codes for you for free.

Just run like hell afterwards if they start making suggestions on parts you need to buy to "fix" your problem.

 

Hey, don't feel sorry for all of them.
1995 Windstar, one owner, 157,000 miles.

 

But the tools they use won't read Ford transmission codes. You get what you pay for!

 

Sure they will. A transmission code is still a powertrain code, stored in the PCM. Depending on the tool, it may not support CAN networking, but more than likely they can still retrieve the codes.

 

Not true. Codes that turn on the Check Engine or Service Engine Soon are called generic OBDII codes. All OBDII code readers can read those codes. Most transmission codes do not turn on either of those lights and are not covered by the generic tools. It takes a reader with Ford specific software to read those codes.

 

Any DTC from P0100 to P1000 is a generic DTC, mandated by federal law to mean the same thing for all vehicles. A P0401 on an F150 is the same thing as a P0401 on a Chevy 1500, or a Dodge Ram, or a BMW, federal law says so. P0000 to P0099 and P1001 and up are manufacturer specific DTCs, they can mean whatever the manufacturer wants them to. Any P0700-0799 DTC is a generic trans DTC, which will be stored in the PCM (or TCM in vehicles so equipped), and in some cases will turn the MIL on. Ford just typically chose to use the overdrive on/off light to communicate this.

 

As far as retreiving codes any shop other than the dealership can get the codes as long as they have a NGS scanner we have one in our shop and it works FINE! I hate Mopar vehicles we have the Nemisys Scan tool and it doesnt do much and we have one for GM vehicles MasterTech. Call around dude.