I have a 1995 f-150 5.0 stock. I was wondering if anyone has experienced a harsh shift from 1st gear to 2nd. This seems to happen only under moderate acceleration. Just wondered if this was a common problem in this truck?? Also would a chip help?? Other than that, love the truck!

Thanks, Rick

 

Just thought i would throw in a Pic of the truck!!

 

This happened to me all of a sudden at about 65k on my AODE. The other shifts were fine. I finally took it to the tranny shop and they found the spring had broken on the 1-2 shift accumulator. The spring was cheap, although the labor was a few hundred. Looking back I wish I had them replace all the springs while they were in there.

 

Thanks for the advice, Tim. I guess I'll have to take it to the local trans shop and see what they say. I also happend to notice today that when I was on the highway, at about 65 in od, if I gave it a little extra pedal, it would make a small thumping sound as it downshifted to 3! I'm hoping for the best, but I've never had much luck with an honest transmission shop yet. They always want to tear it apart and it's always big bucks. Just once, I wish they would say is all you need is an adjustment!! One thing I am going to do before I take it there, is grease the center driveshaft splines and see if that helps. Have not done that in a while. I really reachin on this one! Wish me luck, Rick

 

You might ask around to find a reputable shop. I stay away from the chains. We have a community web site that directed me to a local shop. You didn't say how many miles you have on it or if your problem happened suddenly or gradually. Even if you don't tow a good cooler and regular fluid changes will prolong it's life.

 

The problem on the highway downshift just started recently. The harsh shift from 1st to 2nd has been there for the last year, with no noticible change, neither better nor worse. I do have the tow package, with the trans cooler,but I rarely tow, except to put my boat in the water.(A couple of miles) I had the tranny fluid changed about 2000 miles ago,(Not burnt or any large particles in there) and there was no change in the shifting afterward, so I just figured it was just the way these tranny's are! If this seems normal to you or anyone else, I can live with it. I am a bit concerned about the change of the downshift on the highway though. Before, I could barely notice it dropping down when I went up a hill or gave it a little gas. The truck has 133.000 on it and this is the only problem I've had, outside of replacing the PS pump about 6 months ago. Let me know what you think. Thanks Rick PS- If I take off under light throttle from a standstill, it shifts nice and easy from 1st to 2nd.

 

Your trans has alot of springs in the valve body. The valve body is right at the bottom of your trans and can be easily removed for inspection(by a prof). Broken spring is possible.

I'd bring it to your dealer and they should be able to test it hydrolically without removing any thing. Also, your year trans has a few electrical solenoids which my be tired too.

Either situation labor, diagnostic, and parts(few or many) will add up. Cheapest senerio would be a broken spring or tired solenoid...$200 +/-. Whole valve body replacement would be around $350 +/-. Trans rebuild $1200 +/-.

I'd try synthetic ATF first. Good luck. You'll be ok once its fixed.

 

If and when you guys with an auto tranny ever develop symptoms like engine stalling when placed in reverse, or a high or low idle when placed in drive, it means your tranny filter fell off in the pan. This is one of those weird ones that I have started seeing alot of lately. Just FYI.

Take care,
-Chris

 

Thanks for the help guys. Guess I'll take it to the dealer and see what's goin on! Hopefully, I'll get lucky and not have to rebuild. Does anyone know if these tranny's have a history of failing with that many miles on them, or is it just dependent on how it was treated??? No possible recalls or TBS's that I could refer to?

 

Quotes from old timer mechanic I've worked with...
"Nuttin lasts forever"

"We can fix anything, it just costs money"

 

i have the aod and i get a hard downshift on the highway from od to drive . upshift is hard also if i have in od around town driving . but i try to keep it in drive unless i am on the freeway .

 

IS it an AOD or an E4OD? If it's an E4OD I may be able to give you a few suggestions, if it's an AOD, I don't know much about them, but I do know that the 1-2 accumulator spring is notorious for cracking/breaking, it's not that hard a thing to fix, I don't think you have to remove the tranny to replace it, just the pan, I'll check witha 4R70 tech at work.
If it's a 4R100, the line pressure valve in the accumulator is pretty common, also an easy fix, one that you can do yourself for under $200, if you buy a whole new accumulator, changing it is not much more involved than an oil change.

Hope this helps,

G

 

Factory_Tech, Yes it is an E4OD. any suggestions would be appreciated. Does'nt seem to be getting any worse up-shifting from 1-2, but did notice dropping to third on the highway, under acceleration or up a hill, I'm getting a bit of a thump, that I did'nt have before. Rick