I have had some bad transmissions before (93 Rodeo and 93 626) and it appears as though this curse has followed me to my 1997 Ford Expedition 5.2L Triton V8.

I noticed an odd noise from under the car, which went away when the car was placed into either neutral or park.

In a few minutes, it became progressively worse, and finally I was at 35 mph and 4000 rpm with no shifting!

I checked the fluid level which seems fine (perhaps even too high). The high appearance makes me worry/ hope this is possible an overheating problem, and the fluid is expanding greatly.

I am still at work and haven't gotten a chance to go and get the codes read from it yet. I have seen a few threads on slippage and shuddering, mostly replacing the trans. fluid with Mecron V or adding a transmission additive (like Lucas).

Now I don't even approach shade tree level, and definetly not with transmissions, so i thought I would post here and pray for the best.

P.S. I am also going to disconnect the battery to wipe the computer, just to make sure it isn't in the program somewhere.

Thanks for any insight. Sean.

 

Sounds like the intermediate one way diode stuck and kept the intermediate clutch applied, turning the frictions into kitty hair.

The pan needs to be dropped to check for metal; a rebuild or replacement may be required. Won't know until the pan is off.

 

What am I looking for when the pan is dropped? I know there is going to be metal, and that I'll need to clean off the magnet, but is there anything else to look for?

I drove it a little last night when I got home from work (<a mile) just to see if it acted a little better and it did, but not great. The transmission fluid level may be too high, or it's getting too hot. When driving that short period, the fluid level was right on spot, but when it was acting REALLY bad, the level was covering almost the whole indicator portion of the dip stick.

Silly question, but I want to make sure...

The trans fluid is refilled from the same port where the stick goes in?

Thanks. Sean.

 

Sean sez...

Bits and pieces of metal stuck to the magnet mostly, or black flecks floating around in the fluid. Fairly good amounts, mind you, a little bit here and there isn't nothing to be concerned about. Also note fluid condition. If the intermediate clutch did burn up, it'll take the fluid with it and turn it a smelly black color that'd best be suited for torturing your neighbors. In general, anything that's bigger than a grain of rice, you might want to take note of. It'd be really awesome if you pulled the pan and took pictures of what you saw for us.

Ain't no such thing as silly questions Yup, when you refill, dump all your fluid down the dipstick tube. If you don't drain the converter, it'll take about 8-10 quarts, IIRC, 13-15 if you do drain the converter.