I have a 2004 F-150 Heritage. I have an intermittant problem with hard shifting. Some days its shifts smooth as silk, the next day I have to force it to shift. It's usually shifting into 1st gear. On at least two occasions, it wouldn't shift into any gear at a stop. I had to kill the engine, shift it into first, restart the engine, and take off. The first time I took it to the dealer, they wanted to rebuild the transmission, first and second gear. I opted not to do that. I took it back to the dealer a couple days ago and they changed the clutch master and slave cylinder. That did not fix it. I took it to an independant transmission shop today and they told me it definitely was not the transmission, but the clutch. Anybody else had this problem? Any suggestions?

By the way, I'm new to this forum. Thanks.

 

I've had a bay problem with the same thing (ie: not as bad)... I took it to a tranny shop and they changed the Manual Tranny fluid and it helped a lot. I'm getting the problem again, though (so it helped for around 3000 miles... and probably I'm just getting picky now...)

Good Luck

 

Sounds like a slave problem from what you said. I'd have a talk with the dealer again.

Adrianspeeder

 

Do you have any sort of problems with grinding gears and such? I would think that if it was a clutch problem you would have a really hard time shifting between gears and would have to double clutch to get it to shift. If this is the case then I'd say for sure it's still a clutch issue. Did they check your lines as well?--DIY.

 

I have not had a problem with grinding gears. Sometimes I get a klunking sound when shifting between gears. Occasionally when shifting from second to third it seems that the trans kind of springs out of second. I can feel it in the shifter. I've never had to double shift but I might try it sometimes to see if it helps. To me, it sounds like a clutch problem but with my limited understanding, I can also see where the synchronizers might be out of whack. My understanding is that there is no way to adjust the clutch. It either works or it doesn't. My truck only has about 22,000 miles on it. Doesn't seem like the synchronizers should wear out in such a short time.

 

Nope, I don't think it's the syhchros either. I think you have a clutch problem. That "clunck" you hear between gears and that springing out of second really sounds to me like your clutch isn't disengaging fully and you're pretty much double clutching between gears. Take it to you dealership and make them fix it for you this time.At 22k miles you shouldn't be having these problems.--DIY

 

Alot of times I have found a bad pilot bearing to cause these problems. I'm odd I suppose I prefer to change to a brass pilot bushing instead of the bearing.
Alan

 

I have a 1997 F150 XLT 4x4. I had those EXACT problems for several years. Sometimes I would have to jiggle the clutch to get it into 2nd from 1st. The problem was so subtle as it got worse I guess I grew to live with it until this year.

During the cold months earlier in the year I literally got stuck in traffic because I couldn't get the gear into 1st. This lasted long enough to pizz off other drivers until I could get the truck in gear. After the engine warmed up things seemed to work but some times it didn't.

Later I noticed fluid leakage under my truck. So I knew it was either the slave or master cylinder. From there when the problem started I would pump the clutch several times then shift and that seemed to work.

Then things cleared up months later. I would still have to occaisonaly add fluid to the master cylinder but things seemed to not be as bad as earlier.

Last week while in a Starbucks drive-thru the clutch went straight to the floor and the truck died. I managed to get just enough clutch pressure to get to the window to get my large carmel lattee with an extra shot of espresso and tell the boys inside I was stuck.

Long story short it was my slave cylinder that went out. I had it replaced for $487 and the action on my shifts is smooth as glass.

Your problems are exactly like the ones I had so check for leaks and try pumping the clutch several times when it won't allow the gears to shift.

 

I agree with DirtyDog. Although you shouldn't be having this problem with only 22K miles.

The pilot bearings get sticky and won't let the input shaft slow down. Push the pedal in and hold it for several seconds. Feel through the shifter, you can tell if the tranny is spinning too fast. Try putting her in low gear. If it's turning, you'll feel and hear a grinding noise from the gears not slipping together.
(Low and Rev are non-synchronized on mine)
You'll need to know if yours is or not.

Mine got very hard to get in gear. I thought the same things as you. When I changed the clutch/throwout bearing at 117K miles, I also changed the pilot bearing and everything shifts easy again.

Let us know the solution

Shawn

 

Defnietly not a trans issue, then it wouldn't shift right consistently and from what you said it sounds like the clutch cylinders are crapping out. Does it feel like trying to shift without using the clutch at all(with motor off obviously). Without the motor or clutch I can get it typically into every gear, but it's hard and sometimes won't go into first. Make sure the dealer actually replaced the cylinder, and not just a "service". Dealers like to interchange the terms, with the latter meaning you got bent over.

 

I had the same problems awhile back. Rough shifting, hard to get into any gear from a stop, etc. I tried to deal with it until a bearing crapped out inside the transmission. Decided to do a clean sweep and got a new clutch, slave cylinder, and trans rebuild.

Its good now but still needs coaxing to get into first gear from a dead stop. I think every M50D does it by nature, from what ive seen its a common complaint and you'll have to learn to live with it to an extent. I find that if you hold the clutch in for about 3 seconds it will then go into first gear easily. When sitting at a stop light in neutral, watch for the opposing light to turn yellow. When it does, press the clutch and by the time you get the green light you can put it into first easily. If you need to get moving from neutral in a hurry, you can hit the clutch and bump the shifter into 2nd and then it will slide right up into 1st without a problem. In my experiance at least.

 

Ian,
Your truck has the classic symptom of a sticky pilot bearing. Did you replace it when you did the other work? When I say sticky, the grease dries out which doesn't allow the input shaft to stop spinning. If yours is the case, it will only get harder and harder to get in gear.
Shawn

 

I finally brought my F-150 to the dealership to see what they could do about the problem. They replaced the clutch disk and pressure plate. This after only about 28,000 miles. The problem seems to be fixed. As part of the deal, I got a three year extended warranty on the power train.

John

 

I think I have the same problem as you had. My F150 (2000 XLT) sometimes will not shift into first and second can be very difficult also. As you stated with your problem the only way I can get my truck to shift into first when this occurs is to turn it off. When I restart the truck and get going shifting into second can be done but with some difficulty. My problem seems to only occur when it is very hot. So the times it has occurred have only been in the summer and later in the day. I have taken it to the deal twice but each time they have not been able to recreate the problem (I told them it happens only occasionally) so they have not been willing to attempt any repairs. From your last posting it appears that changing the pressure plate and clutch disk solved your problem. Is that still true? Should I get the entire clutch assembly replaced?

 

Yes. Have the clutch disk and pressure plate replaced. That fixed my problem. It's been a month or so now and I have no problems shifting.