Hello everyone,

I have a 2002 F150, 4x4, AT w/od, etc etc. Recently it will shake/shudder sometimes. It seems to happen when in overdrive. It will do this regardless of the road pitch (flat or uphill). It will do it when maintaining speed on the highway. It does not do this on initial acceleration (not yet anyway). The shaking feels like a manual trans does when you don’t down shift soon enough and try to accelerate.

Any thoughts on what may cause this?

Thanks,
Lou

 

possibly torque conveter shudder. try flushing the ENTIRE trans, converter and all, and refill with quality fluid and a bottle of lucas trans fluid.i have fixed many this way
hope it helps

 

I've got a 2001 2X supercrew with a 5.4. 68K miles.

I've had the same issue off and on for about 2 years. Very intermittent (once every other month for a few seconds) until this month. Now happening more often lasting longer. Intermittent shudder while in OD between 1k and 2k RPM. Like a misfire on a cylinder. Lasts a second or less then repeats in a few seconds. Using OD off button stops the problem. A friend suggested that the tranny is not staying locked, possibly an electronic issue. No codes are listed on OBDII reader.

Trans was drained (including TC) and new filter at 50K miles for maintanence with Motorcraft filter and Penzoil Mercon V.

I will try replacing the fluid and filter again, after reading this post.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks, Edog

 

Mines doing the same thing. 2004 f150 4x4 5.4.

https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=274208

How hard is it to drain and fill the torque converter?

 

I'm wondering if my 2004 F150 4X4 5.4 (50,000 miles) is having the same problem. I just purchased it and from a standing start when I accelerate slowly it shudders briefly in first gear, and then shifts smoothly throughout all the gears. The service manager at the Ford dealership says they "recondition" the transmission fluid, passing it through the equivalent of a dialysis machine instead of changing the transmission fluid. Has anyone done this, and would it help this problem? thanks

 

I also have a '97 F150 XLT 4.6L 4x4, 76,000 actual miles. My torque converter went out on me at around 65,000 miles and I had it repaired at a local trans. shop. Just recently I began experiencing that familiar "shudder" again while driving down the interstate in overdrive. The next day it began doing the same thing while excellerating from a dead stop.

My question is: does anyone know if it is common for Ford F150's to experience torque converter problems, especially so soon after having one repaired? And another question.. I recently had a 'freeze plug' blow out on the back of my engine and they had to drop the transmission out of the way in order to get to the freeze plug to replace it. Does anyone know if dropping the trans. would have anything to do with causing the torque converter to start acting up? I was having no problem at all until this freeze plug thing, and now all of a sudden I have this shuddering after only about 11,000 miles of having the torque converter replaced? Assuming that I will need to replace it again, is there a specific brand or make that will be more reliable and durable that will last longer ?? I'm willing to pay extra bucks to make it last longer the next time, and if there is a "top of the line" brand I'm willing to go that route. Any suggestions???

Thanks !
Gary in WV

 

Gregerm,
Some years do not a drain plug on the torque converter (I don't know what they are). Mine does. All you have to do is remove the inspection cap/plug from the trans. Rotate the crankshaft at the front pulley while your wife looks for the drain bolt on the TC. It's a tapered bolt so be careful tightening it. I used teflon tape to seal it up as recommended by a Ford mechanic. But, maybe that's part of my issue so consult a trans guy on what would be the best sealant.

Most tune-up places offer to "flush" your transmission. They get into your transmission fluid coolant line (that goes to the radiator) and replace the fluid.

As for my trans problem, it ONLY happens in OD. If there are any transmission guys out there, please let me know where I should start?

Thanks, Edog

 

Yours? purdy hard as '01-'02 was the crossover to no drainplug on the TC.

Adrianspeeder

 

Ok, I tried new Mercon V (valvoline) and Motorcraft filter. Still, having the same problem.

Any thoughts?

Edog

 

__________________

UPDATE: I had emptied out a quart of Trans. fluid and added a quart of Lucas Transmission Oil...it didn't stop the shuddering. I cleaned the injectors..that didn't help either. I eventually took it back to the same trans. shop and they changed the torque converter again. They told me that Ford trucks are bad to go through TCs and that it isn't uncommon for them to only last about 10,000 miles. Well, it didnt' help. I took it to another garage for them to put it on an analyzer. They found a cracked spark plug and bad plug wire that were both breaking down at high RPMs, which was causing the "miss", which I mistook for a transmission shudder. The broken plug was one closest to the firewall, and they had to remove several things from the engine to get to it. Apparently the garage I took it to last for a tune-up had neglected to change this plug because it was too hard to get to. It now runs like a scalded dog.

I learned an expensive lesson. I had 2 torque converters replaced at a cost of about $700 each time, by the same trans. shop. They failed to verify that the shudder was, in fact, caused by the torque converter and went ahead and changed it. Needless to say I have crossed this garage off the list as being either incompetent or dishonest. So the moral of the story is: check all other possibilities first before committing to transmission work. It may save you a lot of money. I bought good quality plugs and wires, costing about $175, plus the cost of labor to have them installed. In all it cost a little over $250 to fix the problem, compared to $700 to change the torque converter, which wasn't the problem at all. I would suggest to anyone having this "shudder" to change the plugs and wires first, then go from there. It may save you a lot of money.

 

Misfires are often misdiagnosed as TC shudder...

..and vice versa.

Without the proper scan data, it's very hard to differentiate where the drivability concern is coming from. With a proper scan tool reading Mode 6 data, it's easy to determine whether a misfire is present.

Steve

 

If it is in gear while not accelerating then the liklihood that it is the torque converter is less. It is more common to be things like EGR problems or ignition issues like bad wires or plugs.

That doesn't mean that it isn't the torque converter, it just means that it is less likely to be the converter and more likely to be something else.

I want to say EGR in this case. But that is just a very wild guess.

Darrin

 

i keep noticing it on really hot days

 

This thread is NINE years old.... Why are you resurrecting it?

 

I just bought my first F150 a few weeks ago. Its a 2001 Lariat Super Crew 5.4L. I found this thread online through Google because I've noticed that when travelling about 45mph I sometimes get a little shutter. It almost feels like I'm hitting a little bump but I'm not. Before reading this thread I was thinking transmission. I have complete service records and the truck is due for a transmission flush. I don't see any evidence of the spark plugs and wires being replaced so I'm going to have that done as well. I'll post here whether or not the problem goes away. BTW it has 138k miles on it.