I was driving home from work today and my truck was driving fine. Then it was taking longer to shift and jumps into every gear. I got it home and made sure the transmission fluid level was fine. It was. I just drove it again and it's worse. When I drive it extremely easy it doesn't change gears until almost 3K RPM and it feels like someone hit me in the *** end when it changes gears. Then I got a check engine light. I bought this truck about a month ago and the owner told me that the transfer case had been rebuilt recently. I'll get the check engine light checked in the morning but any ideas as to what the problem is?

FYI this is on my 5.4 4wd 98

 

For some reason it sounds like the computer has it shifting in limp home mode. That is why the shifts are late and harsh.

Getting the code read is the key to figuring out what the problem is. The only thing is that most places can't read transmission codes if there is one. Best advice is to take it to a Ford dealer or a transmission shop that has the ability to read all the codes. Most of the cheapie handheld code scanners only read the engine codes and the guys operating them usually don't have the knowledege to understand that there could be other codes that they can't see without the proper equipment.

Darrin

 

thanks darrin, yeah i wouldn't think that my tranny would have gone instantly bad without any warning. i thought it might be a computer problem.

 

it was the speed sensor. $24 on ebay. cheaper than a new tranny!