wow, you have about the same mods as I do! wow! some different,, but about the same power level. As said, we basically have the same truck.

Also do you think you have SOOOO much power that you are like going to break your tranny? don't think so. Add a blower and you may have an arguement there as to having more power than the tranny is rated.

I will continue to point out things like "take it to the dealer under warranty" and "if you are not happy, get something else". I have noticed that you and I see things different JMC. YOu see things as an unworkable, unthinkable tragedy that should have never happened and there is no solution but to complain and vent to the wrong people! I see things as workable and fixable, although I may not be the happiest about things I do look for a solution. I have come to accept that as have others in your chapter.

As far as improved shifting, what is that? Is that like trying to ask everyone what their favorite donut is? That is such a vague thing to define there! How do you quantitatively analyze that? Really that is like a seriously complex problem there. What feels good to one will feel worse to another. But I believe we can all agree that we would like an aftermarket alternative to purchase!

You can vent all you want. Do you get what you want by venting? Most likely not what you want.

 

Matt,

Well If you want to chase your tail, then go ahead. What it boils down to is we don't see things the same way. You go your way and I will go mine. Have a good day.

Jean Marc Chartier

 

No problem with mine at 53,000 miles. Go ahead and get your automatic...it will only cost you about 30 horses.

 

Matt90GT

I would not consider the people that post their problems on here whiners. The transmission in this truck is like every other product, mechanical or otherwise - there will be some people that love it and prefer it over other brands, and some people run into bad luck and that's common as well.

While you can safely assume that a certain number of the problems may be due to driver incompetence, there is something to be said about the relationship between the "complaints." You will notice if you read the threads that the most common problem is in the 2nd to 3rd upshift. Now, if all of these people are shifting incorrectly and abusing their transmissions because of whatever reason you might think up, why is it usually this shift and not others? If you're not operating the clutch properly then it will grind wherever you go not just from 2nd to 3rd.
Secondly it's not like they designed it and it worked great from the get-go. There is a reason Ford spent the money to
A. Make improvements to the "shift feel" somewhere between the 97 and 2000 year model transmission (whatever that means), and
B. Issue a TSB on the slave cylinder

If these people never mentioned their problems (no matter how many times the problem has been posted by others, with different configurations perhaps) this board wouldn't be half as useful. The responses provide statistics (which problem is the most common, mileage, year model, etc) as well as helpful information in regards to what the dealer and Ford have to say when the problem needs attention.

So stop venting, complaining and whining about it... If you run into a problem somewhere on your truck you may appreciate a larger volume of responses that shed different light on that issue.

 

hades281 (and JMC)

I completely believe you guys do have a crappy tranny. I also concur that Ford has a mediocre tranny on these F-150s. Re the common problem being the 2nd to 3rd upshift - I believe what I was trying to point out is perhaps that is just a slow engaging synch assembly going from 2nd to 3rd. Therefore, the only people that will get any problem are those that shift it like a rice burner...I am just saying perhaps. In other words, line 50 people up against a wall with this tranny problem, and I'll be you could pull 30 out who are rough manual drivers. Then it would be JMC, Hades281, and a few others with a real problem in their tranny.

What is the basis for my reasoning? Like you guys, I have a 2000 F-150 4.6L manual tranny. Never have a problem shifting between 2nd and 3rd. Let my girlfriend drive it (only did this once), or my uncle, or my buddy, and whammo! they have that same 2nd to 3rd problem as the rest of you. The only person that doesn't have a problem is the one person that taught me how to drive stick, and that's my old man (and me)...Hmmmm..

I agree 100% with Hades281 regarding this board is a great place to voice concerns and possible problems. I believe the purpose I am trying to accomplish here is to dispel the numerous others who will jump in stating that the tranny is crap, when they really don't have a problem. I would like those considering the 5sp to actually have some concrete facts rather than, "yeah I have a rough feel to my shifts, must be the tranny, couldn't be me." Again, like I said, I believe JMC and Hades do have a bad one, though.

And I also do support people venting here, as sometimes it's the only way to feel better about something. I mean who else are you going to vent about, say, a door crack to, your mail man?

 

Let me simplify my point:


If you have a warranty, take your venting and complaining to the dealer! That is where you are going to get your problem solved or replaced.

 

Matt90GT

Forget about warranty, our concern is how long after the warranty expires will these transmissions last if some are showing signs of problems right now. Mine was rebuilt - I fought for a new one but my service advisor said "It has cost Ford so much money in new transmissions that they would only authorize a rebuild" - I am not sure if that was BS or not but I wonder how long mine will last before I have to start worrying about synchros etc again when it's on MY dime and not Fords.

I would have greater faith if I was as lucky as you with your transmission but in my case I was not.

Now on another note. I have asked this question before but really didn't get a response, and since you have amsoil in yours here's a good question for you. I am wondering if the better shift feel that people are reporting with the synthetics is because of the properties of the synthetic fluid, or just because the fluid in there is fresh? My fluid only has 5,000 miles on it so I wonder if replacing it with a synthetic will really make it feel better or if it will feel just about the same because the current fluid is still good.

 

I changed to synthetic ATF at about 12,000 miles and got better shifting. I would think ATF is still "new" at that mileage. Strange thing, though...it took a few hundred miles of driving before the shifting improved. Maybe it takes time for the new ATF to work its way into the places that matter, like the syncros?

 

hades281,

I have Amsoil in the entire drive train. I felt no difference in the shifting. BTW my warranty has expired. I used Amsoil because it was cheaper than Redline. I used Redline in my 97 and there was no difference then either.

Regards

Jean Marc Chartier

 

hades281, I can honestly tell you it is the fluid. This is on my ranger, mazda tranny again.

I changed the tranny fluid at 50K, fresh MercV ATF. My friend got me into the amsoil. So I changed it over and the transfer case at 53K. Shifting was a little better with the first change at 50k than before, but after a few miles with the amsoil it shifter smoother, and I had no problems with it being stiff at 4:20am when I left for work back then. Also my gas milage went up 1mpg. Same in the F150. Before it was always stiff and really notchy! I never had syncro problems either with that truck and sold it at 85K. Trust me I drove the tires off it also! 200hp with 3.73s in that truck and it flew! first gear was all tire spin if you put your foot down.

In the stang, the t5 is a super notchy transmission. It does not feel like a hot knife in a butter tub by any means! But with the Amsoil in there, it did smooth it out some. Still notchy, but much better. The syncros also do not have problems grinding or speed shifting with 116K miles on the original tranny. Granted the B&M shifter helps with some of that.

There are bad syncros and weak ones out there. I know my moms 4L ranger went thru 2 sets of them in the first 20K. I have heard from a LOT of tranny shops that the tolerances in the manual boxes are super critical and need to be measured. I am sure the dealer just slaps stuff in there as quick as possible and does not bother to check tolerances or double check their work. Something to think about. I think this week I am going to change over my moms ranger to synthetic. It has been 30-40K now since the last change we did on it. So I can give you my opinion on the change and my parents what they say about it. Right now it is sticky and the syncros are really sticky in them that you have to be sure to go exactly in the gates or it pushes back or grinds.

 

how expensive is it to have the trans pulled rebuilt and put back in from a regular shop, not the dealer? are there any aftermarket replacement parts that are better than the stock ones?