I had a problem where my tranny would shudder while in 3rd or 4th gear, under load, as if the torque converter lock-up clutch was slipping and grabbing. I replaced the filter, and put new fluid in, and the problem seems to be gone. I used to be able to induce it at any time. The truck only had 37k miles on it. I guess changing the fluid is more important now than it used to be.

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'97 F-150 EC 4x4, 4.6L

 

There is a TSB out on this. It's a problem all across the 4R70W installed base (most any v8 rear wheel drive ford/lincoln/mercury product.

Some vehicles have it worse, some not so bad. Has to do with the fluid breakdown.

The "FIX" is to change fluid to Mercon V (full flush , not just the pan) and change it every 30K miles. In some applications, install a supplemental cooler.

Many 4R70W transmissions prior to 1997 had a poorly designed 1-2 shift accumulator piston and weak springs: The piston would scuff the bore and the lower spring would break. This would cause the tranny to shift late into second, and shift real hard. This in turn would lead to premature intermediate (second gear) clutch failure and result in a full rebuild being necessary.

For lots of 4R70W Transmission info, see http://www.markviii.org (click on discussions) and search for tranny info; Another good place is http://www.tccoa.com
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Greg
'96 Triumph Thunderbird
'99 Ford F150 XLT SC 5.4
'00 Lincoln LS8
Wichita


[This message has been edited by Wichita_Greg (edited 08-11-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Wichita_Greg (edited 08-11-2000).]