I just got my truck back from the dealer after 4 weeks for a transmission noise problem. It still is not fixed. This is the problem....when under normal acceleration the truck seems to shudder, not all the time though. It does it pretty bad when cruising in 4th gear around 40-50 mph. It almost feels like a wheel out of balance, but when you depress the clutch the shudder instantly goes away and the truck glides extremely smooth. In time with the shudder the tranny (when in 3rd or 4th gear with clutch depressed and gliding at 40-50 mph.) makes a rattle noise that you can feel in the shifter. Their is also a howling sound, like a bad rear-end sound when under de-acceleration. The dealer had both the transfer case and transmission apart and couldn't find anything wrong! I'm stumped! I've tried changing the wheels with my brothers F-150 just to make sure it wasn't a tire problem but it did the same thing! Can anyone help with this?? By the way, the truck is a '99 F-150 with 4.6 and standard tranny, short bed 4x4 regular cab. Thanks!

 

Take it by Mazda and see if you can find a good service manager, maybe he can give you some insite....or check out owner complaints here http://www.nhtsa.com/ maybe you can turn something up....The standard transmission is made by Mazda...weak tranny..I had one on my 97 and when I looked at the tow rating I was very disappointed, thats when I found out it was a Mazda tranny...Dave

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1998 F-150, SC/Flairside,oxford white 4x2,4.6,auto,3.55s,nerf bars,cls 111 towing,bed liner w/mat,Eagle polished wheels 16x10 w/Yokahama Geolandars 315/75/16s,all plastics guards/bug shields,air raid/k & n filter, superchipped, duals out the back corners, flow master 3 chamber, snug top lid, f-150 online sticker back window-honk if you see me!!! Fabtech 3 1/2 lift,3" spindles, 3" body lift=9 1/2 inches of lift, lift lips.coverking dash cover, Lumi Logo's (front and rear), clear front corner lenses, muth mirrors,dash mounted CB, (TX Chapter requirement,lol),personalized license plates, Superlift traction bars,Image tail light covers (painted).and it still fits in the garage, yeahhhhhh

San Antonio
DWESSELS89@AOL.COM

 

I wouldn't worry about the strength of the Mazda tranny. Have a 1997 F-150 4x4 Triton V8 with a 5 spd. and I have never had any problems with it. Towed a 6000 lbs. military truck on a 1,300 lbs. trailer for several hundred miles at 70+ mph with no trouble. Unless you are lightin up the tires constantly of feeding full power and then dropping the clutch, I wouldn't worry too much about the transmission weaknesses.

 

I have another thought about this problem. I'm getting a howling sound which seems to be coming from the rear-end. I think something might be screwed up back there and it is transferring vibrations up the drive shaft and causing the tranny to make funny rattling noises. I'm meeting with the Ford engineer today and i'm going to see what he says.