Interesting. I drive with my OD on >99% of the time and have not had a single problem.

 

65,000 miles, 4R70W tranny, while overtaking a slow Chevy, I got past him and tranny went to shift back to OD and there was nothing there. Talked to my tranny man and he said it sounded like the OD shift solenoid-go ahead and drive it with OD off for a week until I can get it into him to look at it. Well, didn't make it that long! Wife calls me and asks if it is normal for the truck to be at 4000 RPM at 40 MPH!!!! Turns out that the accumulator lost a seal and there wasn't enough pressure to fully engage the 3rd gear clutch pack. It welded itself together from lack of pressure to fully engage. I am VERY surprised to have this problem because I only drive with the OD on about 25% of the time. Between this truck and what is turning out to be a piece of s**** Escape, I am losing faith in Ford products.

 

basshunter,

Sorry to hear about your tranny. I am interested in your Escape experience. Could you send me an e-mail with the details? Thanks.

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99 SD, CC, 4x2, SHORT BED, V10(duh), 4R100 AT WITH SONNAX VALVE AND TRICUMULATOR SPRINGS, 4.30LS, TOW & CAMPER PKG, XLT, OXFORD WHITE, PRAIRIE TAN, BORLA CAT BACK, BORLA HEADERS, K&N, EXTANG COVER

 

I got my truck back last night and I am under the impression that this truck was never right from the day I purchased it. The main reason I drove with my OD off was because it was constantly shifting back and forth to 3rd. Now, it holds the gears like a reasonable person would expect. I can even go over an overpass without it shifting into 3rd! The mechanic put in a 'commercial' 3rd gear clutch pack which has 7 clutches instead of the standard 4 clutches. All other components including the torque converter were replaced as well. $1500, not too bad! V10, I would be happy to give you the details of the Escape experience. I need your email address.

 

basshunter:
do you have a trans cooler in your truck? Did the mechanic think that excessive heat could have caused your accumulator seal to fail?

The good news is that your trans is probably way better than the OEM setup after the rebuild, and should outlast the rest of the vehicle, especially if you add a cooler and fan.

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'00 5.4L AUTO 4X4 F-150 Lariat
'98 4.0L 5spd Jeep Wrangler Sport
'02 F-350 PSD CC DRW 6SPD 4X4 Lariat (order this year)
www.hawthorn-engineering.com

 

gah, yes I do have the tranny cooler. It is unknown what caused the seal failure, but it wasn't heat. All of the seals were still soft. The shape of the blow-out was definitely odd looking. It looked like a square notch was taken out, maybe during installation? At this point I am leaning toward the chance that this seal was damaged during installation. The difference in the shifting is 100% different and I didn't do any upgrades that would effect the shifting. Glad to have a truck that shifts more like a truck as opposed to one that shifts like a Pinto with a 5000 lb boat behind it! I will give it the big test this weekend when I pull my boat over the mountain pass. I will report back.

[This message has been edited by basshunter (edited 06-14-2001).]

 

 

I also turn off the OD because of obsessive shifting between 3rd and OD. The only time I really have the OD on is at highway speed, 65mph or better.

I will get a chip for improved shifting, but until then the OD will be off... is this a bad thing?

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1998 XLT SuperCab w/ORP 4.6/auto/355LS/tow pck
LineX
Bug DeflectorII
Husky Liners
Rockford Fosgate 8320

94 Mustang- stock
98 Honda VTR1000- "tweakt"

 

Caliendo, I would definitely have your line pressures checked on your OD accumulator. It could save you having to buy a new OD drum like I had to. If it doesn't hold enough pressure, it will shift down. That is how it was explained to me.