Shifts to neutral instead of 2nd????

[kingdruid]

I was driving the car in the freeway today and the engine started to rev up like it was on neutral. I don't think the actualy engine thinks its on neutral though because usually on neutral it will only rev up to 2 rpm. This time it was up to 4 or 5 like it wanted to go, but the car would not move. So I then put the car On D2 and it worked fine, I changed it back to D and it worked ok until it tried to shift then it went back to not doing anything, just rev the engine.

So the car works fine under reverse, D2 and D1, but I didn't push it. I just drove it home slowly.

I tried changing the neutral switch on the transmission linkage and that did not help. I have never changed the transmission fluid or filter on this car, but I have a mechanic friend that doesn't think it would cause this problem.....

Any ideas? This car has just been bad luck since the shady sales guy sold it to me...

 

[FordandPolaris]

How many miles on the truck? Also when you put it in D2, will it shift to second gear correctly or does it stay in first?

 

[kingdruid]

How many miles on the truck? Also when you put it in D2, will it shift to second gear correctly or does it stay in first?

155,000 and yes when I had it on D2 it was shifting to second correctly.

 

[FordandPolaris]

You don't happen to have a flashing O/D light on the shifter do you? The fact that 2nd gear works ok in D2 tells me that it probably isn't torque converter related. Still it might not hurt to drop the pan and see how the gears look. Especially if you have not changed the fluid and filter.

Hopefully others chime in. I have not had the opportunity to work on transmissions like I have engines, so they are a little more foreign to me.

 

[kingdruid]

You don't happen to have a flashing O/D light on the shifter do you? The fact that 2nd gear works ok in D2 tells me that it probably isn't torque converter related. Still it might not hurt to drop the pan and see how the gears look. Especially if you have not changed the fluid and filter.

Hopefully others chime in. I have not had the opportunity to work on transmissions like I have engines, so they are a little more foreign to me.

I'm not sure if the OD light was on, but I'll check when I get home.

 

[FordandPolaris]

Usually if it is flashing, then the transmission itself is at fault. Atleast that is the case with the 1st gens. I guess I am not too sure if they still have that as a signal on the 2nd gens.

 

[kingdruid]

I just had my wife check and there is no O/D light on the dash. I think I'm going to drive it over to a transmission place to have it checked after work, then depending on what the problem is I'll see if I can fix it myself or will have to pay to fix it.

I honestly just want to get rid of the car because of the luck I've had on it. I would sell it as it is right now for cheaper, but I think I'll lose 3 or 4k on the sale. If I fix the transmission and it cost me 1 or 2k then I wouldn't take so much of a hit when I sell it.

 

[Jeckler]

Ummm, isn't the transmissions in these 4-speeds w/overdrive?
If this happened at 70mph on the freeway, I doubt you were in 2nd gear. If you were cruising, it should've been in OD.
Do it again and this time turn off overdrive and see if it shifts correctly to 3rd with the selector in D.

 

[kingdruid]

Ummm, isn't the transmissions in these 4-speeds w/overdrive?
If this happened at 70mph on the freeway, I doubt you were in 2nd gear. If you were cruising, it should've been in OD.
Do it again and this time turn off overdrive and see if it shifts correctly to 3rd with the selector in D.

Yeah sorry I think it happens from 2 to 3. I took it to a transmission place and he said there is internal damage causing it not to shift from 2 to 3. So I drove it again and played around a bit. I noticed it only slips from going to 2 to 3 when OD is on. When I press the OD off button and the light comes on the dash saying OD off the car works fine and shifts from 2 to 3.

So here is what I think it is:
2005 Expedition transmission = dead? - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums

I think that e-clip for the overdrive gear is probably broken like the guy in the link above.

I'm going to try to fix this myself, I've never actually worked on a transmission before, but I think I can handle it. I'll need to take the pan off and then I guess pull the valve body. Hopefully I can do this with the transmission still in the car.