'05 king ranch

[helimd]

OK, here is the problem. The little woman comes in and very sweetly tells me her Expedition is running "funny". So, I figure that seeing as though we just replaced a couple of coil packs, maybe we lost another.

Idle is fine, although running with a slight miss. But, when I pressed on the gas pedal to see if the miss would disappear, the engine would only rev to 3 thousand rpm. When I put the car in gear, it moved as though the trans was slipping, not only in forward, but reverse as well.

My question for the forum, other than the obvious "what is wrong", is this. Am I doing harm by driving it to the dealership, or should I just give up and get a wrecker to deliver it? This car, by the way, has just a shade over 180,000 miles and has been trouble-free its entire life. Help!

 

[stamp11127]

I sense you don't turn wrenches and bust knuckles in the process, so nothing wrong with playing it safe and getting a tow truck. I'd rather waste a little then burn a bunch of $.

 

[helimd]

No, actually I am a career aircraft pilot/mechanic. Almost 45 years in the business before wife and young family forced a change in direction. I'll tell ya, I just don't have the time or energy left at the end of a busy day to work on this thing. And, believe it or not, I don't even own a scanner to get the error codes. These forums have always been a great source of information, so I thought I'd take a try.

 

[stamp11127]

Well I called that one wrong...

The only things that I'd be concerned with is if the trans is really having trouble is it going to get worse driving it? If the engine is not firing on a couple of cylinders the gas can take out the cat(s).

I'd still get it on a hook.

 

[helimd]

I'm with ya on that one. Oddly enough, with the pedal floored, the engine is running smoothly. It just won't go beyond 3K. My thought is that with the fly by wire throttle, something in the ecu is receiving error codes from the tranny, preventing damage from hard acceleration. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 

[JUST4FUN]

with the car in park it will not go past 3000 rpm the rev limiter will shut it down

 

[helimd]

Good to know. Still doesn't answer the question of the slipping trans, but with the high miles, maybe it's just time for a tranny overhaul. I'm going to have to go out and drive it and see what happens. Thanks for the input, guys. I love these forums.

 

[ExpeditionAndy]

Is it possible that it is in limp home mode?

 

[helimd]

I don't think so. I drove it last night and the one major thing I noticed was that, when temps were cold, the upshift from 1st to 2nd was normal. However, as the needles came off the pegs, the 1st to 2nd shift required me letting off the gas. Then, as I got back on the gas the slipping began. Once it reached 4th, the normal operation returned. At least now I am more comfortable driving it to the dealership. For the little money I've invested in this vehicle, I have been more than satisfied with the reliability and performance. And, now that it has a set of 20" King Ranch wheels, the appearance can't be beat. Thanks to all who responded.

 

[helimd]

An update on my King Ranch. I drove it to a highly recommended shop where it was diagnosed as having another pair of coil packs showing intermittent spark. Fuel filter is also finished. From there I drove the car, still slipping in the 1st-2nd upshift, to a transmission shop I've used in the past.

Well, turns out that it's not a good idea to ever tow a trailer with this generation of Expedition. The first gear sprag, which also engages reverse, had failed. I should have the car back by next weekend with a reinforced sprag, and additional upgrades which should provide many more years of service. When finished, I'll take it back to the original shop for a complete service. This is a great vehicle which I plan to continue driving for some time.

Thanks, again for all of the responses.

 

[2005Expedition]

good to know, When I look at rear diff, I saw its not the same type of rear diff on F150 ( I dont know what the reason why ford did this ), but I know F150 having towing gear, and expy having cruising gear.

 

[ExpeditionAndy]

I haven't towed anything with mine but I do have the heavy duty tow package in it and I'm sure the previous owner did some towing. My transmission is great at 124,000 + miles so maybe someone abused yours.

 

[larshell]

I did have the same symptoms with my 05 EB changed coils didn't get it right found out the culprit is electronic throttle control. Now working ok but still observing it. Though it shows on multi info display.