Just bought a 2010 EL limited. Shudder, help.

[concreteavenger]

Hi

So beginning of this month I bought a 2010 EL limited and today a mechanic told me that I have transmission problems. He said he wasn’t a transmission guy so he couldn’t be for sure. But he was pondering it could be a solenoid. It shudders when shifting and makes an intermittent groaning noise from under the hood.

I’m terrified. It might not be the solenoid from the research I’ve done, it could be contaminated fluid, or a worn torque converter?

I think I want to get the transmission flushed and hopefully that fixes it. Is that a good idea? How much will it cost. I’ve never had a sealed transmission or have had to go to a dealer. Will Ford dealerships even exchange the fluid or are they just going to tell me I need a new transmission?

I’m scared.

 

[DeafBringer]

Take it to a mechanic that specializes in transmissions. They'll be able to tell you exactly what's going on.

 

[99WhiteC5Coupe]

Take it to a mechanic that specializes in transmissions. They'll be able to tell you exactly what's going on.

And have the transmission scanned for any stored trouble codes.

 

[Johnathan M]

If it has a lot of miles on it, it won't hurt anything to change the fluid. Some people think changing the fluid on a transmission that has not been changed in a long time can make the transmission fail, but that doesn't make any sense. If it fails, that means there was something wrong with it already, and the sludge that was in there was just keeping it from manifesting. However in your case, you're already having shifting issues, so there can only be good things to possibly gain by changing the fluid. There's a good chance the previous owner never changed the fluid. I would guess most people don't ever change their transmission fluid. My 2013 EL has 268,000 miles on it. I bought it at 210,000 with no records of whether the fluid had ever been changed or not. I just changed the tranny fluid 6 weeks ago and took a 3,500 mile trip with it right afterwards. No issues. I replaced the pan with an aftermarket one with a drain plug so in the future I don't have to drop the pan to change the fluid again.

You mention a sealed transmission. I'm guessing the 2010 is very similar to my 2013. They aren't actually sealed. They have a small dipstick on the passenger side of the transmission that is accessed from under the vehicle. That is where you check the fluid level and add fluid. If I was having your symptoms, I would definitely change out the fluid. If a solenoid is sticking, fresh fluid could clean things up and make things work properly. I had a 2007 BMW with 167,000 miles that started shuddering occasionally on shifts. I changed out the fluid with fresh tranny fluid and it completely took away the issue.

You definitely don't need to go to a dealer to change your fluid. Any mechanic should be able to do that. You should also be able to look up videos (if you don't have a repair manual for your Expy) to be able to do it yourself. It's not really a complicated process. FYI, changing the fluid as I'm talking about is different from a flush. A flush replaces all the fluid. A pan drop/drain fluid replacement only replaces about half of the fluid. However, that's a dramatic improvement over leaving the original, broken down fluid in there. That's all it took to resolve the problem I mentioned above in my BMW. You can always drain and fill again later on and you'll have 75% new fluid.

Keep us posted as to how things go. I wish you the best. Tranny issues are no fun.

 

[GaryH]

If you are going to spend thousands on a transmission build anyway, at least try this first. Nothing to lose but about 10 bucks and it might fix it.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002JMLQU/?coliid=ICTCAHQD0LJWM&colid=AWLOT5KHO12E&ref_=list_c_wl_lv_ov_lig_dp_it&th=1

 

[concreteavenger]

Thanks everyone. Going to Aamco on Thursday, praying I don’t need a rebuild. Getting a free diagnostic.

It’s getting a flush at least. Idk why valvoline told me they couldn’t do it and referred me to a dealer.

 

[Frank Wilson]

All transmissions are sealed. They wouldn't be able to fill them at the factory if they weren't. Just a marketing term.

 

[concreteavenger]

they tentatively said it was the torque converter during the test drive then said they just recommend a flush. Dropped the pan and the fluid was battleship grey but no debris. It’s running pretty good but haven’t had it on the freeway yet. Noises are gone, I think.

Am I in the clear?

 

[Johnathan M]

If your symptoms and issues are gone by simply doing a flush, and they don't come back, then I would say yes. You simply had fluid that was too worn out and thin to do its job.

 

[concreteavenger]

Hey everyone, it’s been running pretty good but I’m getting the slightest issues still. I want to put a second tube of shudder fix in it. Questions:

-can I put it in cold?
-once I take the dipstick out is fluid going to spill out?
-do I have to take out the 2 ounces of fluid the shudder fix is going to displace?

Next month I’m doing another drain and fill to fully eliminate all the contaminants in there too.

 

[Johnathan M]

You can put it in cold.

On a transmission with a fill plug, you fill it up until fluid dribbles out of it. On those kinds, the fluid will run out if you do it with the engine off. You have to have the engine running so it's circulating fluid up around in the transmission. However, since you have that short (3" or however long it is) dipstick, you may be able to take it out with the engine off to add the fluid. Someone else may have tried that and may know the answer. You could always break it loose and start to unscrew it and see if fluid starts to come out. If it does, you can just finger tighten it back down and then start the engine.

This is just my opinion, but unless they have it overfilled already, you should be able to add 2 ounces without harming anything. However, if you're going to do another drain and fill in a month, you could always wait till then and put that in with your new fluid. Then you don't even have to worry about the question of whether it would be overfilling it.

 

[vinbonifacio]

I recently changed my ATF and filter. My groaning noise stopped. Hopefully yours might just need another flush or change.

 

[Trainmaster]

Make sure you use the fluid specified in the Owners Manual. 2010 usually takes Motorcraft LV fluid. Stay away from anything else.

 

[Johnathan M]

I would add that it doesn't have to be the Motorcraft brand, but it definitely needs to meet the LV specifications. I personally use Amsoil fluids where I can. If you put in your vehicle specifications into the Amsoil website, they will either recommend the appropriate fluid, or they will say they don't have a fluid that meets your vehicle specifications. They don't just recommend something to make a sale. I've used their Signature Series motor oil for years and have run multiple vehicles well over 300K miles. I use the Signature Series motor oil because it lets me go 25K miles between oil changes. I put a lot of miles on my vehicles, so that often ends up being once a year that I change my oil. Last time I changed the tranny fluid on my 2013 Expy (with 265K miles) I used the Amsoil transmission fluid recommended for my vehicle and I've been happy with the results.

 

[The Ark]

I got rid of the tranny shudder by changing spark plugs and coil packs. Can't find the source of the information i used to make my decision but had to do with voltage being too low due to bad oil pack. I used FoMoCo plugs and coil packs and did the tune up myself AND shudder went away. I have driven about 4500 miles since the tune up and no low rpm shudder. I did check tranny fluid and it was full and clean. Just my two cents.

 

[inmanlanier]

they tentatively said it was the torque converter during the test drive then said they just recommend a flush. Dropped the pan and the fluid was battleship grey but no debris. It’s running pretty good but haven’t had it on the freeway yet. Noises are gone, I think.

Am I in the clear?

I used Valvoline Multi-Vehicle, explicitly qualified as Dextron VI, Mercon LV and DEX/MERC fluid. I have a 2012 EL XLT.

See this post for good instructions on the process. https://www.expeditionforum.com/threads/tranny-service.49248/page-3

... my experience for my 3 drains and fills starts on post #22. If you are going to do this more than a 2nd time (you'll only be at ~82% new fluid after 2 drain and fills. You're in the low 90% range after 3 drain and fills), you may wish install a new pan with a drain plug as I did. Much cleaner to do! I quit at 3.

 

[DAHE]

Have you checked the spark plugs since you bought it? These engines will run until the electrodes are gone and they can cause stumbling on acceleration that feels a lot like the transmission. It doesn't take much, just going up hill can cause it. My sons 2007 which is approaching 500,000 miles on original engine and transmission and my 2014 had plugs eroded down to the ceramic when we bought them. Neither vehicle set a misfire code except when a coil went bad. It is a quick and cheap item to check before doing anything more with the tranny.