captain chaos
Well-Known Member
So here’s the back story (warning, it's long winded!):
I bought an 05 Expedition for a song because it needed some semi-serious work done. I’ve spent the better part of a month in the garage replacing a truckload of parts and it’s back on the road. It runs smooth and strong and we’ve been driving it for a few weeks now.
I replaced:
-Cam phasers
-Cam solenoids
-Cam chains and tensioners
-All 8 plugs and coils
-All 4 wheel bearings
-Trans fluid/filter (fluid changed 2x w/ pan drop)
-Repainted the hood and hatch
-Replaced the leather on the lower part of the driver’s seat (Had the typical EB seat wear)
-new tires all around.
Needless to say, I have a great deal invested at this point in both time and money.
I still have one nagging problem though. I have, what I believe to be, a torque convertor shudder that happens only under very specific conditions. I have to be going between 40-45mph in OD with the TC locked. It will cruise level ground no problem or even VERY slight inclines but any attempt to accelerate or climb any kind of modest incline and a very pronounced shudder will start in. It feels very much like running over those ‘rumble strips’ on the highway at speed. Giving it more gas so as to force TC unlock or a downshift and it goes away. Try as I might I cannot get it to do it at any other speed in any other gear (though I haven’t tried hooking up the camper and locking into 3rd to try and force it-doesn't seem like a good idea though!). It’s ONLY between 40-45mph (any faster and it holds fine) in OD with the TC locked and under high % load.
I changed the trans fluid twice; the first time with a pan drop and a filter change. The second time I removed the ‘send’ line from the block in the lines between the trans and the cooler (I assume it’s some kind of thermostat/bypass) and pumped it out until it just started ‘spitting’. I then added 2-3 ‘sacrificial’ qts and pumped it again hoping that it pumped through the TC before going out (couldn’t find a flow diagram online to show where the fluid went before going to the cooler lines). My hope was to flush out a little more of the old fluid. I then refilled with Castrol Mercon V. The problem persisted (though it was SLIGHTLY better, maybe). In a ‘last ditch effort’ I drained a little and added a bottle of Lucas ‘Trans-Fix’ in the hopes that it would help; it didn’t.
Anyway, though I am capable of replacing the TC (though getting that trans out does not look like a whole lot of fun
), and the TC itself is not that expensive, I’m ready to be done throwing time/money into this thing. We bought it as an occasional ‘family truckster’ and to pull our 24’ TT as well as the occasional project on a 16’ car trailer. The thought of pulling with, what seems to be, a marginal TC does not give me the warm fuzzies though. So down to the real question: what are my options?
-Give up and replace the TC; nothing else is going to work.
-some kind of specific additive to the trans fluid?
-would a tuner be able to create more clamping force by adjusting ‘shift firmness’?
I’ve read a lot on my issue online and it doesn’t seem to be an isolated incident by any means.
One guy on an F150 forum seems to insist that most people that suffer this problem have a high-load misfire cause by a super lean AFR due to factory EGR tuning. Thing is, I’ve had the misfire issue on my last Expy (hence the 8 plugs/coils being thrown on this one!) and it does not feel like a misfire issue. It feel like a chattery clutch on a manual trans. Thus my belief that it’s a TC issue. I also have no 'pending' misfires in the ECU
Anyway, I was hoping someone would have some insight or maybe suggestions.
I bought an 05 Expedition for a song because it needed some semi-serious work done. I’ve spent the better part of a month in the garage replacing a truckload of parts and it’s back on the road. It runs smooth and strong and we’ve been driving it for a few weeks now.
I replaced:
-Cam phasers
-Cam solenoids
-Cam chains and tensioners
-All 8 plugs and coils
-All 4 wheel bearings
-Trans fluid/filter (fluid changed 2x w/ pan drop)
-Repainted the hood and hatch
-Replaced the leather on the lower part of the driver’s seat (Had the typical EB seat wear)
-new tires all around.
Needless to say, I have a great deal invested at this point in both time and money.
I still have one nagging problem though. I have, what I believe to be, a torque convertor shudder that happens only under very specific conditions. I have to be going between 40-45mph in OD with the TC locked. It will cruise level ground no problem or even VERY slight inclines but any attempt to accelerate or climb any kind of modest incline and a very pronounced shudder will start in. It feels very much like running over those ‘rumble strips’ on the highway at speed. Giving it more gas so as to force TC unlock or a downshift and it goes away. Try as I might I cannot get it to do it at any other speed in any other gear (though I haven’t tried hooking up the camper and locking into 3rd to try and force it-doesn't seem like a good idea though!). It’s ONLY between 40-45mph (any faster and it holds fine) in OD with the TC locked and under high % load.
I changed the trans fluid twice; the first time with a pan drop and a filter change. The second time I removed the ‘send’ line from the block in the lines between the trans and the cooler (I assume it’s some kind of thermostat/bypass) and pumped it out until it just started ‘spitting’. I then added 2-3 ‘sacrificial’ qts and pumped it again hoping that it pumped through the TC before going out (couldn’t find a flow diagram online to show where the fluid went before going to the cooler lines). My hope was to flush out a little more of the old fluid. I then refilled with Castrol Mercon V. The problem persisted (though it was SLIGHTLY better, maybe). In a ‘last ditch effort’ I drained a little and added a bottle of Lucas ‘Trans-Fix’ in the hopes that it would help; it didn’t.
Anyway, though I am capable of replacing the TC (though getting that trans out does not look like a whole lot of fun
), and the TC itself is not that expensive, I’m ready to be done throwing time/money into this thing. We bought it as an occasional ‘family truckster’ and to pull our 24’ TT as well as the occasional project on a 16’ car trailer. The thought of pulling with, what seems to be, a marginal TC does not give me the warm fuzzies though. So down to the real question: what are my options?-Give up and replace the TC; nothing else is going to work.
-some kind of specific additive to the trans fluid?
-would a tuner be able to create more clamping force by adjusting ‘shift firmness’?
I’ve read a lot on my issue online and it doesn’t seem to be an isolated incident by any means.
One guy on an F150 forum seems to insist that most people that suffer this problem have a high-load misfire cause by a super lean AFR due to factory EGR tuning. Thing is, I’ve had the misfire issue on my last Expy (hence the 8 plugs/coils being thrown on this one!) and it does not feel like a misfire issue. It feel like a chattery clutch on a manual trans. Thus my belief that it’s a TC issue. I also have no 'pending' misfires in the ECU
Anyway, I was hoping someone would have some insight or maybe suggestions.
