View Full Version : Cold kills?
Juice
12-14-2010, 05:25 PM
I was visiting family over the weekend and after a particularly cold night (single digits), I started the MM in the morning to head home. After a couple minutes of warming up, I put it in gear and it didn't go anywhere right away. I tried the other gears, but it still didn't move... For a split second I thought I might have been stuck since one of the back wheels was in the frozen grass. So I put it in reverse and gave it a little gas and the car eventually moved. I then drove forward and it was having to rev higher to get the same motion compared to normal. It was also vibrating heavily right before shifting from 1st to 2nd.
I started driving home (~180 miles) since I had no other choice, and once you got up to a cruising speed, it seemed ok, but getting there was the issue. The car felt sluggish, accompanied by that vibrating right before shifts. Also, during some of the higher gear shifts, the RPM would shoot up really high before the next gear would catch.
Then, as I was coasting down a hill, the engine would rev up, then slow down, rev up, then slow down, repeating this process until I had to touch the gas again. I have a video of this and some of the other abnormalities uploading to YouTube now, I will post them as soon as they finish.
This happened until I got about 20 miles from home, in which everything just quit. The car was in drive and it acted like it was in neutral. No amount of gas would make the car move in forward or reverse. I ended up having it towed to my house and haven't touched it since.
Ideas? It seemed kind of odd to me that it would just start acting up the minute I put it in drive right off the bat. I haven't had any other issues with it prior, and I had the transmission flushed about 5-6000 miles or so ago. I'm going to have to wait til the weekend to take it somewhere, as I work from pre-dawn til well after everything closes, I just figured I'd try and get some ideas from the all-knowing here first.
Thanks in advance, I should have the vids up shortly.
Juice
12-14-2010, 05:32 PM
Ok, here are the vids:
This is the one where I'm coasting downhill:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErlJ1UPmWr0
I'm not touching the gas at all, just coasting.
Here's the 2nd one where the RPM shoots up during a shift:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbN91OBHHBA
Here's another vid of the same thing, don't mind the movie playing the background:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC_h8gBuT4g
Hope this helps. Thanks again.
Local Boy
12-14-2010, 10:21 PM
Without feeling what it feels like, I would say be very careful...your pump maybe on the way out...Seems to me that the line pressure is not stable (maybe clogged trans filter?). Do you have your line pressure turned up significantly? I have read that turning up the line pressure significantly, over works the trans pump and shortens its life. Either that or your Converter is the problem...
Another area to consider is trans "flare"...did you adjust your shift points recently? If they are set too close to one another, the trans will "flare" (rev like in neutral) like that...This is NOT good either...
In case you did not know...once your trans pump dies it takes ALL of your trans with it!
I would not drive it until it gets figured out.
Good luck...
Aloha
boatmangc
12-15-2010, 04:49 AM
I would say park it and fix it before you kill the trans if it isn't already dead.
How long has it been since it had a flush/filter and new fluid?
I had this happen on my old Z-28. It would do this in cold weather. I'd put it in reverse and then wait and wait and wait and then it would slowly engage. Incredibly annoying. When it started to do it in the summer I knew the jig was up. And shortly after that it wouldn't shift out after the first shift. I knew the trans was done. Dropped the filter, full of shavings, looked like I was panning for silver. Hopefully yours is okay.
Rockettman
12-15-2010, 10:14 AM
...I'd put it in reverse and then wait and wait and wait and then it would slowly engage.
That's what she said !!! :banana2:
ctrlraven
12-15-2010, 10:59 AM
Coasting anytime above 40 mph mine does that. Once it gets below 40 mph it doesn't do it. Is your car an 03 or 04?
Ktorres1
12-15-2010, 11:24 AM
I take it the transmissions in our car kinda suck.
ctrlraven
12-15-2010, 11:26 AM
I take it the transmissions in our car kinda suck.
Not really, though anything can happen. Just the luck of the draw especially when you start modifying a car.
Blackened300a
12-15-2010, 11:39 AM
Coasting anytime above 40 mph mine does that. Once it gets below 40 mph it doesn't do it. Is your car an 03 or 04?
Thats the fun of having a high stall convertor. Im going to have that tuned out ASAP!
Do you hear any kind of whining out the transmission? Mine picked up a whine when it warmed up then it started shifting hard and erratic. I had no bubbles in the fluid and the filter was free of metal. We did a fluid flush and a filter change and its been great ever since. Even after 3 runs at the track and a 5 dyno runs. To this day we have no idea what caused my problem. Try the fluid and filter change. If you had it done recently, its possible you have the wrong fluid in there.
Rockettman
12-15-2010, 11:42 AM
Because you mentioned the fluid and filter change recantly...I'm gonna "2nd" Blackend300A's idea. Could be wrong fluid.
Thought it was bad to FLUSH the fluid.
ctrlraven
12-15-2010, 02:45 PM
Thats the fun of having a high stall convertor. Im going to have that tuned out ASAP!
Do you hear any kind of whining out the transmission? Mine picked up a whine when it warmed up then it started shifting hard and erratic. I had no bubbles in the fluid and the filter was free of metal. We did a fluid flush and a filter change and its been great ever since. Even after 3 runs at the track and a 5 dyno runs. To this day we have no idea what caused my problem. Try the fluid and filter change. If you had it done recently, its possible you have the wrong fluid in there.
I'll tell you later about my fun with having a high stall converter.
Thought it was bad to FLUSH the fluid.
Flush/Fluid exchange is fine as long as it's not a force flush machine doing it.
Juice
12-15-2010, 04:51 PM
I had the flush done at a reputable Ford dealership in SC before I moved to NY. They also work on all of the local PD CVs, so I would hope they didn't do anything stupid. Considering this is the first time anything has happened since then, I don't think it would be related to the flush. I don't know though, anything can happen I guess.
To answer some questions:
The car is an 04, no mods.
I didn't hear any noise that I can recall, however it may have been drowned out by the super whiney idle pulley I've got going on.
I'm going to call around tomorrow and see what I can get done locally, I have no way to do any of this myself unfortunately. Thanks for the replies.
Ktorres1
12-15-2010, 05:22 PM
What's a force flush machine?
B.C. Bake
12-15-2010, 08:15 PM
What's a force flush machine?
And, do our cars or the, "MM" have a filter in the pan or just a screen? :confused:
Haven't been in my trans yet for service.
justbob
12-15-2010, 08:25 PM
Filter in pan.
OP, any chance the filter dropped out and is laying in the pan? Wouldn't be the first.
Blackened300a
12-16-2010, 05:42 AM
Filter in pan.
OP, any chance the filter dropped out and is laying in the pan? Wouldn't be the first.
There would be bubbles in the fluid if that was the case. He never mentioned what the fluid looked like.
Juice
12-18-2010, 10:05 AM
They came and picked up the car today, it was sad to see her go. I should know by today or tomorrow what the deal is. Thanks for the replies and I'll keep you updated.
Juice
12-21-2010, 04:54 PM
I got the estimate today, $2287 and change. Does that sound right? I figured a little high.
They said the TC burned up, OD band, some spring for 2nd gear snapped, etc. I don't have the exact list of things that went bad, but it was several.
Thoughts?
MOTOWN
12-21-2010, 04:56 PM
for that amount of duckets id be getting a "built" trans
Juice
12-21-2010, 05:17 PM
What do you mean by "built"?
MOTOWN
12-23-2010, 12:11 AM
What do you mean by "built"?
a transmission built to handle added hp, as in artt carr, or some of the other performance trans builders
Blackened300a
12-23-2010, 05:24 AM
I got the estimate today, $2287 and change. Does that sound right? I figured a little high.
They said the TC burned up, OD band, some spring for 2nd gear snapped, etc. I don't have the exact list of things that went bad, but it was several.
Thoughts?
You could find another transmission for less then half that and have it installed. There were a few members that had a trans up for sale recently. That would be your cheapest way out. Unfortunately you'll have to pay the dealer for the labor and diagnosis of your car if you decide to not use them for the trans rebuild.
Juice
12-23-2010, 08:17 AM
The work is already done, so there was no going back anyway haha.
The guy who did the build invited me down to go over exactly what was wrong, and what he did. He showed me all of the burnt up parts (and there were a lot, this thing self destructed), then went over the parts he installed. He showed me what exactly went wrong with mine, how he fixed it, and things he did to prevent it from happening again.
Aside from the direct replacements, he upgraded a lot of the common-failure parts with parts that are less likely to fail from previous versions. He also added the upgrades they do to the police transmissions, so it is better off than it ever was. These upgrades included "shift improvements", aka J-mod.
Then he took me for a ride in the car to point out the differences.
He also told me that I should ask you guys about a tune that changes when the TC locks up. He showed me under light and medium throttle, when the TC locks up right before shifts, that is Ford's way of eeking a little better gas mileage out at the expense of more wear on the transmission. I don't pretend to know what I'm talking about, but if any of that makes sense, I'm interested.
MOTOWN
12-23-2010, 01:22 PM
sounds like a good rebuild!, a bit pricey, but whats done is done, just make sure you change your trans fluid and filter every spring.
So the police have the j-mod on their transmissions too?
Juice
12-24-2010, 07:39 AM
As far as I know. My knowledge of transmissions is very limited, but doesn't the J-mod mostly consist of drilling larger holes in the shift plate? I have a sheet of everything the guy did, I'll post it up when I get home on Sunday.
rayjay
12-24-2010, 09:34 AM
Buy a tuner with preloaded tune(s) from either DR or Lidio. Call both and talk to them. There are hundreds of threads on here about the subject. The tuner will firm up the shifts so there is no slipping into gear causing the wear that toasted your tranny. As far as the price you paid? Transmission work at a dealership is costly! The techs that do it are the highest paid guys there and there is a reason for that. You didn't get taken, you paid book at the dealer.
There is also a SCT tuning place with a dyno in Albany. (if they are still there) If they know anything about Marauders is anybody's guess though. You can not tune a Marauder as if its a Mustang. Two different animals.
Juice
12-24-2010, 10:02 AM
Thanks for the info. This was done at a privately owned transmission shop, not a dealership.
RacerX
12-24-2010, 11:08 AM
Expensive, but. if he did what he said, you won't have to worry about failure in the future. Sounds like he's knowledgeable an did a good job. :beer:
rayjay
12-24-2010, 11:53 AM
Expensive, but. if he did what he said, you won't have to worry about failure in the future. Sounds like he's knowledgeable an did a good job. :beer:
+1, good tranny guys are not cheap.
justbob
12-24-2010, 01:47 PM
for that amount of duckets id be getting a "built" trans
A built trans costs ALOT more money.
Glad to see it all worked out and I think that was a fair price. If the T/C concerns you, it might be time to pick up an XCal and head in for a dyno.
MOTOWN
12-24-2010, 02:04 PM
A built trans costs ALOT more money.
Glad to see it all worked out and I think that was a fair price. If the T/C concerns you, it might be time to pick up an XCal and head in for a dyno.
lol depends on who is doing the building!:banana:
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