Tranny slipping?

[69rangerman]

Hey guys, the ol' girl has been back on DD status for over a month now and I think I'm feeling the beginnings of a tranny problem.

From a dead stop:
Ease into pedal there is a VERY small pause/slip then away she goes.
Stomp the pedal and she won't do much until 20mph or so.

I'd say it might be fuel/elect/vac related but:
-Have tried all accel pump settings = no difference
-From anything over 10mph when I stomp the pedal it hooks up and I get wheel spin and impressive acceleration.
-No smoke at tail pipe. Plugs are white/off white.

I've never had tranny problems before-what should I be on the look out for if this is just starting?

Thanks for any advice.

Tom

[Wes]

Any carburation changes, ei after market 4 barrel, If so under moderate to hard excel you may have either severe rich or lean condition.


This a manual or automatic, if manual you might get lucky w/ a clutch adjustment, or may need a new clutch.

If an auto check fluid level, might want to service it, new filter and fluid change. Is the slipping worse when cold.

Any way need more info.

[69rangerman]

Thanks Wes,

It's an FMX auto. The small slip happens at every full stop. Plugs are white so it may be just a lean condition as far as the power goes. Seems like the accel pump adjustment would have improved that some though.

Tom

[Jake11]

Put a "trans go" shift kit in it.

[lightning_msd]

for a quick fix tho, get lucas trans fix, ive blown transmissions and i put that stuff in and it usually gets me home or to the nearest shop. but i had the same problem with my AOD, but that was because napa gave me the wrong rear oil seal so i was always empty on trans fluid.

[Wes]

I like the lucas trans additive, I put a pint in a trans with a shift shaft seal leak. Slowed that leak down, to almost nothing. the trans was and is shifting good b4, can't vouch for slip/shift improvement.

As for the plug color, unless you tried, a dozen fast take offs and then check the spark plugs, I doubt they will show rich run. I would still like to know what carb you running. Is the kick down linkage hooked up ? What happens when you try a hard take off w/ the trans in manual low. You might be experiencing
a second gear take off.

[69rangerman]

I bought a shift kit but was scared out of attempting it myself when I saw the directions.

Carb is a new eddy 600 manual choke. Just ordered the metering rods for 1 and 2 steps rich in power mode.

The kickdown is hooked up and seems to work fine. Takes about 3/4 pedal to engage it.

I'll try the D1 take off to see if that's any different.

Verifying fluid level is a pain because no matter how careful I am the dipstick is always smeared top to bottom with fluid. I have a leak from the converter area but am never sure how much to add because of the difficulty reading the stick.

Maybe it's just a fluid level problem.

Thanks again

Tom

[Wes]

wow smeared top to bottom, you may be over full, this can cause slipage. Thou it should be all the time.
I have that carb for my 360, I haven't run the engine yet have been waiting for Springs then is off to muffler shop. Hopefully it will go vroom vroom before Fathersdays.

[69rangerman]

Well...for the record, no difference in D1.

Wes, you'll like the carb. Ran awesome right out of the box.

I'll see if I can think of a way to make it easier to check fluid level.

Thing is it leaks a small puddle every day so I keep thinking it's gotta be low.

Thanks again.

[69rangerman]

Curious. It's beginning to look like I've had the tranny way overfilled since I first started her back up 1500 miles ago.

I figured with the constant drip that I should keep pouring fresh in but it must not be loosing much.

I finally got the dipstick where I could read it and after a week and a half of driving it's just now at the full level.

Could too much fluid/pressure cause slipping? I've also noticed that with the drop in fluid the rumbling noise has vanished and the performance and idle is better.

Why would that be?

[Wes]

yes the high fluided level gets whipped up by the rotating gears, and picks up
allot of air, which messes with the pressures the trans needs to shift and hold each gear correctly. So at the proper level how is it shifting now ??

[69rangerman]

Thanks for the explanation Wes. I like finding out why.

It's shifting better now. Next week should see the level down to regular levels but it is shifting better than it has in a while.

[FORDification]

Getting the transmission fluid whipped up like that will damage it, causing it to get aerated. You might be OK, but if I were you, I'd seriously consider doing a fluid change...get some fresh stuff in there.

[69rangerman]

Thanks for the warning Keith. It's time for the 1500 mile oil change, might as well do the tranny.

Anybody ever put one of those tranny drain plugs in the pan? I hate pulling that thing off-what a mess!

[averagef250]

If you can weld, weld a bung in the pan for a pipe plug. Cheaper than the drain plug kit and it drains ALL the fluid, not leaving a 1/4" of the worst stuff that's sitting on the bottom in there.