Care with the 4th to 5th shift 2011 5.0 6M

Whooee...

Just got the car back from Ford. Messing around on a deserted part of the freeway on the way home from work and I missed 5th, at red line in 4th, and slipped back into 3rd. Not good. Speedo lit up like a video game and the car slid around out back like someone had layed down some bleach at the starting line. Took me a moment of to get my foot back into the clutch, mostly because controlling the steering seemed the thing to do. By the time I got it home after that little exercise, the rear end was making that nasty howling noise on decel that anyone that has ever been in a 69 Impala with 150k on the clock will well recognize. Took the car in the next day. I was honest, to a point, and just said I missed the shift, which is true. Well, the entire guts of the differential had to be replaced. Ring, pinion, seals...everything. By the grace of the God of drunks and babies, the transmission checked out OK as well as the rest of the drive line.

The moral of this story? It's good to be under warranty when you do something stupid.

Thank you Barber Ford in Ventura, CA!

lokstag1 said:

Ouch... What are your rear gears? 3.31s? Glad you didn't bite it.

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3.73's. Yeah, it was the longest 2 seconds not sitting in a dentist's chair I've ever experienced. ;-)

billfisher said:

its happened to me a few times, but i hit the clutch before it revved too high. you gotta watch. the tranny is designed to shift a 6800+ with ease.

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Yes, I have felt the shifter try and go into the wrong "gate" several times before but always at normal driving speeds. This is the first time it happened when I had my foot in it. I'm looking at that new Steeda shifter, (video shown elsewhere) and plan on putting one in. This is the first time I have actually thought maybe I should have gotten the Auto Tranny. Only for a second though. ;-)