My Tranny Issues...Any Ideas?

[rabidscoobie]

Id like to start off with that this has been an issue off and on since Nov/Dec of 2008.Good thing is that its all under warranty.

Here's what is going on:
The tranny shifts good,no probs,all gears sound fine at the right speeds(under 70mph).When I hit between 70 and 80,5th gear only you can hear a sort of grind sound or maybe like the gears are going together good.Its not a constant sound...kinda hard to explain.And if you keep your hand on the shifter you can feel it.

1st time Ford had it they rebuilt 5th.That solved the problem for about 2 months then the sound came back.I took it back and they couldnt find anything wrong just as before,so this time they rebuilt the whole tranny.Well that was in April that I got it back,now it has come back about a month ago.And now in just the last week Ive noticed a similar sound in 1st gear,but its only leaving from a dead stop...its very faint but there.

Also tranny fluid is coming out from somewhere at a very slow rate and me nor Ford is unable to locate where it is coming from....Theres just ennough to notice on the under side of the car...none ever on the ground.And yes I have put the thing on stands and literaly degreased the entire under side of the car..about 6 cans to exact just to try and find it.

The Ford tech is lost,he even had someone from a tranny shop come look at the parts that came out of my tranny.The were no signs of unusual wear or anything of the like.I was there so I know he was telling me the truth.

Ford says now the only option they is to replace the tranny,but they arent sure how the warranty company will take that.

I have no real mods done to it.The only things I have done are Flo's and a Tri-Ax shifter,of which comes off when I take it in.It does the sounds with the stocker too.

So what does this sound like could be the problem?I have to wait until after the holidays before I can take it back in.

 

[wmburns]

leak tracking

The rear tail shaft seal is common leak location. Usually leaks only when the car is running. If the outside surface of the slip yoke is not smooth, this will eat the seal up and it will leak. Since a Ford tech has looked at this, it's unlikely this is the source of the leak.

If the leak is from the front input shaft, this would be hard to pin point unless the transmission were removed. You might try removing the cover to the clutch throw out lever and looking for oil residue.

It's a long shot, but casting defects could allow fluid a path to leak. I am not sure how to go about locating casting defects other than visual.

I can't offer any real help on the transmission internals. Sorry.

 

[rabidscoobie]

Thx for the info.Those are all things I checked already.

Tail shaft is all good.The seal has been replaced several times.No residue behind the dust cover.The is absolutly no fluid near the front of the tranny.The tail is the only place it has it...it then moves onto the yoke and that throws the fluid around under the car.The ford tech cant find anything,a tech the for guy asked over from another shop looked, and I even had it looked at by another tranny shop,they say nothiing is wrong with the seal or that area.

But I also keep getting that noise...I think the tranny is just a lemmon.Its got less than 60k miles and I dont run the car hard at all.

Just trying to get a few ideas for when I do get this back,Ford already said that most likely they are gonna be hittin the warranty company up for a new tranny......Im just not sure how thats gonna go.

 

[wmburns]

Long shot. Could there be a crack in the yoke itself? Let's say from letting the yoke bottom out hard on the output spline?

The tail shaft is higher than the body of the transmission. Either the oil is coming from the shifter area and running down the tail shaft or it is coming from the tail shaft itself. Since the seal is good, was trying to think of ways fluid could migrate around the seal AND be difficult to notice. A cracked yoke might also explain your noise.

IMO, it is more likley the seal is leaking (even though it is new). If the sealing surface of the yoke is not smooth, it will eat away at the seal until it leaks.

Again, grapping at straws.

 

[rabidscoobie]

I had kinda wondered that myself,but honestly wasnt even sure if that was possible.
I know that the 1st time I had noticed the fluid I changed the seal and really looked over the yoke but didt see anything out of the ord...but then gain I wasnt lookin for a crack in the yoke either.If weather permits this weekend Ill try and look it over.

But for the noise everytime they rebuild a part it fixes the problem for a while.

Does any1 know of any issues that a Tri-Ax could be the cause of the noise?
This last time it was fixed I did wait a good while before i put the shifter back on...mainly cause I was being lazy.Couple months maybe after that the noise was back.

Thx again