[Huntertek]

Wonder what this torque converter replacement would cost me since I'm out of warranty?

 

[lolwisper4321]

I would take your out of warranty Transit to a Transmission Specialist and leave the dealers in the dust.
Recalls are the only reason I would bring my Transit to a Dealer. My Transit is out of warranty at 62,2500 miles
and having Transmission down shifting issues from 2nd to 1st gear when stopping. There is a knocking type
noise and feel during some stopping situations. Hope changing the fluid will correct the issue.

 

[philip]

Trying to eliminate any simple-fix issues with a droning noise in my 2018 Transit-250 6-speed auto.

I want to re-torque all of the bolts between the tranny and the axle.

Before I do this, I need some help on torque specs. Want to tackle the tranny first.

Found a diagram online at tascaparts dot com/oem-parts/ford-ford-transit-150-250-350-diesel-transmission-mount-ck4z6068a for the bolt locations but no data on torque.

Hope someone can help me out.

I'm a novice so when replying, please reference the bolt numbers on this page.

No one replied so I decided to just see of things were loose. While one bolt was indeed loose, retightening all of them improved the droning intensity but did not eliminate it.


If it is the torque converter, how do I get it fixed? What words do I use to get the technicians to do what they must?

 

[sam]

Sorry, I've been away from the forum for a long time since my droning issues were solved. "What did I say" to get them to do their jobs? Really, it just took persistence. I made trips to three different dealers over a year (and 20K miles of having my brains scrambled by an incredibly powerful droning/vibration) before I finally found a service manager (at Darling's Ford in Bangor Maine) who actually wanted to solve my problem, and who wouldn't take "No" from corporate...
After doing the driveshaft recall and taking it out for a test drive afterward, he told two techs to take it out again--one on an analyzer while the other one drove. They noticed RPMs were occillating up and down 200 rpm during droning, and that's what gave them a clue it was the transmission. Then, the service manager scoured the internet and found people with the same issue who said the cause was defective torque converters. Bingo!
Hope this helps.

 

[asdrew]

They noticed RPMs were oscillating up and down 200 rpm during droning, and that's what gave them a clue it was the transmission.

That is a great clue, my two current wagons have no drone but my previous one did (but not bad). Now I'd like to have it back to see if I could observe the same thing.

 

[surly Bill]

Just posted on the other drone noise thread.

To check if it's the torque converter, when droning is happening watch a digital gauge showing RPM. If it is varying by 100+ but you're going at a constant speed then it may be the torque converter.

*scangauge, bullygauge, Torque app, other OBD-II reader or app with real time RPM data

 

[dustboy]

On a long highway drive recently, I experienced an intermittent low-frequency vibration that lasted 1-2 seconds at a time. Maybe 20-30 Hz. I kept looking for ripples in the road.

It occurred while criusing at a constant speed on level ground around 70 mph. Happened about twice per minute. I haven’t yet checked on the RPM fluctuation.

Sounds to me like Surly Bill’s TC issue, can anyone confirm? I’m only a few thousand miles shy of the powertrain warranty expiring.

 

[OLV1071571]

Hello everyone.

New to the forum and to Transit ownership. Found this thread while researching what appears to be the same issue with our new 250. I'm intrigued by the most recent posts as torque converter was one of the things I was considering (I've had them fail on other vehicles and it seemed similar) but I'm not sure if that is the issue or not. Here's where I'm at thus far...

Brand new vehicle purchased with 700miles on it. Has the optional limited slip diff. Noticed a droning noise, after purchase. A low bass sound that is almost felt as much as heard. Similar to a bumping stereo system in a car outside your house.

It starts at about 42-43 mph, peaking at 50-53 mph in 6th at 1500 RPM. (No noticeable feedback through the steering wheel or any of the driver area surfaces. Seems to be localized in the back near the rear axle)
Manually drop to 5th, RPMs more to 1700 @ 50mph, droning changes from a "HMMMM...HMMMM...HMMMM" to a "hmmmmmmmmmmmm".

Shift to neutral on an incline that maintains the 50 mph target range and the frequency changes from "HMMMM...HMMMM...HMMM..." to "HM.HM.HM.HM." and then tapers off as the speed bleeds off.

Took it to the dealer. Initially the first mechanic acknowledged and agreed there was a problem. Advised me there was a recall on the guibo and that it may be causing a drivetrain issue. Went back a week later, had the guibo replaced. Took another mechanic with me for the post repair test drive. Issue still there. This mechanic denied hearing anything unusual and claimed it was "wind noise". Drove several other vehicles that day for comparison but there were none that exactly matched my configuration. Some had hints of the issue, so subtle that I would likely not notice if I wasn't already so sensitive to our vehicle's noise.

The day ended with the dealer denying the problem and blaming it on normal wind noise and the fact that I'm driving a big tin can. My feeling is if this was "normal" nobody would be driving one of these things. All my driving is in the range that the noise presents itself. Outside that range she is smooth as glass and a joy to drive.

Today (8/22) I took it to my regular local repair shop. I took a mechanic with me and demonstrated the issue. He agreed there was clearly something wrong. Back to the shop. we put the rear on jack stands and drove the vehicle in the bay up to 50 mph. The noise was less evident but still there. At 53 mph it resonated through the whole building to the point that the head mechanic came out of his office to see what was going on. Lack of contact with the ground changed the speed at which it occurs but the effect was amplified considerably inside the building. I rolled down my window and it was almost deafening.
Visual inspection of the drive train components showed no obvious anomalies. And they stated that the wheels and tires were balanced and smooth. They did note that there was some vibration visible on the left rear wheel. Both the leaf spring and the brake caliper were clearly showing vibration movement at the speed that induced the droning sound. Not sure if a faulty torque converter would cause vibration in that area.

I'm going back to the dealer with my findings to see what they say.

The Transit is otherwise perfect for my needs. I've had it a month and am pretty much attached to it. But this issue is a deal breaker if it is not resolved soon. It would break my heart to give it up but you can't pay what these things cost for a faulty product. I'm going to send this thread to the head tech and see if it helps convince him that there is more to it than simple wind noise on a uni-body tin can.

Thanks to @ranxerox for pointing me to this thread. I saw it earlier but its massive and didn't see the exact issue I am having which is described by @EastsideBike. I am simply writing it here as another form of awareness for anyone at Ford who might read up on this thread. @lolwisper4321 @jonsobi @MikeQBF here is another example of the same noise as described by many others. I do have the pinion dampener, Ujoints etc as all came from factory. With only 800 miles I just can't believe I have any issues at all. Just add my new and expensive van to the list of resonance issues. @CrewVanMan@MattFord we hope you have some connections to at least get them to see this thread or look into this.

 

[OLV1071571]

Sharing the latest update. I took the van into the dealership a couple days ago and lifted the back end. I accelerated to around 55 mph and could hear a constant droning noise inside. The mechanic kept saying he couldn't hear anything. Then we realized he couldn't hear anything outside. But once he sat inside the van he could definitely hear the noise. He described it the same and said it was like a rear window was open while driving.

He thinks its exhaust related but can't seem to find anything within the Ford internal boards for mechanics that states this issue. They also have no experience on these vans. So just giving you guys the update and we'll see what happens. He did make a comment about how lame the heat shields were and how there was no noise dampening around the entire exhaust system.

 

[Pwnage12]

The problem isn't with the Transit, it's a problem with your particular van. Everything can be fixed but saying you think about a sprinter is silly. You test drive first and if all is well then something broke or moved but there are few of many ten thousands that are perfect.

The transmission isn't bad in Fords or Transits it's just one you have and it's unlucky for sure.

I agree that Ford should fix it but don't blame transits.

If you buy a bad hamburger you don't fix it by getting chicken wings. You try a different hamburger.

My transit is smooth as glass. On a new paved highway it's like sliding on wet ice and perfectly quiet.

Keep trying to fix it and pursue all avenues but don't blame transit or Fords quality because that's foolish.

There are service centers at every manufacturer for a reason and there are forums for every car maker and there are people who say I'll never buy again and go to another brand with just as many issues.

That’s why there’s a whole forum of people with the same exact problem with their Transit? Don’t blame the maker of the vehicle, blame ourselves for not test driving it at 60mph in city limits👍🏻 You probably work for ford or something

 

[Pwnage12]

So I gave up after reading 5 pages in the forums, can someone confirm if there’s a solution to the humming noise that comes and goes at certain mph when pushing on the accelerator? It definitely sounds like it comes from the rear of the vehicle. I experience it around 40mph I noticed today. Plz and thank you 🙏🏻

 

[asdrew]

After all the discussions on this over the years, most of what has been reported appears to be what is called torque converter shudder and is usually accompanied by a fluctuation in RPMs.

 

[TransitFocus]

and is usually accompanied by a fluctuation in RPMs.

The fluctuation in RPM is really caused by how hard you push it when the torque converter has already degraded, causing it to slip. Once you hear the chatter, don't keep pushing, downshift.

Despite it not operating as designed, you can nurse it along for tens of thousands of miles, just don't put yourself in situations where you're asking the most out of the driveline (very low RPM, high torque). Source: both my vehicles have chattering torque converters for 10k+ miles.

 

[TransitFocus]

Also file w/ the NHTSA, maybe we can get some action on this given how widespread it is.

Home | NHTSA

Get resources and info about staying safe on America’s roads. And, find out if there’s a recall on your car or how to report a vehicle safety problem.

www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov

 

[ranxerox]

More of the same.

New vibration after replacing the guibo with u-joint

Hi Folks, I pored a bunch of the existing driveshaft threads and didn't see anything that seemed related... I just had my van at the dealer to do the driveshaft recall. They installed a driveshaft with a u-joint and now we're getting a new vibration, most noticeable off-throttle and between...

www.fordtransitusaforum.com

 

[suitcase]

is the complete drive shaft getting replaced with the U-joint install ?
Or just the front half is being replaced?

 

[OLV1071571]

I'll order one and try it - K4Z-5A669-A Pinion Nose Damper Kit
According to Ford, "New pinion nose damper may appear similar to the
original (if equipped), but the dampening characteristics have been changed."

This comes from the last page of an interesting read:
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2017/RCRIT-17V446-6431.pdf

I do not have this pinon damper on my 2019 that I ordered from Matt Ford. My question is, how would I know if I should or should not have it? I have had a u-joint since day 1 but no pinon damper. Is there some type of documentation showing it should be on there but the factory left it off?

 

[kazuo]

I do not have this pinon damper on my 2019 that I ordered from Matt Ford. My question is, how would I know if I should or should not have it? I have had a u-joint since day 1 but no pinon damper. Is there some type of documentation showing it should be on there but the factory left it off?

Mine didn't come with the pinon damper either. I added one it helped a little, It is mentioned in the Safety Recall 17S15.

 

[ranxerox]

This Pinon Damper is for those of us that still have a Giubo.

 

[OLV1071571]

This Pinon Damper is for those of us that still have a Giubo.

I thought the same but my brother in law has a 2017 with a u-joint fix and also a pinion damper. He doesn't have any vibration etc (not saying the damper is or isn't the reason).