FYI - Transmission Chatter
tomj76
09-09-2008, 12:47 PM
I share this just in case there is someone out there with a similar problem who is looking for a cure.
About 18 months ago I had the transmission rebuilt on our '96. Everything seemed fine at first, but after a few weeks of driving we noticed that the Torque Converter Clutch was chattering again. It was under warrenty, so we took it back. They looked at it, found something wrong with the TCC soleniod, and sent us back on our happy way. Again, it was fine for a while, but the problem reoccured. Took it back once again, this time they said that the torque converter needed to be replaced, probably due to the first problem. Again, the problem seemed fixed for a while, but then came back. Once again we took it back. This time they went over it with a 'fine tooth comb', even bringing in a Ford mechanic to offer his assistance. I think they ended up flushing the transmission lines in the radiator to cure the problem.
Once again, it seemed fixed for a short time, but came back. Unfortunately (or maybe not) it came back while we were in the middle of peak summer travel for us, so we put off taking it back until after Labor Day weekend. While we were on our Labor Day trip, the TCC totally and completely stopped working and the O/D light started blinking. Worried that something serious might be wrong, but with 300 miles to go, I pulled off to check for leaks, "bad" sounds, fluid levels, etc. Finding nothing wrong I turned off the engine for a few minutes, continued to look for problems, then restarted it. Everything seemed fine, the light went off, but still there was no TCC lockup. We were able to get home under these conditions, and took it back to the shop.
This time, they went even further. They actually gutted the transmission and rebuilt it all over again, looking for any signs of the problem along the way. After the entire rebuild was done, the transmission was put back on the vehicle, and the test runs were completed they were looking over the replaced parts and discovered what was most likely the cause all along...
The TCC selenoid apparently has changed over the years, where the TCC solenoid on some vehicles operates from a lower voltage control signal than others. Our vehicle required the lower voltage solenoid and a high voltage one was installed in the original rebuild. The consequence is that the TCC selenoid had just enough voltage to close some of the time, but not enough all the time. I suspect that each time they disconnected/reconnected the plug they cleaned the contacts just enough. It also makes sense that the chatter would seem to occur only after the vehicle was at temperature, since heating of the wires, contacts and coil would cause current flow to drop.
About 18 months ago I had the transmission rebuilt on our '96. Everything seemed fine at first, but after a few weeks of driving we noticed that the Torque Converter Clutch was chattering again. It was under warrenty, so we took it back. They looked at it, found something wrong with the TCC soleniod, and sent us back on our happy way. Again, it was fine for a while, but the problem reoccured. Took it back once again, this time they said that the torque converter needed to be replaced, probably due to the first problem. Again, the problem seemed fixed for a while, but then came back. Once again we took it back. This time they went over it with a 'fine tooth comb', even bringing in a Ford mechanic to offer his assistance. I think they ended up flushing the transmission lines in the radiator to cure the problem.
Once again, it seemed fixed for a short time, but came back. Unfortunately (or maybe not) it came back while we were in the middle of peak summer travel for us, so we put off taking it back until after Labor Day weekend. While we were on our Labor Day trip, the TCC totally and completely stopped working and the O/D light started blinking. Worried that something serious might be wrong, but with 300 miles to go, I pulled off to check for leaks, "bad" sounds, fluid levels, etc. Finding nothing wrong I turned off the engine for a few minutes, continued to look for problems, then restarted it. Everything seemed fine, the light went off, but still there was no TCC lockup. We were able to get home under these conditions, and took it back to the shop.
This time, they went even further. They actually gutted the transmission and rebuilt it all over again, looking for any signs of the problem along the way. After the entire rebuild was done, the transmission was put back on the vehicle, and the test runs were completed they were looking over the replaced parts and discovered what was most likely the cause all along...
The TCC selenoid apparently has changed over the years, where the TCC solenoid on some vehicles operates from a lower voltage control signal than others. Our vehicle required the lower voltage solenoid and a high voltage one was installed in the original rebuild. The consequence is that the TCC selenoid had just enough voltage to close some of the time, but not enough all the time. I suspect that each time they disconnected/reconnected the plug they cleaned the contacts just enough. It also makes sense that the chatter would seem to occur only after the vehicle was at temperature, since heating of the wires, contacts and coil would cause current flow to drop.
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