Would my truck benefit from a programmer?

Mister B · #1 Wed, April 29th, 2009, 06:14 PM

I have a 2004 F150 XL 4x4, 3.55 gears, Automatic transmission and 4.6L engine with 136,000 miles. I've owned it since new.

My truck basically drives and shifts fine on the open road with no traffic. It's mostly when I am in heavy traffic when I constantly have to adjust, letting up and then getting back into the throttle, compensating for traffic around me that it hesitates like it does not know what gear to shift into (it has done this pretty much since new). If I take it out of overdrive it acts a little better. Also if I am accelerating down an on-ramp to a highway and let off the throttle for a second and then hurry up and get back into the throttle to try and merge into traffic, the engine sometimes revs up and acts like it is in neutral and then after what seems like seconds it harshly shifts into gear and then begins accelerating. I don't know if this has anything to do with the electronic drive by wire throttle control system or if something may need re-flashed or what. But after 136,000 miles it’s pretty annoying how it shifts and I just wondered if a programmer would do anything for me to make it shift better and figure out what gear it wants to be in?

Thank you,
Brian

dlmcbm · #2 Wed, April 29th, 2009, 06:43 PM

Hey Brian and welcome,

I am sure others could answer your question about the programmer better then me and I am sure they will pop in here soon. From what I gather Bill should be able to make your trans do just about anything you want it to as long as the internals are good. This is were I think most your problem is. I would start by having it flushed. I have seen this fix so many "small" problems with transmissions. It could also be a valve sticking in the valve body or slipping clutches from being worn or low fluid pressure. Try the flush it could be an easy fix for about $150.

Hope this helps you some,

Chris

P.S. Just so you know I am an ASE certified master mechanic

***88Racing*** · #3 Wed, April 29th, 2009, 06:58 PM

What he said!

Took the words right off of my keyboard!

Thanx Chris

Lars

***Jackpine*** · #4 Wed, April 29th, 2009, 11:57 PM

And, in addition to what Lars and Chris said - the stock shifts on this machine are "sloppy". There is a "pause" before anything at all happens. Even canned tunes will do a lot to eliminate this pause.

But, with a truck as old as yours, I'd sure make sure your transmission is OK before trying to "patch" it with a tune. A tune is not going to fix a sick transmission.

- Jack

Sburn · #5 Thu, April 30th, 2009, 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mister B

I have a 2004 F150 XL 4x4, 3.55 gears, Automatic transmission and 4.6L engine with 136,000 miles. I've owned it since new.

My truck basically drives and shifts fine on the open road with no traffic. It's mostly when I am in heavy traffic when I constantly have to adjust, letting up and then getting back into the throttle, compensating for traffic around me that it hesitates like it does not know what gear to shift into (it has done this pretty much since new). If I take it out of overdrive it acts a little better. Also if I am accelerating down an on-ramp to a highway and let off the throttle for a second...

Same truck as yours, 4.6L and 3.55, but 2007 and 4X2. The above part of your post describes perfectly my impression of the stock transmission behavior. Before adding a Gryphon, that's the way mine acted since new.

Quote:

....and then hurry up and get back into the throttle to try and merge into traffic, the engine sometimes revs up and acts like it is in neutral and then after what seems like seconds it harshly shifts into gear and then begins accelerating.

Thank you,
Brian

But the second part of your post makes me agree with the other posters in that you should rule out any mechanical issues. I'm referring to your use of the word, "seconds". I'd say the stock trans does pause a bit between grears, but I only ever felt it to be a fraction of a second.

Mister B · #6 Thu, April 30th, 2009, 05:20 PM

Thanks for the responses guys.

I talked to my dad (a Parts and Service Director) and based on what I described to him, he thinks it almost sounds like it could possibly be a bad solenoid inside the tranny. He told me he is going to look up through Ford to see if there are any TSB's listed for my truck describing any of the symptoms I talked about. He's then going to talk to one of his Ford Senior Master Techs to see what their opinion is. So I will wait and see what he finds out. I'll probably also get my tranny flushed again in the not too distant future just to get it done.

Hopefully nothing too major (expensive) is starting to happen with my tranny.

Maybe after I verify that everything is ok with my tranny I'll still look into a programmer if they make much of a difference.

Mister B · #7 Thu, April 30th, 2009, 05:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sburn

Same truck as yours, 4.6L and 3.55, but 2007 and 4X2.

Sburn, since you have a similar configuration truck to mine, how do you like the tuner? Did it make much of a difference? Also are you using one of the "canned tunes" or did you ave a custom tune programmed?

Thanks.

***Jackpine*** · #8 Thu, April 30th, 2009, 05:29 PM

Programmers DO make a difference all right! The Gryphon made the shifts much "quicker" and more precise (no "delay" in downshifting when passing), and, my fuel economy went up by about 2 mpgs. I would hate to drive the truck without it.

- Jack

JWBFX4 · #9 Thu, April 30th, 2009, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JackandJanet

Programmers DO make a difference all right! The Gryphon made the shifts much "quicker" and more precise (no "delay" in downshifting when passing), and, my fuel economy went up by about 2 mpgs. I would hate to drive the truck without it.

- Jack

x2 I can't stand taking my truck into the dealer without the programmer on it. Feels like a dead horse on the way there.

Sburn · #10 Thu, April 30th, 2009, 06:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mister B

Sburn, since you have a similar configuration truck to mine, how do you like the tuner? Did it make much of a difference? Also are you using one of the "canned tunes" or did you ave a custom tune programmed?

Thanks.

Mister B,

I received my Gryphon with three canned tunes in mid-Feb and have driven it every workday since. So probably around 4K miles since then, 50/50 highway/city driving. Mostly in canned tune #2 with a few little tweaks.

I've got nothing but good to say about the Gryphon with canned tunes. I can feel the added horsepower. Nothing massive -- but it's there. Feels stronger in the 1500 to 2500 RPM range. Shifting is much more positive and the stock transmission "hunting" you describe in your first post was much improved

But all that changed......

Yesterday, I received the one custom tune I ordered: 87 Performance.

I've only got about 100 miles on that custom tune so far, so first impression only:

Bill is a genius!

Everything I said about the canned tune above goes double for his custom 87 performance tune. Shifting, power all get better, but it's all sewn together in a such a smooth package.

If I were to use one word: "drivability".