tranny shifting slow

[ankles]

My 2000 LS V8 does great shifting at slow to moderate speeds, but when I get on the gas from moderate to WOT the shifting lags and is often accompanied by the smell of hot rubber (i smell it when i get out of the car, not on the inside and only after quick acceleration). If I disconnected the battery to reset the learned shift points would it help firm up the shifts? And is the smell coming from the lock up torque converter not locking up quickly and getting rosted? I have had this car for six days and it is a fun car to drive, but acceleration is grately hampered by the tranny's upshifts. Who thinks the dealer needs to look at this problem? Could they fix it and would they be able to locate the cause of the smell. P.S. its not caused by the tires, i have not broken traction with them (yet!). As per my previous post I am considering a chip that would firm up the shifts, but am still concerned about the smell. What the heck is that smell? Thanks.

 

[eL eS]

well 10 dollars to a doughnut you have bad valve cover gaskets. I am certain that smell is burnt oil and you may have a bad coil or two. You might need a PCM calibration as I know there was a TSB issued to address harsh shift and slow shifting. I do not know what they charge for the PCM recal though but if it is anywhere near 250 to 300 you might be better served by having you PCM flashed with an aftermarket tuner, www.fordpartsnetwork.com .

 

[kleetus]

Agreed. You're not going to smell the lockup torque converter unless the car is on fire... In which case, that's the least of your problems. You could also have a problem with the tranny fluid level. If it's low, that will make things operate strangely.

Like eL eS said, you're probably smelling the effects of the valve cover gaskets leaking. If you're not experiencing rough engine operation, stalling and things of that nature, consider yourself lucky, but get those gaskets fixed asap before it starts taking out coils. The passenger side one isn't too bad to replace, with you and a buddy, you can probably fix it in 3 hours or so. I did. The driver's side? That's a little more work. Fortunately, on mine, the drivers side wasn't leaking. The part numbers for the gaskets are listed on here, just do a search for them.

 

[ankles]

Hey, thanks for your input. Very valuable indeed. I dont see the gasket kit on ford parts online, is this a part that is best bought from the dealership, or elsewhere online? I also saw a thread when I was reading up on the coils that there was some buddy deals going on where guys were picking up coils for under $40 new. How do I become a buddy??? that would be awesome. Can anyone tell me why ford decided to use COP's instead of a CDI or distributor? I guess it looks cool on paper, but it zings us when we have to replace one, or even eight (ouch). Anyways, I'm looking at gathering the parts that I will need for a gasket replacement and then do it over a long weekend that I have coming up. Thanks again.

 

[ankles]

OK, found the gasket kits at ford parts online, just needed to look under ford parts, not linclon parts.

 

[SurfjaxLS]

I've had my gaskets replaced, but still have a slight pause while downshifting for more power. I know the gaskets aren't leaking, but a small smell is present from around the tailpipe area. Kinda like its running a little rich. Any ideas?

 

[eL eS]

OK, found the gasket kits at ford parts online, just needed to look under ford parts, not linclon parts.

Hey to tell you the truth the gaskets are reuseable unless they are dried out and rigid. I bought a set for my 00 V6 and did not need the gaskets for the RH side. If you are going to do the job it isnt much to pay to have the parts just in case. Also make sure you get some RTV as you will need to apply it to the corners of the valve cover.

 

[ankles]

Thanks eL eS, You know just for kicks I pulled the cable off of the battery while I was doing some cleaning, and after I put it back on I took the car for a test drive and wow, what a difference. Much firmer and quicker shifts. As I mentioned earlier I just got the car a week ago today, and it is a really nice car. Very clean no scratches, dings, interior is in excellent shape and all. The car has 57k but was obviously well treated. So my guess is that it was also driven slow (carefully), and just needed a bit of a "rebirth" to become the car that it should be. I am going to take a look at the plug wells this weekend to see if there is any oil down there, and am still tempted to get that chip and really make the shifts nice and firm. Anyways thanks for the input. Redoing the valve cover gaskets looks like a long job, but not too dificult. I must say that I am impressed with the amount of tinkering that many of you do with your luxury cars. They sure are pretty though.
I was looking for more of a family car, and was looking at Hondas, until I saw a few LS's in my price range. After that. . .no more hondas. Just wanted something to make me feel like the good ol days with my Mustang GT 5.0 5spd. I must say this LS sure is more cozy, but not quite the whoomph.

 

[kleetus]

I got my coils from Rockauto.com for $35 a piece. Plus a little for shipping, so far so good.

 

[eL eS]

Thanks eL eS, You know just for kicks I pulled the cable off of the battery while I was doing some cleaning, and after I put it back on I took the car for a test drive and wow, what a difference. Much firmer and quicker shifts. As I mentioned earlier I just got the car a week ago today, and it is a really nice car. Very clean no scratches, dings, interior is in excellent shape and all. The car has 57k but was obviously well treated. So my guess is that it was also driven slow (carefully), and just needed a bit of a "rebirth" to become the car that it should be. I am going to take a look at the plug wells this weekend to see if there is any oil down there, and am still tempted to get that chip and really make the shifts nice and firm. Anyways thanks for the input. Redoing the valve cover gaskets looks like a long job, but not too dificult. I must say that I am impressed with the amount of tinkering that many of you do with your luxury cars. They sure are pretty though.
I was looking for more of a family car, and was looking at Hondas, until I saw a few LS's in my price range. After that. . .no more hondas. Just wanted something to make me feel like the good ol days with my Mustang GT 5.0 5spd. I must say this LS sure is more cozy, but not quite the whoomph.

Make sure you take the plug all the way out becasue the oil tends to work its way through the threads of the plugs. Mine were caked with burnt oil on the threads but I did not notice much oli in the plug wells.