Tune vs. Factory Flash

eddiepotato

eddiepotato

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So I've recently taken my 2002 LS V8 to my mechanic who is a former Ford Technician for 20ish years who recently started his own garage. I've been having the car delay shift from park with slight jump and some intermittent shifting issues. I brought the car with the expectation that I would need a new solenoid or some other hardware, and after a poor experience with 800700tran, I would have my mechanic just get the parts at whatever price to fix the issue. After driving and inspecting the transmission, he said that all I need to do is bring it to a dealership and have the transmission reprogrammed. At that point I asked him if he meant that I needed to have the PCM re-flashed and he said yes. He said that he couldn't do it (didn't have access) but after getting it done, my shifting should be much improved. Long story but my question is, would getting a tune from Torrie (which I planned on at some point soon) be equivalent to a Dealer flash (plus the added bonuses), or should I get the flash and then get the tune? Thanks for any insight to this matter.
 
I would bet on the solenoid. It's a known problem. The fact that you're having the exact same symptoms says it's highly likely it's the solenoid.
 
Yep, FLASHing or a tune will help, but you'll still need to replace the solenoid assembly. You have the classic symptoms.
 
I was having some shifting/delay problems and had the trans. re-flashed. There was a big difference. My wife said it was like night and day. I too had a bad experience with 800700's solenoid and ended up using my original solenoid with a reman. valve body from them. It shifts so well now my mech. thought I had a shift kit. This tells me that the re-flash still helped alot. It shifts VERY good when manually shifting to red line.
 
How do you know if your tranny's been flashed yet? I got my 2000 LS at 110k and its at 140k now, without any serious issues shifting. It has always had a slight pause in between P/R/D, but I always just thought its an older car and I've heard this tranny blows. I have no idea about the previous owner, and I'd like it done if it hasn't been yet.
 
If a dealer flash they are suppose to have posted a label with date and update # under the hood. If not you have to read the hex code with a reader and check if that matches your year and VIN #.
 
Well I don't see a sticker and I don't want to go there so they can scan my car, tell me its already been done and charge me(or lie and tell me had to do it and charge me). Do you think if I called them and gave them my VIN they could tell me if its ever been done? Or do Ford dealerships all not work on the same national database? Thanks.
 
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