oarsirhc
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Hello All!
Long time lurker, first time poster. I took delivery on a 2023 Ford Ranger Lariat Splash Jungle Edition back in November from Carvana. From the get go, I noticed the transmission was just strange but I really fell in love with the truck other than that. I had my mechanic look over the truck via a prepurchase inspection and it passed with flying colors. The only issue he brought up was the carrier bearing was fried and attributed some of the strange drive line feel to the loose drive shaft. From here I did some basic maintenance; front and rear diff fluid change, oil and filter change, and transfer case fluid change. Before winter hit I also put on a new set of tires and had the road force balanced. Now having the truck for a few months I've gotten a much better feel for how the transmission acts and the peculiar things it does. Being under warranty I wanted to bring it to Ford to assure there isn't a glaring issue before I put more money into the truck with a tune, one piece drive shaft and new suspension.
The following issues are what I'm seeing consistently. I'm just unsure if these will be remedied by a one piece drive shaft, or something simple like a transmission fluid change. I just want to rule out an actual transmission failure before I'm out of warranty. Truck has 45,000 miles and was built December 2022 but I've heard conflicting information if the "fixed" transmissions were used at this point. Some say anything built passed August 2022, and some say January 2023+. Anyway, what I'm seeing is:
-On cold mornings, below 10 degrees my first shift will be very harsh with a 1-2 second delay. After this first shift, everything shifts like normal. This makes me think the dirty transmission fluid plus being viscus due to the cold is causing the gear not release smoothly until warmed up.
-When shifting from 3-4 there is a slight delay with a noticeably abrupt gear catch, very similar to driving stick shift and not catching the gear at the right RPM. This happens consistently despite weather or temperature probably 80% of the time. It's also worse going up hill
-By far the most noticeable and annoying is when slowing down to a stop and the truck releases the final gear I feel a hard bump, almost as if someone tapped my bumper. This is consistent 95% of the time despite how i brake. I can slow down abruptly, slowly, uphill or downhill but every time I can feel the last gear release and "pop" the truck forward. On top of that, all downshifts are always more noticeable than upshifts
-When creeping in traffic the truck lightly bucks back and forth. This is barely noticeable but it is for sure there as even passengers notice. I've tried creeping with my foot lightly on the brake, on accelerator or off both pedals but I still feel it the same. This issue I feel may be related to excess driveshaft slack.
-I need to be careful when going from drive to reverse, because if I do it too fast the feel a harsh shove in the cabin from the drive line. This as well, I think could be related to the slack in the driveshaft with crapped out carrier bearing
-I know there are TSBs to be referenced about this issue but I see a lot of outdated numbers being posted. Does anyone have the latest TSBs to reference about the transmission or where to find them?
-Are there any certain things I should mention to the techs to look for? I know each dealership is a mixed bag in terms of service and how they diagnose issues but I'm hoping to help guide them if they claim "truck drives normal"
THANK YOU to anyone who read all this. I absolutely love the truck other than the strange transmission/drive line issues. If Ford deems everything as it should be my next steps are to replace the transmission fluid and filter followed by a one piece drive shaft before tuning and suspension work. Any advice or feedback is welcomed, and happy to be a part of the community!
EDIT: Forgot to add I did also do spark plugs and DPFE sensor during maintenance
Long time lurker, first time poster. I took delivery on a 2023 Ford Ranger Lariat Splash Jungle Edition back in November from Carvana. From the get go, I noticed the transmission was just strange but I really fell in love with the truck other than that. I had my mechanic look over the truck via a prepurchase inspection and it passed with flying colors. The only issue he brought up was the carrier bearing was fried and attributed some of the strange drive line feel to the loose drive shaft. From here I did some basic maintenance; front and rear diff fluid change, oil and filter change, and transfer case fluid change. Before winter hit I also put on a new set of tires and had the road force balanced. Now having the truck for a few months I've gotten a much better feel for how the transmission acts and the peculiar things it does. Being under warranty I wanted to bring it to Ford to assure there isn't a glaring issue before I put more money into the truck with a tune, one piece drive shaft and new suspension.
The following issues are what I'm seeing consistently. I'm just unsure if these will be remedied by a one piece drive shaft, or something simple like a transmission fluid change. I just want to rule out an actual transmission failure before I'm out of warranty. Truck has 45,000 miles and was built December 2022 but I've heard conflicting information if the "fixed" transmissions were used at this point. Some say anything built passed August 2022, and some say January 2023+. Anyway, what I'm seeing is:
-On cold mornings, below 10 degrees my first shift will be very harsh with a 1-2 second delay. After this first shift, everything shifts like normal. This makes me think the dirty transmission fluid plus being viscus due to the cold is causing the gear not release smoothly until warmed up.
-When shifting from 3-4 there is a slight delay with a noticeably abrupt gear catch, very similar to driving stick shift and not catching the gear at the right RPM. This happens consistently despite weather or temperature probably 80% of the time. It's also worse going up hill
-By far the most noticeable and annoying is when slowing down to a stop and the truck releases the final gear I feel a hard bump, almost as if someone tapped my bumper. This is consistent 95% of the time despite how i brake. I can slow down abruptly, slowly, uphill or downhill but every time I can feel the last gear release and "pop" the truck forward. On top of that, all downshifts are always more noticeable than upshifts
-When creeping in traffic the truck lightly bucks back and forth. This is barely noticeable but it is for sure there as even passengers notice. I've tried creeping with my foot lightly on the brake, on accelerator or off both pedals but I still feel it the same. This issue I feel may be related to excess driveshaft slack.
-I need to be careful when going from drive to reverse, because if I do it too fast the feel a harsh shove in the cabin from the drive line. This as well, I think could be related to the slack in the driveshaft with crapped out carrier bearing
-I know there are TSBs to be referenced about this issue but I see a lot of outdated numbers being posted. Does anyone have the latest TSBs to reference about the transmission or where to find them?
-Are there any certain things I should mention to the techs to look for? I know each dealership is a mixed bag in terms of service and how they diagnose issues but I'm hoping to help guide them if they claim "truck drives normal"
THANK YOU to anyone who read all this. I absolutely love the truck other than the strange transmission/drive line issues. If Ford deems everything as it should be my next steps are to replace the transmission fluid and filter followed by a one piece drive shaft before tuning and suspension work. Any advice or feedback is welcomed, and happy to be a part of the community!
EDIT: Forgot to add I did also do spark plugs and DPFE sensor during maintenance
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