Torque Converter?

[jman1200]

2010 SHO with 300k km (186k miles).
A couple of months ago I started feeling a slight vibration during shifting, at low rpms. This vibration is now much more evident and present all the time.
It happens at any gear and noticeable only when the engine is under 2000 rpm. If I floor it, I feel nothing. The transmission shifts perfectly though all the gears.
If I'm cruising on 5 or 6 gear at about 1500 rpms I can see the tach oscillating +/- 100 rpms.
Did a fluid change not too long ago to see if the issue was a low fluid level, the fluid that came out was 3 years old with no burnt smell or dark color.
On rare occasions, the transmission has gone into neutral when shifting from 2-3 or 3-4 (don't know for sure) and corrects itself as soon as I let go off the gas and press the pedal again. It happens maybe once a month or two and could be totally unrelated to the other issue.
I think the torque converter is slipping at low rpms, not sure what the second issue could be. Unless someone tells me it is a solenoid or something I can replace myself, I plan on taking it to a transmission shop for an estimate but with this car being so old, not sure I'm willing to spend a huge amount on it since I also might have to replace the alternator.
Thoughts?

Tagging some of the members I see around the most.

@Ecoboost_xsport @yaycandy @SM105K @76FoMoCo @802SHO @Jordan_R @kryptto

 

[76FoMoCo]

how much fluid did you get out on the drain and fill?

 

[Bronco2fan]

Sounds like typical torque converter symptoms to me. Mine's been acting up for off and on for a while. I threw some No Shudder in it and it helps immensely. If you can, ride with the tranny shop when they hook up their laptop. You can see the TC lock up and release in real time and know for sure that's the problem.

 

[802SHO]

The flare shifting/neutral symptom most definitely a faulty valve body/solenoid thing. Given that it’s on a rare occasion and considering the age and mileage on the transmission I wouldn’t be too concerned with that for now unless you plan on keeping it another 3-5 years.

I’d look into what @Bronco2fan mentioned about an additive for shudder. Another trans drain and fill, shudder additive and you might be back in business. Least expensive 1st step that might make you happy. That’s where I would start.

 

[jman1200]

I took about 5 quarts out/in this last time I did it.
I bought a bottle of Lucas Transmission fix but been hesitant to add it. Using Mercon Low Viscosity fluid and then increasing it with this additive doesn't sit right with me, just don't want to cause any damage to the transmission trying to fix a torque converter issue.
From what I'm reading, I should go for it.

 

[76FoMoCo]

I would do at least 1 more drain and fill. It's cheap.

 

[SHOdded]

no worries using lubegard shudder fixx. the lucas product is iffy at best by comparison. with the product either it works or it doesnt. 1 tube is worth the investment.

you will see rpm fluctuations without load changes if it is torque converter shudder.

 

[jman1200]

You can see the TC lock up and release in real time and know for sure that's the problem.

Considering that on the 2010 not all modules are accessible, will this be something I can see with Forscan?

 

[Bronco2fan]

Considering that on the 2010 not all modules are accessible, will this be something I can see with Forscan?

I really don't know, as I don't have Forscan or know how to use it. When I took mine to the shop, I drove it and they monitored the laptop. We know they have the right programs to see what's occurring. Mine acts up between 20 and 35 mph, then it's gone. Been that way for over 2 years.

 

[SHOdded]

Considering that on the 2010 not all modules are accessible, will this be something I can see with Forscan?

are you referring to the custom pids you use w torque pro? i know i can see these trans values on our 2007's 6f50, not sure about the 6f55 but would assume so.

 

[Zpak]

Unfortunately sounds like the torque converter. I got mine to reproduce the RPM bounce for the ford tech by traveling around 50mph, let off the gas, then get back on with about half throttle. Got lucky that I was still under powertrain warrantee at the time.

 

[jman1200]

are you referring to the custom pids you use w torque pro? i know i can see these trans values on our 2007's 6f50, not sure about the 6f55 but would assume so.

I have torque pro and Forscan. The question is, is there a way to see the torque converter lock %?

 

[jman1200]

Yesterday I removed the battery for about 2 hours to clean and tighten grounds and +/- connections as I'm troubleshooting a BMS warning due to overcharging.

Today, since the shift points got reset, I could not feel any shudder. I thought the torque converter was all mechanical or are there some electronic controls on it?

 

[Bronco2fan]

Not that I know of. But the transmission is, that's why I said try the relearn procedure. Drive it like how you normally do and see if it comes back.
Sorry, different post, same problem lol.

 

[Texas Marauder]

I have torque pro and Forscan. The question is, is there a way to see the torque converter lock %?

There should be a way in Forscan. If you know how to set up gauges, look thru the PCM PIDS for TCC or similar.

 

[jman1200]

Yesterday I removed the battery for about 2 hours to clean and tighten grounds and +/- connections as I'm troubleshooting a BMS warning due to overcharging.

Today, since the shift points got reset, I could not feel any shudder. I thought the torque converter was all mechanical or are there some electronic controls on it?

So far, no shudder.
The shift points are a bit higher after reinstalling the battery.
When this started a couple of months ago, I returned it to stock and reloaded the tune, that did nothing.

I thought that everything would reset when you retuned it to stock, apparently this is not the case.
I'm puzzled how, what is seemed to be a mechanical condition, got fixed (or drastically reduced) by disconnecting the battery.

 

[Ta2dResqr]

After retuning, did you reset the KAM? With how long the battery was disconnected or if the postive lead touched a ground or the ground lead touched a positive, either one of those could have drained capacitors used to keep memory on things like shifting, fueling, etc.

 

[jman1200]

After retuning, did you reset the KAM? With how long the battery was disconnected or if the postive lead touched a ground or the ground lead touched a positive, either one of those could have drained capacitors used to keep memory on things like shifting, fueling, etc.

Right, all that is possible.
Now, how can that have such impact on a mechanical component. It is almost unnoticeable now.

 

[kryptto]

The KAM - Keep Alive Memory - in the computer for the transmission - based on fuel mixture and on these more adaptive transmission computers - stores all the previous shift points its learned - if you are swapping programming - new tunes - the KAM can store the old shift points from the previous tune.

For instance - I had a HP tuned car from another tuner - switched to SCT - my tuner made sure - and I am surely not the only one - to reset the KAM in the SCT after flashing my new tune. I actually have an email to him saying the shifts for me were too rough and the tran seemed to bang into gear. He asked how long was my drive - it was say under 10 minutes. He told me to reset the KAM and drive it more like 30 mins. The transmissions computer could of been trying to apply its old shifting programming to the new tune/stock tune.

Listen to what he said - even the SCT KAM reset - even their Ford tools dont always reset the KAM - the procedure he shows does.

 

[jman1200]

@kryptto , thanks for the info. I don't think cables touched when I was cleaning/tightening the connections but maybe it did happen. The battery was off the vehicle for approx. 2 hours, not sure if that would also reset the shift points, I'm no expert on that matter.
The issue persisted when I switched from a 93 tune to stock and then to an 87 tune I have so this makes perfect sense.
I'll keep an eye on this but at least torque converter stopped acting, I now can focus on fixing the overcharging issue I'm having.