An SVT L question...

[Raudermaster]

Guys I just wanted to double check and see if you may have an answer for me. My buddy just bought a '99 Lightning with 60k on it. It's bone stock except for a K&N panel filter(if you even want to call that a mod?) All of a sudden, like the past week or so, it almost sounds like a pulley/belt is slipping. It's hard to explain. If he guns it, and takes it foot off the gas, it sounds like a pulley is like whinding down? It def. doesn't sound normal though whatever it is. Another problem is, from a dead stop, if he has it to the floor, once it reaches about 5-5500k rpm's, it basically stops there, goes into some sort of a neutral, the rpm's come down, goes back to 1st, then shifts casually into 2nd. I told him to me that sounds like it could be his T/C and not necessarily his entire tranny. We checked the fluid, not black, but def. not Mercon V colore'd either, kind of a bad brown color. Smells pretty bad too. What do you guys think? T/C? Tranny? Other issue? Any input is appreciated. Thanks. The reason why I'm asking here because he asked over on SVTP and got pretty much squat for answers, and to me, you guys are more knowledgeable anyways.

[94_302]

I have a feeling Sal can help you with this I heard he has a little experience when it comes to Lightnings :bows:

[Raudermaster]

I was kind of hoping he could chime in here. Maybe I'll PM him if he doesn't see this.

[Constable]

Brown is the worst color tranny fluid could be... I don't think it's possible to turn it black. Have it serviced asap and see what happens. My bet is that the problem will be worse with the new fluid.

[RF Overlord]

^^^what Constable said^^^

If this guy has driven his Lightning hard for the last 60k without properly servicing the transmission, and now the fluid is badly oxidised, he may be SOL...but changing the fluid is a whole lot cheaper than a new transmission, so it's worth a shot. Take it to a place with a "T-Tech" fluid exchange machine (or similar) and get all of that old fluid out of there NOW. If he continues to drive it the way it is, he WILL be SOL...

[Power Surge]

Guys I just wanted to double check and see if you may have an answer for me. My buddy just bought a '99 Lightning with 60k on it. It's bone stock except for a K&N panel filter(if you even want to call that a mod?) All of a sudden, like the past week or so, it almost sounds like a pulley/belt is slipping. It's hard to explain. If he guns it, and takes it foot off the gas, it sounds like a pulley is like whinding down? It def. doesn't sound normal though whatever it is. Another problem is, from a dead stop, if he has it to the floor, once it reaches about 5-5500k rpm's, it basically stops there, goes into some sort of a neutral, the rpm's come down, goes back to 1st, then shifts casually into 2nd. I told him to me that sounds like it could be his T/C and not necessarily his entire tranny. We checked the fluid, not black, but def. not Mercon V colore'd either, kind of a bad brown color. Smells pretty bad too. What do you guys think? T/C? Tranny? Other issue? Any input is appreciated. Thanks. The reason why I'm asking here because he asked over on SVTP and got pretty much squat for answers, and to me, you guys are more knowledgeable anyways.

Okay... on the pulley sound, are you talking about a sudden chirp if he's on the throttle hard and suddenly lets off? If so, that's just the belt unloading from the sudden shock. If it's more than just chirp, then it could be a dry belt pulley. It could also be the belt. The early belts were noisy, Ford actually updated the belt surface in 01.

On the trans, it's hard to say. It sounds like his second gear clutches might be toast (will cause the motor to "flare up" as if in neutral shifting into second). You could try a trans service on it, but it sounds like it's already had damage done.

Two other things he MUST check... the first, is check to see if the intercooler recall was done. If it was, good. If it wasn't, he needs to do something about it. The recall parts are long since discontinued, he might wind up having to buy a whole 01-up intake/blower setup. The second thing is, you need to drop the tank, and replace all the clamps on the fuel pump hoses. On the 99-00s, Ford used these crimp clamps that were too loose. What happens is one line will blow off and leave the truck stranded. It happens to EVERY 99-00 at some point in time.

Hope this helps.

[Raudermaster]

The belt noise Sal almost sinds like a pulley/belt, after he lets off the throttle, makes a high pitched whining sound. There is no chirp, but the belt does look dry, and I had advised him to getting a new one installed. Maybe a belt will solve that problem. As for the trans, do you think a rebuild kit is in order, or a whole new tranny? He's bummed looking at about $2k for a tranny off eBay and $330 for a rebuild kit. Thanks for your help Sal.
Jarod

[Raudermaster]

Needs a new tranny :-/. $3200 installed. He's pretty pissed. The guy who sold him the truck obviously knew about this problem. There was about 5lbs of un-natural metal on the bottom of the pan, rods, nuts, bolts, oh yea, and a few clutches were in it as well. He's going to trade it in on an FX4 F150 instead.

[RoyLPita]

I talked to someone who might be intersted in the Lightning here. He will PM you if things go forward.

[wchain]

Thats insane for a 4R100 rebuild. Is he getting a BTS built transmission or soemthing?


Needs a new tranny :-/. $3200 installed. He's pretty pissed. The guy who sold him the truck obviously knew about this problem. There was about 5lbs of un-natural metal on the bottom of the pan, rods, nuts, bolts, oh yea, and a few clutches were in it as well. He's going to trade it in on an FX4 F150 instead.

[Raudermaster]

Alright Brian sounds good, I'll let him know. I'm trying to talk him into a Marauder though ;). I'm not sure Wes, the tech said $3200 for a brand new guaranteed 4R100.