# 96 F350 "clunking" into reverse and drive



## fattyry (Jan 25, 2004)

Hi guys,

Wondering if some of you more mechanically inclined guys can give me a hand...

the tranny on my 96 f350 "clunks" into reverse, and "clunks" even harder into drive - shift from park/neutral...slight pause..."clunk" into gear. The turck is a weekend vehicle only, up at the cabin in the Adirondacks, so i'd rather avoid any costly tranny repairs/replacement....but I plowed enough in Buffalo to know that a hard shifting tranny is bad...

Any ideas/advice is much appreciated....


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## poncho62 (Jan 23, 2004)

Check your "U" joints..........


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## Sharpshooter77 (Jul 19, 2006)

The first thing I would do is check the tranny fulid and make sure its up to level. Also check and make sure that it is not a dark color of has a funny smell. Also I think there might be a vacuum line that goes to the tranny. I know when the vacuum line on my 1985 F-250 came off It would klunk into first and reverse. And it would also not allow the truck to shift to other gears either. hope this helps you out, And welcome to the site.


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## Snoflo (Dec 4, 2006)

fattyry;334785 said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> Wondering if some of you more mechanically inclined guys can give me a hand...
> 
> ...


I have 94 F-350 need to know what kind of trans you have. We have E4OD think this is the worst trans ever built. However after 5 years of rebuilds have learned a lot. First of all if it is an E4OD then the hard shifting is a default safe mode the trans goes into if there is a problem which is usually electrical on E4OD and this safe mode is actually not bad for the trans the hard shifting is from the default of high pressure fluid which is actualy good for the trans from what ive been told. Usually if there is a proble with the E4OD the OD light on the shift arm will flash.


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## framer1901 (Dec 18, 2005)

I second the quick easy check ---- U Joints


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## Hiwire (Nov 28, 2003)

I took my truck, a 2001 #7700 in for the same problem 2 yrs ago. I hadent noticed it until then. The dealer told me it was normal and built in to the system . I started a big screaming match then and there. Told him I wasnt stupid, they arent supposed to klunk going in to gear. I went to 2 other dealers and got the same answer. Then I went to my local garage and he even told me the same thing. 2 yrs and a bit of plowing later it still does it but no wear on the U joints and now problem with the tranny. Turns out I guess I was wrong though I couldnt bring myself to apologize to the dealer. Just seems like an odd thing to build in to a system, a klunking tranny.
Ray


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## MickiRig1 (Dec 5, 2003)

I would go with bad U joints. Your idle is not real high is it? That can "Thunk" too. If it's got a huge amount of miles on it can be the ring & pinion on the rear axle too. There should only be 2 u-joints on the main shaft so it should not be a huge repair bill. It's a routine repair for most of us.


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## fattyry (Jan 25, 2004)

thanks guys...

Checked the U joints, and they're in good shape. Fired up the truck after letting it sit for 3 weeks and she started right up, and shift a bit smoother...still a little clunk, but not too bad. Put the plow on her, and now just have to wait for Mother Nature to throw a little winter our way...

my plow and my skis are just collecting dust...


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## Tractor Plower (Feb 1, 2007)

I had the same problem with an '04 PSD & Torqshift tranny. Ended up being filings etc in the fluid, as it was only a few months into operation. The solution ended up changing the fluid, and ALL the filters. The ford dealer was half-assing it and not doing a complete clean-out, hence why the probem lingered for months.

Good luck, Mike.


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