Hey guys,

So I don't even know where to start... I'll just start with the basics. Back in august I purchased myself a 2005 ford f150, 4wd with 5.4l v8. The guy that I bought it from had told me that the engine had been swapped out because the pervious owner was driving it and hear a click but never told her husband. The story goes that the engine crapped out and they replaced it. Putting in a 5.4l v8 that had only 34k miles. It was professionally put in and everything was fine well and good. Since then the car has had 44k miles put on it with no issues, until now. I purchased the rest of the car with 199k miles on it and I did pay the kelly blue book for it with that milage and the condition. I was smart there.


The car drove fine, didn't slip or have any issues at all. The guy I bought it from took great care of it making sure to put the best oil in, best battery, best spark plugs. He babied his cars and seemed to have taken amazing care of this one.


So here is where things start to change up. After about three months (thanksgiving) the check engine light comes on. Car still drives the same as day one and I go to get it checked out. P0012, cam timing bank 1 over retarded. I took it to a local and he told me the sensors were fine and that I should probably drive it until the day it dies. The thing is that he treated the car as if it had 200k miles on it because I don't have any "proof" the engine was replaced.

So here we are, around early Jan. something new started happening, keep in mind the check engine light is on, no shifting issues. I've been told by many that it drives fine. So what would happen is that when I would come up to a stop light or stop sign the car would make a deep clumping noise as I was breaking. I don't know how to describe it other than a "thump". Nothing stuck and nothing shook the car, although I was able to feel it. Now this issue popped up after there was a snow and I put it into 4wd after a long while of not using 4wd. I will say that when I was leaving school that day it had snowed a lot, this is why I put it into 4wd. When I waiting in line I was going about 5mph I went to apply the breaks and nothing happened, I figured that it was me sliding and never thought more of it. It remained happening for a while but wasn't that bad. It didn't happen too often, but was most definitely noticeable when it did happen.

So the story continues, after a few weeks of this happening, check engine light still on I decided I would fix the two most likely causes of the P0012. This was that the cam phasers needed to be replaced or the VCT needed to be replaced or the filters needed to be cleaned. First things first I fixed the cheaper of the two, the cam phasers. We left to go to mountains where they had gotten two feet of snow and I put close to 500 pounds of sand in the back just for good measure. After doing research that had seemed optimal... I may have been wrong there. Call me stupid if you will. However we made the trek and it wasn't until we got there that we got a "TRANS FAULT" with the O/D flashing off. It went away within 5 seconds and I never heard from it again until we were heading back, keep in mind that at this point the check engine light had come back on meaning the cam phasers were not the issue. With the trans fault coming on again, and then again, and again we dumped the sand and kept going. The issue has yet to come up again.

As soon as I got home I ran the truck to autozone and had them test the check engine. It was the P0012 and that the trans fluid had over heated. While standing there a mechanic from next door walked up and listened to what I have just told you, he tells me that the trans fluid needs to be replaced and then it is more than likely that VCT.

I take the car to him the next day, he flushes the fluid telling me that it was about the same as any other car that needed replaced. What I learned tonight that the previous owned had just replaced the trans fluid before I purchased the car from him. It has about 6k miles on it. Either I was lied to by the mechanic or something is up.

The mechanic checks out this VCT and tells me that it needs replaced, I replace it and when I pick up the car he shows me what was wrong. The VCT was missing and entire filter, meaning it had shot into the engine somewhere, this being said it was most likely what killed the previous engine as I described earlier. He takes the car out and everything drives fine with no issues. He told me that it should run fine and that the only things that he would mention is that it has a very slight misfire on the 1-4 cylinders but it goes away as soon as any gas is applied. The other is that I have a lower oil pressure (between half and 3/4 on the meter). That being said he tells me I shouldn't have any issues for a while and to not worry.


Here's where things get screwy. The light came back on today, I take it to auto zone and it is the same issue. I call the previous owner of the car and he has no idea why other than that when he rebuilt the 4WD that his mechanic told him there were some scorched wires by the transmission on the passenger's side but as long as there weren't any issues that they didn't need to be fixed. He believes at this point that if the VCT wires run though there then that could be causing the issue.

Well as I'm talking to a buddy of mine trying to figure out what is going on with the clunking he asks me "do you get stuck?". My answer was simple, no it is just a clunk. Right as I say that the devil himself steps in front of me. There is a louder than usual clunk and something is different. Usually when you idle and take your foot off the break at a stop light you will inch forward. This was not the case for me, I took off the breaks and just as soon as I did it felt like I hadn't. I wasn't moving forward at all, now when I went to accelerate it didn't go immediately, this was new, it didn't move forward when I applied the gas. It didn't move until I got to "x" amount of gas applied. This new issue didn't happen every time I stopped, but it was more often than before. One thing that may not have been new but I did notice was that when I accelerated to the point at which I started moving again it made a lesser clunk but it was new.

My friend that I am on the phone with tells me something along the lines of the transmission was crapping out and it could be sensors or pressure somewhere or something like that. He tells me to not worry about the p0012 as long as nothing is driving weird.

Well I call back the guy that I got the car from and he tells me that it is the "break caliper". Things start to add up with this too as I wasn't able to stop when it snowed and then the sticking issue. However things also add up for the transmission with the trans fault code and stressing it with the extra weight. Do keep in mind that the issue was happening for about a month before I drove with the extra weight.

He also told me that the main transmission wiring harness is the one that was scorched. It caused him to get the same error code about the transmission that I got because it wasn't plugged in tight enough. I was told that this could be the issue for the p0012 if the VCT runs through this harness.


Alright guys I told you all that I know, everything that I can and it was a wall of text. I hope I didn't leave anything out but please let me know. I've gotten bad news on bad news and I don't want to try to blindly fix this.

 

Sounds like you have two issues, brakes and trans. Start with the brakes as they are an immediate safely issue. Plus, they are easy to check and cost is usually not too bad. Make sure you can stop.

After that, look at the trans. At 200k miles, a trans failure of some kind is not unusual. Finding the cause is important, but may not be your first step. Get good trans diagnosis, not from the seller, but from an independent shop.

 

What are we talking in price here? and what stuck out that helped you decide on that?

I'm not too car savvy on terms...

 

Do you notice brake drag or pulling to one side (one sticky caliper)? I'd imagine you'll be through pads in no time if that's the case. It's possible the brakes are sticking causing the transmission to need higher revs to move the truck. Check your ebrake cable too and make sure it's not stuck. Free it at the pedal, get under the truck and slap the cables to see. It should be fairly easy to tell they're sticking though. As you mentioned, they said your transmission fault was from overheating, it's possible the drag is creating a problem. If you do have brake drag though, I'd think you'd have severe issues with the braking system long before the transmission overheating. Just my thoughts...


Like Mechanik says though, I'd start at the brakes first... Safety first and it might be contributing to your transmission issue. The engine issue sounds separate (VCT/Phasers)

 

Well.... I always hate to try to describe what my brain is thinking, but here goes.

Your comment about "I wasn't able to stop when it snowed" really caught my attention. I was really thinking ABS/brakes and the cost of brakes vs. totaling the truck. That led me to think about ABS or brakes in general. With 200k on the chassis, you could have a brake problems in general or a vacuum leak in the brake assist (sorry, forget what it's called) module. They use vacuum lines to activate. Aging, cracking, leaking, etc. I like simple solutions, if you can find them.

Your post was about mostly trans problems, but it looked to me like there was an immediate safety issue with brakes. I think you have a trans problem, but brakes seem pretty darn important.

Homer has some good advice. Let us know if we've missed the point.

 

Good catch Mechanik! I'm always hesitant on what to write haha. Especially as in the forums it's a game of clue (here's the hints, what's the issue). I worry trans problems too, trying to be super optimistic hahahahhaaha

 

Well here's the thing, on the way to shool today I drove fine. No issues. No noise. What I will say is that I shift perfectly smoothly. I had the car test drove last week and the mechanic didn't feel anything wrong with it.

 

Just throwing this out there..

It seems like your brake calipers are binding, seizing, and due for a replacement.. Excessive brake drag will certainly put more strain on the transmission. The transmission then has to overcome the forces applied by the brakes to move the truck..

Judging by your post, and your high milage, I would start with a fresh set of brake calipers, a brake fluid flush, and some fresh rotors while your at it...

Also, Considering the fact that your transmission has been the bearer of the burden that your brakes have put onto the truck, I also recommend a transmission fluid change and filter...

 

Sorry for the short responses here, I'm at school. However that sounds better. I did just flush the trans fluid and change the filter last week. What should I expect to spend on all that you just said?

 

Probably around $250 total for all 4 corners if you buy the parts at ADAP (Advanced Auto Parts) online, and use coupon codes batched into $50 to $75 increments.. Then pick the parts up at the store and install them yourself.. Brakes are extremely easy on these trucks, and can probably be bolted on in less then 2 hours total. The bleeding will probably take about 1 additional hour....

When I did my fronts over, I spent around $95 on fresh calipers, brackets, rotors, ceramic pads, and fluid.... I batched everything into 4 purchases, and saved big! ....... Just make sure you inspect the calipers and brackets before you leave the store for any defects...