DRIVE OR OVERDRIVE???

[MHD1313]

GEAR---DRIVE OR OVERDRIVE??
I'VE HAD MY BABY SINCE JAN.2018,
MY EX BLEW THE ENGINE THAT SUMMER
& SEPT. 2020 I NEEDED A NEW TRANSMISSION.
BOTH WERE REBUILDS.
EVERY TIME I GET ABOUT 10MILES FROM MY
HOUSE, MY O/D LIGHT FLASHES.
JUST FOR KICKS I THOUGHT I'D TRY DRIVING
WITH O/D OFF. DAMN MY TRUCK HAS SOME GET UP & GO!!
MY O'REILLY'S GUY TOLD ME I SHOULD NOT BE DRIVING IN O/D.
SO FOR ALMOST 4YRS I'VE BEEN THE ONE FUCKING UP MY TRUCK BY
PURE IGNORANCE.
IS THERE ANY SALVATION FOR MY TRANSMISSION??
SHE RUNS GREAT NOW. I STILL DON'T HAVE A DEFINITE ANSWER.
PLEASE ADVISE!! TY​

 

[19Walt93]

Driving in overdrive doesn't hurt anything and would help gas mileage. I'd have a dealer test the transmission and find out what the problem is, it could be as minor as a speed sensor.

 

[pjtoledo]

O/D was put there for a reason, it's OK to use it. (an exception is when towing a trailer, then it can be beneficial to turn O/D off.)
the reason it has more get up and go is because it's not in the last gear when O/D is off.
the transmissions way of alerting you to a problem is by flashing the O/D light, so as already stated, get it checked out.
but not by the guy at O'reillys.

 

[Shran]

It's a good practice not to go to parts store employees for advice... Many of them are one step up from fast food or Walmart.

Driving in OD is fine, towing may or may not be.

 

[RonD]

Welcome to TRS

As said its fine to drive with OD on, so you never hurt anything, for sure

Flashing OD light means transmission codes are set, so you will need to get it, or them, with an OBD reader
P0700 to P0803 is the range so guessing is out of the question, lol

 

[19Walt93]

If the person testing it lets you watch and their tester displays a "diagnosis" and not a list of DTCs(diagnostic trouble codes), leave. Autozone and garages that don't have trained techs will set up their equipment to display the "most likely" cause of the fault instead of the DTCs which would direct the tech down a diag path. There was an Autozone 1/2 mile from our dealer and they'd "diagnose" cars for free, then sell parts. After they "diagnosed" the vehicle- and sold parts- several times, we'd get an irate customer who'd spent needless money and couldn't understand why we charged for diagnosis, "the computer tells you what to fix". Once we actually fixed the problem they were often mad at us because they counted all the money they'd spent against us. Apparently anyone who says something should be free or covered by warranty is believable and the dealer who fixed it is taking advantage of the customer.

 

[cbxer55]

At least in my experience, transmission codes don't stay once you shut the vehicle off, which is why you get the blinking OD ODD light after about ten miles of driving every time. You have to drive it to a transmission shop with the OD OFF or OD light blinking, or the codes won't be there.

I recently had the same thing happening to my 4.0 V-6 Mustang, OD OFF light blinking after about ten miles. Ended up being a P0741, Torque Converter Clutch Locked Off. The clutch is supposed to lock up after the engine reaches normal operating condition, and at speed above 40 mph. If it doesn't, you get the blinking light and over-heated transmission fluid. With this code, the transmission has to come out and the entire torque converter replaced.

Sometimes it's just the solenoids, but they didn't fix my Mustang.

I have a friend that has such a shop, one mile from where I live. I had him do mine, but opted for him to rebuild the entire transmission from top to bottom and install a shift kit while he had it. Cost me $2000. A lot of coin, but it shifts Oh So nice now. Doesn't just slide into gear, bangs into gear. I had him put the same shift kit in my Ranger, along with 4.10 gears. What a fun truck to drive now.

 

[cbxer55]

btw: I drive all three of my Fords with the OD off in town. First thing I do after the engine is running, turn OD OFF. They're more peppy, better throttle response, don't have to wait for the computer to decide to shift OD OFF. I only turn it on at speeds over 50 mph. My 3.0 V-6 Ranger still gets 18 to 20 mpg in town. My 4.0 Mustang gets over 22 n town. My Lightning is hopeless no matter which gear it's in. LMAO!

Having said that, the torque converter clutch locks up in Drive as well as Overdrive. So if it's bad, you will still get the blinking OD or OD OFF light. My Mustang is a five speed auto and the converter clutch locks up in 4th and 5th. You can see it visually on the tachometer, if so equipped. Converter locked, the needle barely wiggles when you step on the gas over 40 mph. Clutch Locked Off, the tach needle is very active.

 

[MHD1313]

Driving in overdrive doesn't hurt anything and would help gas mileage. I'd have a dealer test the transmission and find out what the problem is, it could be as minor as a speed sensor.

THAT'S WHAT MY CODE READER SAYS....SOMETIMES. I WAS TOLD THAT THE CODE READERS DON'T DIAGNOSE TRANSMISSION ISSUES.

 

[19Walt93]

I can't speak to aftermarket code readers, I've only used the Ford testers but no tester diagnoses anything. The codes send you to a diag path and following the steps leads you to a diagnosis. When the diag manual was printed on paper each years manual looked like an unabridged dictionary- 4-5" thick.
As an example, a rich or lean code is displayed by some testers as "oxygen sensor fault", that doesn't mean the sensor is faulty. it means it's generating a value out of the proper range- the engine might be running rich or lean. "Oxygen sensor fault" is a symptom, not a diagnosis. If your tester indicates which sensor, it might be worth replacing it to see if that fixes it before spending money on diag. The scan tool we had when I retired was the IDS, it was based on a $4000 Panasonic Toughbook connected by $600 worth of cabling to a $2500 VCM(vehicle communication Module) that required a $500 yearly subscription to keep in functional. We had 4 setups and started buying refurb Toughbooks for thousands less but there was no alternative to the VCM, cables, and subscription. The aftermarket scan tools can read the generic codes, the IDS would also read the proprietary codes that were not covered by the OBD II regs.

 

[cbxer55]

THAT'S WHAT MY CODE READER SAYS....SOMETIMES. I WAS TOLD THAT THE CODE READERS DON'T DIAGNOSE TRANSMISSION ISSUES.

Cheap ones like the orange one I have, don't, Just engine OBD II codes. And also, as I said up above, transmission codes reset every time you shut the vehicle off. Hence why the light starts blinking after about 10 miles every time you start it up. When it's blinking, you have to drive it somewhere that has the scanner that can read transmission codes. Let your fingers do the walking through your local Yellow Pages, find a transmission shop near you, take the vehicle for a drive til the OD or OD OFF light starts blinking, then drive there, leave it idling outside, and get someone to scan it. I always have two keys to whichever vehicle I'm driving, with just the vehicle key in the ignition. This way you can use the second key to lock the doors while you go inside and get get someone.

 

[RonD]

All and any OBD codes have no english, or any other language, literal definition

Your engine computer is a calculator, that's what "computer" meant when "computer" name was first used, it could add/subtract/multiply/divide faster than a person using a push button calculator

Now-a-days we think of our PCs, laptops, tablets and phones as computers but they do way more than just add up numbers
Vehicle computers DON'T, they ONLY add up numbers, that's all they do, they are in the truest sense a "computer" and no more than that

Computer OBD codes are "range" codes, if some number adds up out of lower or upper range expected for that number a "code is set"
Thats why EVERY Sensor or Control, has several codes, look here: https://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/OBD-II_codes.shtml

Above is a Partial list of OBD2 codes, every sensor has multiple codes, each set for a SLIGHTLY different reason or "fault"
Example:
P0115 Engine Coolant Temperature Circuit Malfunction
P0116 Engine Coolant Temperature Circuit Range/Performance Problem
P0117 Engine Coolant Temperature Circuit Low Input
P0118 Engine Coolant Temperature Circuit High Input
P0119 Engine Coolant Temperature Circuit Intermittent

Coolant temp sensor.....................WTF???
5 different codes, and thats only "part" of them, there are more, in P1xxx range
Its either broken or works, so why the 5 codes????
And its NOT an actual "temperature" code, its an voltage code, might be related to "temp" of sensor, but might not as well
Should just be 1, "coolant sensor is bad", lol

Engine "computer" can't diagnose anything, so OBD reader can't either, it just relays the english translation of the binary code the "computer" stored, and the english is a condensed version

Anytime you have any OBD code look it up on a FULL LIST of OBD codes so you can see ALL the codes for that Sensor or Control, the codes the "computer" DOES NOT USE are just as important as the one code it did use for YOUR diagnostic, OBD reader can't/won't do that

 

[cbxer55]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

That's all gobbledygook to me. ;-)

 

[RonD]

YUP, that's a perfect description of OBD reader diagnostics..............gobbledygook

 

[MHD1313]

O/D was put there for a reason, it's OK to use it. (an exception is when towing a trailer, then it can be beneficial to turn O/D off.)
the reason it has more get up and go is because it's not in the last gear when O/D is off.
the transmissions way of alerting you to a problem is by flashing the O/D light, so as already stated, get it checked out.
but not by the guy at O'reillys.

OF COURSE NOT THE O'REILLY'S OR AUTOZONE GUYS/GALS. THEY ARE JUST A LOCAL QUICK ANSWER FIX. MY DAD HAS A SHOP OVER 30YRS. & HAS DONE ALL THE REPAIRS, OR SENT MY BABY TO OTHER SHOPS LIKE MY TRANSMISSION REBUILD. WHAT IS USUALLY A WARRANTY ON A $2000 REBUILT TRANS??? HE JUST DOESN'T HAVE THE TIME TO TALK TO ME OVER THE PHONE ABOUT THE ISSUES WITH MY BABY & DRIVING ALL THE WAY TO THE SHOP ISN'T SOMETHING I CAN DO ON THE REGULAR.