Clunky 10R80- do i just live with it?

[National Superbike]

I always just drive in tow/haul unless I'm on the interstate. So much smoother- both upshifts and down. My truck with 3:55 rear will shift into 10th at less than 60 and it is terrible with the lugging engine and droning. These transmissions are programmed for max fuel economy and nothing else.

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[Snakebitten]

I always just drive in tow/haul unless I'm on the interstate. So much smoother- both upshifts and down. My truck with 3:55 rear will shift into 10th at less than 60 and it is terrible with the lugging engine and droning. These transmissions are programmed for max fuel economy and nothing else.

100% agree.
Tow-Haul is just a name for one of the various shift strategies the transmission has available. And while it may very well be a good shift strategy for towing, I agree that it has much better shift points and line pressures.
My only complaint is that Ford, in all their wisdom, decided that if a Powerboost owner chooses that shift strategy, then they must forfeit EV cruising regardless of load. Same with the shift strategy labeled Sport.

Basically, if you want the features and efficiency of EV cruising, you also have to live with the lugging RPMs and the occasional awkward shift decisions of the default mode.

 

[freewayman]

I always just drive in tow/haul unless I'm on the interstate. So much smoother- both upshifts and down. My truck with 3:55 rear will shift into 10th at less than 60 and it is terrible with the lugging engine and droning. These transmissions are programmed for max fuel economy and nothing else.

Lol I've seen mine upshift into 10th as low as 42mph when using cruise control. That being said I don't feel any lugging/vibrations etc from the engine and if load is increased then it will smoothly downshift appropriately. My issues are completely during low speed city/traffic driving

 

[National Superbike]

Lol I've seen mine upshift into 10th as low as 42mph when using cruise control. That being said I don't feel any lugging/vibrations etc from the engine and if load is increased then it will smoothly downshift appropriately. My issues are completely during low speed city/traffic driving

I have a 2.7, so different engine. But try the tow/haul for a couple weeks for around town driving and I think you'll be sold. The 2.7 is just much happier at higher rpm's. It has also fixed my battery problem, I think. Just having the engine turning 2000 -2500 rpm vs 1200-1700 seems to keep the battery charged better. I've had no problems with remote start, etc since using tow/haul. And, it disables the abominable start/stop "feature".

 

[freewayman]

I have a 2.7, so different engine. But try the tow/haul for a couple weeks for around town driving and I think you'll be sold. The 2.7 is just much happier at higher rpm's. It has also fixed my battery problem, I think. Just having the engine turning 2000 -2500 rpm vs 1200-1700 seems to keep the battery charged better. I've had no problems with remote start, etc since using tow/haul. And, it disables the abominable start/stop "feature".

I do enjoy tow haul, however the reason I can't fathom using it all the time is because I live in relatively hilly city, and Everytime I come to a stop for a light on even the slightest downgrade it'll start engine braking like crazy, even on a cold engine. And sport mode just keeps the revs very high for no reason at times. Im fine with shifting at 2.5k rpm but cruising at that seems a bit extra. I love normal mode in fact I don't mind the low revs and neither does the engine seem to mind, it's not even adding boost in most cases in these low rev cases so I don't think it's necessarily too much low end torque for it to handle. I just want normal mode to stop being so weird with these intermittent clunks.

As for auto-start stop, I have an eliminator for that.

 

[freewayman]

I also want to add, I'm really suspecting that my clunks has something to do with how the torque converter is locking/unlocking. The reason being is that the clunks I get in 6th gear don't coinicide with a shift, most of the time itll clunk and stay completely in 6th gear when doing so. It would also explain the occasional clunk when downshifting to a stop. Going to bring this up to the dealer as well next week when I bring it in.

 

[FaaWrenchBndr]

I vary my trans quote a bit. One day I might stay in sport. Another may be tow mode. Others may be normal mode, but with 9 & 10 locked out, if I am below 60

 

[Snakebitten]

I vary my trans quote a bit. One day I might stay in sport. Another may be tow mode. Others may be normal mode, but with 9 & 10 locked out, if I am below 60

That's the only way I can leverage the full benefits of my Powerboost, on my non-interstate driving and in Normal Mode. I lock all 3 OD ratios out.

 

[TJSparky]

I had this same situation on my '21 and the dealer ran a transmission valve body break-in procedure at 3500 miles. They did a program to cycle the valves in the transmission super fast to help clear up any micro debris that may be allowing the valves to stick. It appears to be a normal issue with newer 10r80’s. It worked to get the truck from bucking around really bad. I would also recommend dropping the pan and replacing the filter with all fresh fluid to help remove any additional micro debris.

I then got a Livernois tune which now makes the transmission shift like it should from the factory.

 

[freewayman]

I had this same situation on my '21 and the dealer ran a transmission valve body break-in procedure at 3500 miles. They did a program to cycle the valves in the transmission super fast to help clear up any micro debris that may be allowing the valves to stick. It appears to be a normal issue with newer 10r80’s. It worked to get the truck from bucking around really bad. I would also recommend dropping the pan and replacing the filter with all fresh fluid to help remove and additional micro debris.

I then got a Livernois tune which now makes the transmission shift like it should from the factory.

Hmm, I have heard of this however I don't know if it's applicable to me as I'm already at 34k miles so everything should be broken in already. But debris in the valve body sounds like a possibility.

 

[hugh100]

I just got my truck back from the shop where they rebuilt the control valve body. Similar issues with hard shifts. Mine were mostly shifting down into 3rd and 7th, as I recall. There was a sticking valve found, so all were overhauled.

 

[v8440]

I just got my truck back from the shop where they rebuilt the control valve body. Similar issues with hard shifts. Mine were mostly shifting down into 3rd and 7th, as I recall. There was a sticking valve found, so all were overhauled.

Well? Did it help?

 

[hugh100]

I’ve had it back for less than than 24 hours, but it is good so far. Have not noticed any hard shifting.

 

[freewayman]

I just got my truck back from the shop where they rebuilt the control valve body. Similar issues with hard shifts. Mine were mostly shifting down into 3rd and 7th, as I recall. There was a sticking valve found, so all were overhauled.

This is good to hear they were able to find a solution for you. We're your hard shifts in 3rd/7th intermittent or were they like that every shift?

Also, just out of curiosity, long did they need to hold on to the truck for?

 

[ValleyRides]

I'm experiencing similar issues to those described in the thread on my '24 5.0 Lariat (even with the supposedly "updated" CDF drum). 7,000 miles on the clock right now.

Just got the truck back from my first oil change. I had them check out the transmission as well due to these issues. Tech was unable to reproduce the issues (rough shifting at low speeds usually when coming to a stop, audible "clunk" shifting between gears when holding a constant speed sometimes as well). Fluid level was supposedly good, no codes, etc.

The service advisor quite literally told me this is "just how the 10 speeds are." I'm not buying that, so I'll be monitoring these type of threads to see what the best course is.

It's definitely not fixed on the new trucks though, lol.

Edit: Some interesting reading on a class action lawsuit GM is currently facing. Lots of transmissions affected, and dealers were supposedly told to inform customers that the "harsh shifting" was normal. Something for Ford to consider depending on where this goes.

https://gmauthority.com/blog/2024/0...on-lawsuit-over-faulty-8-speed-transmissions/

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