2005 VH (Ex Postie Van) ASM 4th gear slipping/Crunching

[Altransit]

Fingers crossed you may get a good tech

[samwhich]

Ok results are in...

A faulty/damaged 4th gear syncro is believed to be the cause of the issue. Long and short of it -> its going to be cheapest to buy a 2nd hand gearbox @ $400 + ~$100 freight and have it installed. $900 to install quoted by Ford including bleeding (physical and electronic bleeding) and new fluid. They thought it could also be the HPU but as it was only 4th that's affected, then it def sounds like the actual syncro. This was also confirmed by a transmission specialist they refer to up the road.

Total fix is going to be around $1400 which I am feeling happy about. Not the 'jolly rogering' I was expecting to receive!

I did have the transmission bled this morning and the gear changing has improved dramatically! If the 4th gear issue did not still exist, I would say it feels like a brand new drive! $220 from Ford dealer. I would highly recommend having this done if you are not confident your ASM transmission is 100% healthy.

Also some extra knowledge for you enthusiasts: Spoke with a guy who sub-contracts to Australia Post and looks after there vans (transits, sprinters etc etc). Apparently at around the 60,000 km mark, this is when the vans with the ASM transmission vans were due to have there clutch replaced. At this time, Aus Post were having the ASM transmission removed and replaced with a tri-matic transmission - so there are some ASM gearboxes floating around (especially in Victoria) with only 60-80,000 kms on them and going cheap.

[ossie cossie]

interesting thread, i have just bought a transit with ASM and i have to drive it from Sydney to Perth next week. at the moment there is nothing wrong with the box but i am a bit worried about the 3900km road trip. What happened with your gearbox problem, did you get it sorted, what type of ELM 327 did you get i am looking on ebay at the moment to maybe get one, before the trip.
Regards.
Tony.

[samwhich]

Hey Tony,

If yours is showing no sign of issues, then have no fear! I purchased my van in Brisbane, drove it to Sunny Coast where we lived. Then a few months later drove it to Adelaide with van filled to the roof and very heavy box trailer on the back no problems. This is when I fell in love with my van! Seemed to run better with all the weight. I was sitting on 120km/h comfortably with all the weight. I think you will be fine.

Can't remember the exact ELM327 but I think they're all identical? Their functionality is very basic. The tricky part is to find the software to understand the protocol. As mentioned earlier, ForScan is the only free software I could find that worked.

Good luck.

Sam

[ossie cossie]

thanks mate will find out next week. will let you all know how it goes.

[ossie cossie]

Quick update, when i picked up the Transit at Sydney it was all good, have to say the previous owner kept the Truck in good nick he also gave me lots of paperwork on the money that has been spent on it. while driving around the city and suburbs it was good however when i started to drive the 3900km back to perth it started having issues. Firstly the engine and rest of the truck are great, but after driving it it auto top gear (5th) for about 1000km in one go (non stop) when i have to slow down for a junction or roundabout (sometimes but not always) it seems that it does not want to change out of top gear, and when it does it makes an almighty grinding noise. I could not do anything about it as my primary goal was to get the truck all the way to Perth 3900km,s away now that i have got it home (almost) i would like to see if it (the problem ) can be diagnosed or rectified, the previous owner has spent a lot of money $5000+ on the gear box about 10 months ago, so i really don,t want to spend that much again, i would like to nip it in the bud before it starts to cost a lot.
Would a ELM diagnostic tool help with this or is it maybe an adjustment issue with the gears.
Are there any documents or books that have info on these ASM box,s
Regards.
Tony

[samwhich]

To me, that sounds like the same issue as mine but with the added issue of not wanting to change down.... do the other gears change up and down fine? I think 4th, 2nd and Rev are all linked as are 5th, 3rd and 1st? Sorry, not in a position to confirm that but it is something to that affect. I think it would be interesting to see what codes you are receiving - so yes, having an ELM327 would be handy! (remember you need a laptop with Bluetooth for that to work properly).

I have a feeling that maybe you need to have your transmission bled in order to fix the changing issue however I think the crunching noise could be the same issue as mine which is a faulty 4th gear syncro.

Due to some unexpected BIG financial purchases I have had to make, I have not been able to have my issue fixed however my current symptoms (which is the further developed stage of your symptoms) is that it drives ok but I have to nurse 4th gear. Sometimes it grinds shifting up into 4th and sometimes down. If driving in 4th and de-accelerate slightly, it slips out of 4th and lands in 5th. A little bit annoying but still works and gets me round.

The solution is new gearbox if that's the case ($1400 installed by Ford with used gearbox). You must have the new transmission bled electronically by Ford if you replace transmission.

To answer your question, No there is no manual on these gearboxes hence why I am investing lots of time posting my limited knowledge and experience online for others to read. Its a pain in the ass actually but that's what we have to deal with

[ossie cossie]

Thanks samwitch. The other gears seem OK the only time i get the issue is when coming up to a junction/ intersection. I will investigate this more in the future as well, if you don,t mind i will add what i find if anything to this post. Its not a big problem for me at the moment i just don,t want to cause any more damage to the box internals if possible (it may be too late for that though). The rest of the truck is in excellent condition and i cant fault the engine, so all in all a little crunch from the box at junctions is not that bad, however it is embarrassing, If i have to get a new/recon box then that,s a small price to pay, the auto when going right is great.
I will find out more on this issue and how bad it actually is when i do some city/suburb stop start driving next week, after the MOT test.

[samwhich]

Yeah mine had the exact same symptoms. Didn't take long to get really bad either. The next step was that it started to "slip" out of 4th gear then makes crunching noises trying to get back in - eventually landing in 5th. This only happened in 4th and whilst coasting. Usually whilst driving down a long gentle slope. Now it just slips whenever it feels like it haha. Shame that Ford couldn't get it right with these transmissions as the van is bloody nice to drive! Just too over complicated with the auto shifting setup etc.

Let me know if you do get one of those ELM327 devices. I would love to compare data/readings with someone else. (sounds a bit nerdy but its quite cool when you see whats going on in the computers and can read DTC codes etc)

[ossie cossie]

I will be getting an ELM, but decided to not get the Bluetooth one as i can not be sure the laptop as Bluetooth, so a USB attachment, so i can use it on multiple computers.

[ossie cossie]

well update time, i have just driven the last 800kms home and the ASM gearbox did not miss a beat no signs of the previous trip problems. But will have to get an ELM soon and Haynes manual arrived from UK.
Taking it to get a wash and sort out some bits ready for the pits on Friday.

[samwhich]

Nice work. Not sure the Haynes manual sheds any light on these transmissions (so I have read anyway). Stillhl haven't fixed my van yet as I am away for a few weeks working in the mines but should be getting it sorted soon and will let u know of the outcome after the new trans is slipped in. Strange how yours "fixed" itself? Be interesting to read the codes in it.

[samwhich]

Hey guys,

I am still here. New (used) gearbox arrived today. Lining up with Ford now to have it installed sometime this week/early next week hopefully. Will let you know the outcome once done.

[samwhich]

Woohoo!! Transmission issue is now fixed with a new (used) gearbox.

Quote from Ford Dealership (Stillwell Ford in Adelaide) started off as a verbal $900 as posted earlier. When I called to book it in the other day, the "new quote" was $1450 to install as "it would take 10 hours to complete"!

So found a new mechanic - Van Works @ Dry Creek Adelaide who have just started taking on Ford Transit vans. Shaun (owner) from Van Works quoted me 5 hours ($550 for the install @ $100 p/hour + ~$50 for fluid). He got the job done in about 5.5 hours so total bill came to $657.25 + $500 for the transmission shipped to me = $1157.25! Fantastic service and he was great to communicate with. Very helpful and happy to share tips on things to try before I had to bring it into the shop for repair. I highly recommend these guys to anyone!

Absolutely over the moon with this outcome. Ford can stick in their ear hole!

[ossie cossie]

good outcome, nice too see its all sorted.