Manual transmission scraping noise / grinding sound

[Tricky Dick]

Steve Lehto's Lemon Law Bible about to be a best seller on the forum.

The number of people in Broncoland that cry lemon law astound me. I did not go through months of waiting to ditch my Bronco at the first sign of trouble. I'm going to use my warranty, get it corrected, and continue to enjoy this masterpiece for years to come.

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[Tricky Dick]

Attached pic is another gear in the transmission cog, not included in the TSB for the 5th/6th synchros.

The contact area of the teeth looks great, but the chewed up sides is curious, the syncro does not touch that. Do you have a pic of the other side?

 

[smiths65]

I did not turn it over, replacement enroute from Memphis...should arrive by end of day.
Stopped by on way to get cheap gas for the RAM

 

[JawnyBronco]

No.

We just got through 2-3 solid weeks of scheduling where the many of builds scheduled were manual transmission (and Everglades, Heritage, Base, etc.).

Ford released a TSB for this issue back in December… which means they spent time researching it, figured out the problem, released a TSB about it… and THEN roughly a month later scheduled three solid weeks of manual transmission builds?? There is no sign their scheduling is impacted by this issue.

I just think they’re scheduling around constraints and the new $2500 program.

Obviously they’ve fixed the design and got in the first batch of new tranny’s from the factory……….. wishful thinking…

 

[thesocalexplorer]

Attached pic is another gear in the transmission cog, not included in the TSB for the 5th/6th synchros.

Wow! Interesting to see, thanks for sharing.

How was the transmission operating for you, other than the scraping noise? Any weird shift characteristics, gear lockouts or other noises?

 

[smiths65]

Shifts smooth as butter, no issues...I did turn off hill-assist, I'm old school w/ feathering the throttle & brake

 

[3G & 6G]

Unfortunately I am now in this 'exclusive' club. Noise started around 600 mi, now have a little over 900. Definitely goes away when you 'lean' on 6th gear. Drives fine, and goes away when fully up to temp.

Interesting side note - yesterday it was mid 20's here. Took the Bronco out early before anyone was on the road to see how it performed in the ice and snow. (fantastic, btw) Trans noise was there just as everyone else has described. Took it out again later in the afternoon, and it didn't make the noise at all. Same outside air temp as the morning, and it sat for 7 hrs between trips so I have to believe that the trans was cold. Maybe the trans was still warm , but that seems unlikely.

 

[djp]

Been at the dealer for 3wks, other issues besides the TSB (all parts were in hand prior to tear-down)

I'm in same boat, dropped mine off on Jan 4 for TSB, they had all parts in hand. However after teardown they are replacing additional parts, some on backorder...so i'm still sitting w/o my Bronco for 3 days shy of 4 weeks now. Latest update yesterday was "we still do not have shipping confirmation on the part we need from Ford as it is on backorder"

 

[smiths65]

I'm in same boat, dropped mine off on Jan 4 for TSB, they had all parts in hand. However after teardown they are replacing additional parts, some on backorder...so i'm still sitting w/o my Bronco for 3 days shy of 4 weeks now. Latest update yesterday was "we still do not have shipping confirmation on the part we need from Ford as it is on backorder"

It does suck to be at the whim of constraints (brings back those bad memories of reservations)
Glad Bronco isn't my daily, love my '21 RAM

 

[I3lackRose]

Stop being so dramatic Chicken Little. File if you want.

After seeing some of this damage in these transmission with only 500 miles..... I have to say long term I see catastrophic failures.

 

[Bmadda]

Attached pic is another gear in the transmission cog, not included in the TSB for the 5th/6th synchros.

Which gear is that? Mainshaft or countershaft, and which position?

 

[CliffordTheBigRedBronco]

Spoke with a fellow technician who performed the TSB on a customer vehicle. No damage was found, TSB was completed and noise is back. I have attached a photo of the old synchro rings which are not damaged and were identical to the new "replacement". They have reached out to Ford for next steps.

 

[indio22]

The number of people in Broncoland that cry lemon law astound me. I did not go through months of waiting to ditch my Bronco at the first sign of trouble. I'm going to use my warranty, get it corrected, and continue to enjoy this masterpiece for years to come.

Buying a new vehicle that might have a faulty transmission design from the get-go, already having it back in the shop worked on, would not be enjoyable for me.

Plus I tend to hang onto vehicles like grim death, so what am I looking at 7 or 10 years from now. Damn, one of the reasons I went manual besides the fun and control, is I've had much better luck with manuals long term. To have a major component like a trans already having issues - is disappointing.

Now I'm kind of hoping my Bronco gets delayed long enough to get a better idea of where this transmission situation is going.

 

[a_Panda]

Talked to the service guys at my dealer today. Was told that the TSB was updated to include more parts and the synchro specifically has a superceded part number. Anyone able to confirm or heard similar?

 

[indio22]

Just wanted to share this video for people who aren't sure if they have the issue or not. This is my Bronco, and I have the issue, but it is MUCH less noticeable than many of the videos on this thread.

As the TSB states, it happens in neutral, and in 1st gear. In 1st gear it is barely audible, I have to shift the transfer case into 4x4 Low and let it crawl for me to be able to hear it. If I go any faster than that then the road noise drowns out the transmission noise. It likely also happens in 2nd gear, but by then the road noise drowns out the transmission noise completely and you can't hear it at all.

You can get it to go away by shifting up against the 5th/6th gear gate, by pressing the clutch pedal, waiting for the transmission to warm up, etc etc. (Everything that has already been stated in this thread.)

You will likely have to listen with headphones. I personally don't hear it when playing the video back on my cell phone or my laptop.

Thanks for the video - this is the first time I was able to hear the sound. Ugh. I thought maybe it was just a loud trans and so no big deal, but I don't want to be hearing that stirring/scraping noise, or thinking about what it might mean down the road out of warranty whenever I start up the vehicle in the cold.

I'm buying new NOT to have issues. Or worst case if there is an issue, a solid fix. Trans is a major component not some lux extra on the fritz. WTH? I would have gone V6/auto had I known about this situation.

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