Downshift Clunk

[Deleted member 17706]

Okay, the downshift clunking is an annoyance for me. If you are driving at 50 mph and have to abruptly come to a stop, you can hear the gears clunking as the truck is quickly dropping gears—you mostly hear this near the end of you coming to a stop. But if you slowly come to a stop rather than abruptly stopping, then you don’t hear such clunking. I assume this is the case because the transmission has the time needed to cycle through each gear without being rushed to do.

Is there a tune that eradicates the clunking? The Gen 1s were know to have a clunk too and it never really bothered me. But it makes me almost cringe to hear the loud clunking when coming to an abrupt stop. For these trucks to be so quiet, I am surprised Ford engineered the transmission to do such.

@FordTechOne any thoughts?

 

[P4mnceBlue82]

Mine did the same occasionally. Haven't had issue since I got my tune from goose and cobb TCM tune. Truck def runs much smoother!

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Mine did the same occasionally. Haven't had issue since I got my tune from goose and cobb TCM tune. Truck def runs much smoother!

Thanks for the info. @wgr73 any further insight?

 

[FordTechOne]

Okay, the downshift clunking is an annoyance for me. If you are driving at 50 mph and have to abruptly come to a stop, you can hear the gears clunking as the truck is quickly dropping gears—you mostly hear this near the end of you coming to a stop. But if you slowly come to a stop rather than abruptly stopping, then you don’t hear such clunking. I assume this is the case because the transmission has the time needed to cycle through each gear without being rushed to do.

Is there a tune that eradicates the clunking? The Gen 1s were know to have a clunk too and it never really bothered me. But it makes me almost cringe to hear the loud clunking when coming to an abrupt stop. For these trucks to be so quiet, I am surprised Ford engineered the transmission to do such.

@FordTechOne any thoughts?

100% normal when slowing down quickly. The transmission downshifts so that in the event that you need to take off again quickly, it’s already in the right gear. It’s nothing to cringe over, it’s no different than downshifting as you slow down in a vehicle with a manual transmission. This strategy is preferable to just leaving it in a high gear as you slow down because there is no downshift delay if you encounter a situation in which you need to accelerate rapidly, such as when traffic slows down quickly and you need to change lanes and accelerate immediately to avoid getting rear ended by the oblivious drivers behind you.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

100% normal when slowing down quickly. The transmission downshifts so that in the event that you need to take off again quickly, it’s already in the right gear. It’s nothing to cringe over, it’s no different than downshifting as you slow down in a vehicle with a manual transmission. This strategy is preferable to just leaving it in a high gear as you slow down because there is no downshift delay if you encounter a situation in which you need to accelerate rapidly, such as when traffic slows down quickly and you need to change lanes and accelerate immediately to avoid getting rear ended by the oblivious drivers behind you.

Thanks for the insight. Yea, I know it is normal. Lol it is just loud!!! It will take some time to get used to.

I am curious why Ford engineers designed the transmission to make the clunk rather than designing it to not make the clunk. Most aftermarket tuners get rid of the clunking—went the same way on the Gen 1s. I have no clue what all is involved in allowing the clunk or not allowing the clunk from a engineering perspective. I don’t think either way effects long term reliability. @wgr73 if you have any insight into why you remove it and/or what you have to do to remove it, I would enjoy learning something new

 

[P4mnceBlue82]

Shoot him a PM. He is usually quick to respond and very knowledgeable! Great guy!

 

[FordTechOne]

Thanks for the insight. Yea, I know it is normal. Lol it is just loud!!! It will take some time to get used to.

I am curious why Ford engineers designed the transmission to make the clunk rather than designing it to not make the clunk. Most aftermarket tuners get rid of the clunking—went the same way on the Gen 1s. I have no clue what all is involved in allowing the clunk or not allowing the clunk from a engineering perspective. I don’t think either way effects long term reliability. @wgr73 if you have any insight into why you remove it and/or what you have to do to remove it, I would enjoy learning something new

What is the year and build date of your truck? Mine is a ‘19; you can certainly feel the downshifts, but I wouldn’t describe it as “loud” or “clunky” in the least. Do you have any mods?

 

[Deleted member 17706]

What is the year and build date of your truck? Mine is a ‘19; you can certainly feel the downshifts, but I wouldn’t describe it as “loud” or “clunky” in the least. Do you have any mods?

Mine is a 20. No mods. I have less than 2k miles on it. I am quite pleased with the 10-speed. I find the transmission to be smooth and responsive with no harsh shifts. I will see if I can catch a video of it and forward it to you. It is only loud/clunky if I am going fast then abruptly come to a complete stop. Only towards the end of me coming to a stop, will I hear the clunks. I assumed it was normal and just the transmission downshifting given that you are dropping multiple gears within a couple of seconds. But I have had a couple of people ride with me and ask what was that noise—making me more conscious of it.

 

[smurfslayer]

What is the year and build date of your truck? Mine is a ‘19; you can certainly feel the downshifts, but I wouldn’t describe it as “loud” or “clunky” in the least. Do you have any mods?

Lucille is a late ’16 build, ’17 MY, and has had the transmission update (TCM?) performed to address her .... unwillingness to downshift in eco(normal) mode. It worked, and is literally 100% better.

Before the update, I would not feel the downshifts in normal mode and it mostly did the downshifts as you were under about 30 ish mph. After the update, I could feel the downshifts in normal mode, and of course, sport mode you can feel the up/down shifts easily. Even on the old programming I could feel downshifts in normal mode.

I like that sensation even if it’s a bit clunky. I would classify my truck as 99.5% of the time, smooth downshift with a tactile downshift sensation. The other .5% would be “a little on the clunky” side, but not even close to something I’d be concerned about or think about a visit to the service department.

Same with upshifts. 99.5 percent are as designed. Once in a while, I can get into throttle, then back out at just the right moment and the ensuing upshift is... harsh. My bad, not the truck’s bad.

@SVTFordRaptor - just trying to give some context to the clunky shift issue. I’m sure others are out there with transmissions that misbehave a little more.

 

[GooseTuned]

Gosh I'm sorry!! I just saw this, I apologize. I shouldn't rely on the forum update emails, they don't get to me in time! Please shoot me a PM @SVTFordRaptor