cannesdo wrote:
Another strange thing is that when it was under load with the rig and I was just barely crawling into town the popping was worse in the middle lane. It was a bitt better and there were some silent stretches (if I kept the pedal very still and accelerated verrrrrrry slowly) when I was in the left or right lanes. Starting up from a stop all hell breaks loose every time. Not the second you step on the gas but about 15 or 20 feet into it.
The popping noise is a common problem on a 2001 truck with the 7.3L. In that model year Ford changed the intermediate one way clutch design to one called a Mechanical Diode. It was a disaster. They failed at an extremely high rate. As they are failing they can be VERY erratic. Sometimes it would hold, sometimes it wouldn't. Sometimes it makes popping noises, sometimes it doesn't. Eventually it will fail bad enough that second gear doesn't work at all.
Every transmission rebuilder worth his salt knows about this and knows about the kits available to replace this clutch with one that works. This is done during a rebuild. Once you have the popping noise the trans MUST be rebuilt or replaced, or you will be stranded.
