F-150 Not Shifting Normal

[lovetoicefish]

F-150 2007 5.4 LT with approximately 80,000 mi. Lately when climbing up hill it seems to "chug" a couple times before it shifts to another gear. This does not happen all the time but seems to more often when I'm pulling my trailer and 4-wheeler. This is the best way that I can describe the feeling before it shifts. If I press on the accelorator before the incline gets too steep it'll shift like it should and does not have the "chug" feeling.

[bassfshin24]

I have the same exact problem with my 05 F150. I have no idea what it is but would be interested to see what people think.

[Lund4ver]

Sounds to me like the identical thing my 2005 F150 had. I drove mine for a long time before getting it in. Turned out that it was a coil over plug that was failing. At that point I had it in they did the plugs and replaced the one coil that failed the load testing. Runs like a champ now....The service was done at North Country Ford in Coon Rapids.....and they didn't break one single plug when removing the old ones. That is the big horror story with those trucks.

[randerson]

My Brother had the same problem took to a tranny shop and they were not sure that flushing or changing the filter would help if not hurt in the end he had a broken plug

[Lund4ver]

I thought that it was a transmission as well, had that flushed, changed filter, and the guys that did that said the transmission looked like it was almost brand new, so look into the plugs and coils

[Scott K]

More then likely an engine miss, but it could be a sticking valve in the transmission. I would bring it in for diagnosis, to find out if it is engine related, or tranny related. Or if you havent serviced either, then it is the perfect time to do a tranny service, and install new plugs, fuel filter. I would also take the mass air flow sensor out and clean it, then re install it.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

I had an '05 and '07 that got weird like that when they needed a tranny flush. I was amazed at the difference it made in shifting. Hard to say if it is the same thing, but if you haven't done one yet, it'll be money well spent. I do them every 30k.

[bassfshin24]

I had the tranny flushed which helped out a little bit but i still had the same problem when towing the boat.

[JOHNBIGDOG]

To add to Wanderings comment, I want to say that the plugs are supposed to be replace at 60K on a 3 valves, but I may be mistaken. if the plugs are bad, it make the coils work harder to create a spark, causing them to go bad over time.

[Lund4ver]

Service interval for the plugs per what my owners manual says is 100,000 miles, but I would start looking at replacing them at 60,000 to 75,000 miles. I was a lucky one and didn't have any plugs break when they were taking them out, or that gets spendy in a hurry.

[fishnowworknever]

I've had this happen 2x's now on my 05 F150 5.4L. First was the #1 cyl then #4.

Felt like the tranny was jumping or trying to shift.

Coil over plug is probably the cause. Bring it in and have the codes read, probably misfiring on a cylinder. They are notorious for going bad.

If you're going to do a tranny flush make sure that your tranny fluid doesn't smell really burnt. If it does could have bigger problems after a flush.