No one knows anything? Talked tno the Shop manager? He thought is might be internal damaged caused by a defective TCM Of course not under warranty.... I just wish I could talk to someone that actually had a clue. My symptoms are super consistent and described. I can't be the only one with this specific issue. P07A3. Skipps 3 and 5. 1 2 and Reverse are fine. It is intermittent so I'm thinking electrical. Drove it to work as a test to clearly understand the symptoms. To work it was a bitch all the way. On the way home it used all the gears just fine. Since the clutch is new I didn't drive it hard but skipping gears is obviously hard on clutch B doing so much work... The Code before and after the clutch and actuator is the same. We cleaned the shit out of the inside and the shift forks during the clutch change.

 

We have a 2013 SE that had the TCM go out. Ford fixed it under warranty. My understanding is Ford extended the warranty on the TCM to 150,000 miles. Ford even paid for the tow truck to get it to the dealer. Are you talking to a Ford dealer or independent shop?

 

TCM replaced 3 months ago. I suspect internal damage. I found one video and the shop manager also suggested it based on my symptoms.

 

The clutch actuator levers can not be damaged by the TCM. It's physically impossible.

To replace the clutch actuator levers, you have to remove the clutch from the transmission. The clutch must be re-locked before being reinstalled to prevent damage to the clutch assembly.

The clutch actuator motors fail quite regularly. The clutch actuator levers aren't as prone to failing, but do in fact fail. They fail faster if not torque'd properly when reinstalled after input shaft seal replacement.

 

I confirmed with the Poster of the video in comments and with the dealer this is indicative of the issue I am having with the code after replacing the clutch and actuator A. Appearantly the Fix is to replace the Case. I'm going to take a good look inside and see if a bit of aluminum welding could fix it.

 

Ok. Let me explain this.

There is Clutch Actuator Motor A and Clutch Actuator Motor B. There is Clutch Actuator Lever A and Clutch Actuator Lever B. The Clutch Actuator Levers are controlled by the Clutch Actuator Motors.

There is also Shift Actuator Motor A and Shift Actuator Motor B. These are inside the TCM. The Shift Actuators move the shift forks and are inside of the transmission.

Before you go wasting money... Did you actually inspect the Clutch Actuator Levers for properly operation? Typically, P07A3 is caused by a faulty Clutch Actuator Lever or faulty Clutch Actuator Motor.

Where exactly in the Adaptive Learning process was it failing?

 

Thanks for trying to help. If I sound defensive it is frustration from the generally limited professional information available due to the fact that in the end repair is more than the value of the car or it is in house. I mean litterally like only 2 videos exist for the clutch. The internals there is nothing I have found of high quality.

I do understand the difference between Clutch and Shift Actuators. Doesn't mean the Transmission understands what is wrong it just throws a code. In a year or 2 there could be a new recall for the Case. When Hard non wear internals are failing it really is a complete failure of engineering.

1st gear run by clutch actuator A also Reverse? works just fine. Only 3 and 5 have an INTERMITTENT skipping issue(as in Transmission refused to use them so it goes old school single clutch and does it poorly. It changes from day to day... Drive cycle to Drive cycle. Since the Clutch actuator and fork literally have 1 identical job and it does it fine for half the gears it normally operates. It is sensible to believe the CODE isn't giving a proper diagnostic information. Also the fork kicked back just fine during the unlock process for the new clutch. Between the dealers shop manager and 3rd party proof in video provided. Just because you haven't heard of this failure yet doesn't mean it isn't common. It still drives. Most people wouldn't even know the details of what the symptoms are. They would think it was just slipping and lugging due to the issues with a DCT trying to do a humans job of SCT. When the transmission is designed to never be out of gear this causes an ugly situation. I'm more and more sure it isn't the fork since it was torqued and cleaned. Unfortunately the time I lost the first round with it has put my life behind and going back to it just isn't in the cards yet. After Tuesday I may try again. Verify the case damage or lack of such before proceeding. Great transmission when it Fckn works which is not most of its life.

It failed clutch travel test A and then B and the other test. Not sure if it is A causing the following tests to auto fail.

 

Update pls. I seem to be having a similar issue. P07A3 165,000 miles. I let Ford replace the TCM for $575 which didn’️t help and replaced clutch actuator A myself for $130 which also didn’️t help. If I knew $2k on clutches and forks / levers and labor would fix it for sure I would do it but that’️s an expensive guess. Dealers seem kinda clueless.

 

Is it only skipping 3 and 5? Damaged case appearantly caused by a bad TCM. What I been told. Still sitting in the garage cause I have other shit to do...

 

Just saw your update. Thx. I did try manually shifting odd or even gears and can't come up with much. When it's really acting up it won't let me manually shift anyway.

 

Take a video of 0-60 Just have to see the Tach/speed too know what gears it is getting. If it is a Fork or bad actuator you'll not get any gears from that bank. It it is the case damage I think it causes the TCM to freak out and stops using some of the A or B gears. Really hoping to break into that thing this weekend.. Hoping......

 

Ok so I'll help you. Remove the clutch A actuator. The one on top. Now you need to turn the spring counter clockwise. It will be maxed out so it wont go clockwise. Which is what's causing the code. So turn it many times to free it up. Then put the clutch motor/ Actuator back in and clean kam memory. I have fixed alot of these by doing this. Works everytime. The spring gets jacked up and causes this problem. Trust me it will work and only will take you 5 minutes. I busted apart and old clutch motor and used that to turn mine. But I'm sure you can find something to use.

 

Any updates on this? rameseesk I tried your fix and unfortunately, it didn't help. I don't think I was able to turn it all that far as you described. I have one of the very first. We were driving it in August 2011. It's interesting someone mentioned not torquing forks properly after an input shaft seal replacement. Maybe that's what happened to me but 100k later it's hard to say.

 

Mine did the almost exact same thing. One thing you can try is using a 6mm hex socket to try and unstick your fork assembly (after removing clutch actuator). There is a special tool you can buy but I used a 6mm hex. Spin it counter clockwise 14 turns. Then see if it spins back. I actually tore mine apart and clutch fork a was completely stuck. I did a new clutch and forks and about to stab it back in. Po7a3 became a permanent code on mine. My clutch was ok looking just fork a was stuck like chuck.

 

Hey I have a question about that. I am exactly in the same situation. With the special tool, tried to turn the fork and accidentally turn it more than 14 turns and break it. The bolt came completly loose. With the help of a magnet I fit it in the hole when i removed the bolt and could see that there were small steel balls. My question is do you have to replace the clutch as well due to breaking the fork or do you just replace the fork without needing to replace the clutch? The only code thrown by the scanner was P07A3 which said that fork A was stuck.
Any information would be really appreciated.

 

Gettin' it all out, one piece at a time... I feel an all-nighter coming on 😖

 

Finally a thread with dudes who klnow what theyre talking about. I know this is an old thread but hopefully someone still out there. I, unfortunately am not as well versed in this POS but I have had the trans out a couple times, 1st was to replace the Clutch Slave Assembly I think Ford calls it - I still refer to it as the Throw Out Bearing (TOB). I did that and it ran great for 4 months, then my ex (her car) text me saying it took a shit again and no reverse 2nd, 4th etc, I run through some troubleshooting and B side Fork winds forever when I tested the actuators EDIT:FORKS as Im testing fork travel and applying Brake Clean to clean them out I noticed tiny bearings falling out of the Actuator cavity. So I drop the trans, inspect and sure enough, Fork B on the bottom had come all the way loose. So I cleaned it out - ordered two new OE Ford forks and use a new aftermarket TOB I had from the last time I tore it apart and get it back together. When I went to release the forks after I performed the Clutch reset, Fork A released with its typical crunching sounds but Fork B's release procedure was kind of lackluster as far as the sounds it normally makes.

SoNext I proceed to install the transmission, hook everything up and.... it's doing the same thing; no Reverese etc - could it be that I didnt release B properly and I just need to release it again? I dont want to take this fkr out again, I'm 52 with a bad back and doing this shit solo (Ive never used my age as a reason before, damn it sucks getting old) I have a Launch x431 Diagun OBDII scanner and It gets through all the test (Range, Position and Drum) but fails the clutch test. Im a little gun shy and really dont want to touch it in case re releasing it would **** it up more plus Im kinda concerened that it might ahve sheared off that Tab on the inside of the transmission and no matter how many new forks I ut on B side its gonna do the same thing until I get a new case

EDIT: I re released fork B meaning I wound it out the 14 turns till I reached the end and let it return. It did nothing to help. I recently ran accross a video similar in Symptoms/Codes stating on the other side of the trans (where the actual gears are), built as part of the transmissions case, there is a Nub/Protrusion/Stop that the forks use as a stop and also as a reference point to gauge what gear they are in, calibrate from etc. This video showed that Nub having sheared completely off and no amount of Fork changes will help until the tranmission CASE is replaced. I think thats where I draw the line cuz I cant see myself stacking all those gears and learning about planetary gears and all that other shit. I'm prolonging the inevitable though- I'll never know untill I pull the transmission AGAIN, unless someone else has had a similar issue with the Trouble Codes I outlined below and has a fix for it?

I'm getting P2837 Shift Fork B Position Circuit Range/Performance Fault
and P287B x2 Shift Fork Calibration Not Learned for SFA and SFB

 

I am working on a 2012 SE with the B actuator error. I bought the tool for the forks and tried to turn it counterclockwise with a 1/4" ractchet, and after 2.5 turns it got extremely hard. I have read it is 14 turns and didn't want to force it and break something.
How hard should it be to turn the B fork 14 turns? Is there anything that might break if I get a larger ractchet and force the 14 turns?
Thanks
Bob

 

The first couple turns are so easy that a ratchet doesnt have enough resistance to ratchet when you reach the end of your 'swing'. with only 2.5 turns out of 14 completed when she binds up I'd say you have a bad fork in there or possibly a broken throw out bearing.

IMO, all a bigger ratchet would do is give you enough leverage to break more stuff inside the transmission. There's not much in there;(2) fork assemblies, Clutch slave Assembly (throw out bearings), the "tower" that the TOB perches out and seals under the tower. Personally I would probably reef on the B fork just to see what happens but I'd do it knowing I was dropping the trans and replacing at least Fork B and the TOB. and honestly if youre already doing the labor I'd say replace A fork while your at it. Proices vary all over the Internet. I bought an aftermarket kit containing forks A and B and a TOB for $200 and an OEM TOB for $100 last time, this time I bought OEM Ford Forks for 300 and used the knock off TOB that came in the previous kit. there is a seal Kit that goes for 40 bux I believe. Now that I'm looking at dropping the transmission for the 3rd time...in hindsight, I would recommend replacing Forks, TOB and Seals at minimum and if your wallet can take the hit grab a clutch. if you do a clutch just look fir the kit containing all of the above onlineat roughly$550-650 for all of it.

It's late I hope I wasnt too confusing

Alex

 

What does 1st,2nd,3rd gear blocked temporary mean? I’m not jumping gears. Just while going down the road I noticed these were being block while on the highway. But when I slow down they aren’t.

 

Did exactly this and they paid for the towing and tcm recall , but claim forks and clutch are bad , I believe the forks are hunker up and unable to do their jobs. Quoted 5k to fix by dealer if warranty was wanted. Shouldn’t they pay for the fox if the tcm failed while driving causing them to lock up ?

 

Inflation. I had an estimate of 3k but that was 3 years ago (at the dealership). That code, can't remember the specific. But saying friction element is stuck on. Took it to the dealeship. They said they would put in a new TCM, no charge as the car had 140,000 miles. So it came in under the 150,000. I think at that time they were limiting 10 years also, don't know if that is active still. They had to order it etc so they had it about a week. Apparently that hadn't corrected the code because when I spoke to them they said they couldn't get rid of it, the code. Gave me the estimate for a new clutch. I'm not sure they were sure that was even the problem. After being too stubborn to pay that, and hours of research online. I did the 14 counterclockwise, spraying WD, let it retract, spraying WD, repeat. The car drove perfect. This after it had sat for almost 3 years. Well, that lasted about a month. Which I knew it was a temporary fix. So I was ready to spend 10 minutes and do it again. This time it lasted for a few days, then back came the slipping and not shifting. This time, it only did 2 turns counter until I hit restance. Tried working it out, doing 2 turns and retract, but, it didn't free itself past the 2 turn resistance. So,the car is parked, again.
I'm right there with youngletson18, If a bad TCM was causing the clutch slipping. Creating more clutch dust than normal, causing the forks to get clogged up and start sticking. Then yes, this really should be added to the already 3 mile long list of recalls for these vehicles.