2.3 manual noise when engine is cold

ToddGreen

Good advice and thanks, RagnarKon.

I'll be visiting the dealer for an oil change and a couple other minor items in a few weeks, so will make sure to document the manual trans issue then.

Hello there, Todd! I'd like to look into your concerns on my end. Feel free to send over a private message with your VIN and dealer information at your earliest convenience.

I also have the same grinding , base model 2.3 manual. Also when coming to a stop it sounds awful in first or second gear. I am concerned about the TSB and cracking open a transmission to rebuild it at 1500 miles. Total replacement seems to be the best.

Add another one to this list for this noise.

2021 Badlands with around 11K miles (Sept 21' production, Dec 21' pickup) .
Started noticing it at around 8,500-ish miles. Made a appointment with the dealer, and at that time appoinments were 3 months out. So, made the appointment in November 22' and brought into the dealer early February 23'.

Being it was 3 months out for the appointment I had added a couple things to the visit:
1. All for window adjustments.
2. 4WD concern. When I first noticed the noise, an unusual vibration in the gas pedal arose when in 4A and sometimes 4H. It's very consistent: hmmmmmm, vibration, hmmmmm, vibration. It's subtle, but it's there. As soon as you put it in 2H, it's gone.

Took it into the dealer, was there all day. I get a call at closing saying the it's ready for pickup. Perfect, I go to pick it up the next morning to find out nothing was done. They inform me that the transmission needs to be overhauled, but they need to order parts and will reschedule when they come in. They didn't adjust the windows and state that they've been told not to touch them and are waiting for management for repairs (report says "SSM FOR REPAIRS WILL RESCHEDULE). They also stated they thing the 4WD concern is related to the TSB.

The waiting continues. Hopefully Ford can get to the bottom with what's going on.

I too have this issue. I took the TSB into my Ford dealership along with my Bronco, and they confirmed the sounds. Based on the TSB, they have ordered the replacement parts and will install them when they arrive. It will be interesting to see how long this fix will last until the sounds come back. Fingers crossed, longer than a year...

I have also heard the grinding noise in my '22 MT Badlands. First heard it in Santa Fe, NM last weekend when the temperature dropped to a chilly 25F overnight. Started the Bronco after it was resting for probably 15 hours or so after a drive from Utah. The odometer read about 8700 miles at the time.

I made a video recording and shared that with the dealer during an oil change visit. They looked and found the TSB related but need me to come back and leave the Bronco overnight on a somewhat colder night so they can confirm they hear the noise themselves (a bit annoying, frankly).

RagnarKon

If you are close to your dealer and can sacrifice a few hours away from your Black Diamond, you may want to take it to them just to document the issue and get a case submitted. It helps Ford understand the scope of the problem. If you are 150 miles away (like @Rayocaballo is), then I wouldn't bother, pretty clear we don't have a definitive fix yet, so not worth the trip.

As for updates from me... my dealer is working with Ford to figure out what the next steps are. I'll update everyone on this thread as it progresses.

Hey RagnorKon,
Just wondering if you have any updates or if your dealer has ordered TSB parts, like most have?

I took mine to my selling dealer first week of February and was asking for a new transmission at that point, but was told "no" from Ford. I expected that, but felt justified to ask since my sound came on around 400 miles and the dealer probably knew about it while prepping for delivery. Ford ended up offering an extended (ESP) powertrain warranty to 100K miles (Ford CS) and so I allowed the dealer to proceed with the TSB. Replacement trannies have not proven to be immune to the sound returning anyway. But now the parts are starting to "trickle in" - getting periodic updates from the Ford rep and of course some parts are still on "national backorder" - feels odd to me that they don't assemble kits to send out together for this, rather than shipping parts here and there that the dealer must inventory, but that's another gripe.

Since you mentioned your dealer is "working with Ford" - which mine did not offer to do or just didn't want to keep me in the loop - my questions are:
1) Are the parts that are on national b/o due to them actually being re-tooled / different parts than were used in the earlier TSB repairs? I'm hoping so, and this would be a benefit of having waited a while.
2) Are we really doing no additional harm driving these things with this God-awful noise? Mine has gotten much louder in the 500-ish miles since reporting to Ford and my dealer. And I'm lucky to not need a daily driver currently so I'm still only at 1100 miles or so total, but miles will increase with Spring weather. I'm not a trans specialist, but it sure sounds like there should be metal shavings or additional heat or some other ill effects from such a sound.
Thanks!

jhavens

Add another one to this list for this noise.

2021 Badlands with around 11K miles (Sept 21' production, Dec 21' pickup) .
Started noticing it at around 8,500-ish miles. Made a appointment with the dealer, and at that time appoinments were 3 months out. So, made the appointment in November 22' and brought into the dealer early February 23'.

Being it was 3 months out for the appointment I had added a couple things to the visit:
1. All for window adjustments.
2. 4WD concern. When I first noticed the noise, an unusual vibration in the gas pedal arose when in 4A and sometimes 4H. It's very consistent: hmmmmmm, vibration, hmmmmm, vibration. It's subtle, but it's there. As soon as you put it in 2H, it's gone.

Took it into the dealer, was there all day. I get a call at closing saying the it's ready for pickup. Perfect, I go to pick it up the next morning to find out nothing was done. They inform me that the transmission needs to be overhauled, but they need to order parts and will reschedule when they come in. They didn't adjust the windows and state that they've been told not to touch them and are waiting for management for repairs (report says "SSM FOR REPAIRS WILL RESCHEDULE). They also stated they thing the 4WD concern is related to the TSB.

The waiting continues. Hopefully Ford can get to the bottom with what's going on.

I really empathize with folks having these transmission issues. In a perfect world Ford would share the details of their transmission deficiencies along with their proven remedies. That has yet to happen. I’m pretty sure they totally know why but not sure if they know a fix.
You have to remember this is a company that vacillated for a couple of years over the correct oil capacity for their 2.7 Bronco engines. They still can’t explain something as simple as that…

extra toasty

I really empathize with folks having these transmission issues. In a perfect world Ford would share the details of their transmission deficiencies along with their proven remedies. That has yet to happen. I’m pretty sure they totally know why but not sure if they know a fix.
You have to remember this is a company that vacillated for a couple of years over the correct oil capacity for their 2.7 Bronco engines. They still can’t explain something as simple as that…

Looks like the manual won't be an available option when the order banks open. Must have something to do with this issue.

Fillups

Hey RagnorKon,
Just wondering if you have any updates or if your dealer has ordered TSB parts, like most have?

1) Are the parts that are on national b/o due to them actually being re-tooled / different parts than were used in the earlier TSB repairs? I'm hoping so, and this would be a benefit of having waited a while.
2) Are we really doing no additional harm driving these things with this God-awful noise? Mine has gotten much louder in the 500-ish miles since reporting to Ford and my dealer. And I'm lucky to not need a daily driver currently so I'm still only at 1100 miles or so total, but miles will increase with Spring weather. I'm not a trans specialist, but it sure sounds like there should be metal shavings or additional heat or some other ill effects from such a sound.
Thanks!

1. Yeah the parts are actually on national backorder. Ford ended up scheduling a TON of manual transmission orders for build in January (just about all the remaining orders), so my assumption is the backorder simply has to do with the amount of builds they scheduled for production.
2. I'm an electrical engineer, not a mechanical engineer, so not my wheelhouse. BUT lucky for me my father was an automotive engineer and worked for Ford (now retired), so I asked him his opinion. He said the issue is clearly has to do with the 5/6th gear synchros. Driving it may cause damage to those synchros but the TSB replaces those synchros anyway. Both he and my dealer said that since the issue was documented they should replace any components that are damaged in the process.

Last I heard the dealer was waiting to hear back from Ford about next steps, but a full transmission replacement was approved for me if necessary. I talked to my service department foreman and we agreed to only replace the transmission if it actually would fix the issue, so he was waiting to hear back from Ford engineering. Ford gave them an "end of March" ETA ... so... 10 days or so left before that deadline.

extra toasty

I really empathize with folks having these transmission issues. In a perfect world Ford would share the details of their transmission deficiencies along with their proven remedies. That has yet to happen. I’m pretty sure they totally know why but not sure if they know a fix.
You have to remember this is a company that vacillated for a couple of years over the correct oil capacity for their 2.7 Bronco engines. They still can’t explain something as simple as that…

I think a big part of the issue here is that it isn't a Ford transmission. It is a Getrag/Magna transmission, so I'm sure there is all kinds of communications inefficiencies that always occur when two big corporations try to communicate with each other.

Email is hard.

RagnarKon

Last I heard the dealer was waiting to hear back from Ford about next steps, but a full transmission replacement was approved for me if necessary. I talked to my service department foreman and we agreed to only replace the transmission if it actually would fix the issue, so he was waiting to hear back from Ford engineering. Ford gave them an "end of March" ETA ... so... 10 days or so left before that deadline.

It's nice to believe they will "replace any parts that are damaged" but once they finally get the parts together for the TSB and schedule a service appt, it's hard for me to think anything other than those exact parts will be replaced. If they have the transmission opened up and find some minor wear elsewhere, and they know it will take XX weeks or months to get said parts, what'cha think is gonna happen? But I'll make an effort to talk to them again and ask for a thorough inspection.
Glad you were approved for new if needed. You must have better connections or be a better negotiator than me! If I go thru the TSB and have to come back later, replacement be the only choice at that point :)

Fillups

It's nice to believe they will "replace any parts that are damaged" but once they finally get the parts together for the TSB and schedule a service appt, it's hard for me to think anything other than those exact parts will be replaced. If they have the transmission opened up and find some minor wear elsewhere, and they know it will take XX weeks or months to get said parts, what'cha think is gonna happen? But I'll make an effort to talk to them again and ask for a thorough inspection.
Glad you were approved for new if needed. You must have better connections or be a better negotiator than me! If I go thru the TSB and have to come back later, replacement be the only choice at that point :)

My dealer is pretty solid, highest performing dealer in the state. I have bought four vehicles from them, and they've always been great, so I would like to think they are just a good dealer. BUT, they know my father is a retired Ford engineer, and they are aware I know people who work at Ford. None of the people I know at Ford are in a position to impact their business in any way—they're just peons in the giant machine that is Ford Motor Company. But I can't say for certain that they are not just giving me special treatment because of my connections at Ford.

Regardless, I understand the concern with a dealer technician simply following the TSB by the book and not looking over and replacing damaged components as necessary. There is always a little voice in the back of your head going "what if they do it wrong?!" and sometimes it can be hard to trust technicians after hearing horror stories online. But if we are being honest, most somewhat experienced techs are probably perfectly capable of doing the work, manual transmissions are a lot simpler than automatics. So just have to trust people to do their jobs—and if they don't there is a warranty. Really our only option.

Rig went into the dealer for the "fix" yesterday, after four months of waiting. 🤞

tstarks

Rig went into the dealer for the "fix" yesterday, after four months of waiting. 🤞

Good luck and keep us posted, please... Hope it goes well!
About how many miles have you logged? Just curious.

Fillups

Good luck and keep us posted, please... Hope it goes well!
About how many miles have you logged? Just curious.

About 6.5k. Most of this since I reported the issue. I'll keep this thread posted.

Got the call from the dealership today that my parts are in for this. Appointment set for April 5th. I still haven't heard anything but apparently one of the service techs did when they fixed my ABS tone ring. Only have 2458 miles on it.

Update

You're all going to love this.

As stated previously, my bronco went in on Monday for an 8:00 appointment, after three months of waiting for that appointment. Get a text from the service department guy this morning, stating that they actually didn't have all the parts to complete the fix. Something about a couple of pins that are on back order. So it sat there for four days, only getting a couple of door adjustment made.

The incompetence is astounding.

tstarks

Update

You're all going to love this.

As stated previously, my bronco went in on Monday for an 8:00 appointment, after three months of waiting for that appointment. Get a text from the service department guy this morning, stating that they actually didn't have all the parts to complete the fix. Something about a couple of pins that are on back order. So it sat there for four days, only getting a couple of door adjustment made.

The incompetence is astounding.

Sorry about this! The extra salt-in-the-wound is taking 4 days to realize they were missing parts still. Did they stat the tear-down? Ugh, that's painful.

I will say, Ford has not made it easy for the dealers though - the parts for this TSB should be packaged up and sent together, rather than as they come available. My dealer has been receiving parts for nearly 2 months, over 9 or 10 different shipments - so far. And they must keep all those on a shelf for my car and how many others? Nightmare.

Fillups

Sorry about this! The extra salt-in-the-wound is taking 4 days to realize they were missing parts still. Did they stat the tear-down? Ugh, that's painful.

I will say, Ford has not made it easy for the dealers though - the parts for this TSB should be packaged up and sent together, rather than as they come available. My dealer has been receiving parts for nearly 2 months, over 9 or 10 different shipments - so far. And they must keep all those on a shelf for my car and how many others? Nightmare.

Didn't start the tear-down, told me I could go ahead and come get it. They have no idea when the will be able to do the work.

I’m starting to wonder if it’s worth the headache to bring in. My BL is about a year older than yours, have an appointment in April (or is it may) for diagnostics. I don’t know, starting to think I’ll just keep drivin!

Shoresy

I’m starting to wonder if it’s worth the headache to bring in. My BL is about a year older than yours, have an appointment in April (or is it may) for diagnostics. I don’t know, starting to think I’ll just keep drivin!

Well, that is an option but at some point your trans will go t$#s up. At least at that point the bronco will undrivable and you may get expidited parts and repairs