Trans issue 4.0

My dad drove my truck which was in perfect mechanical condition. When he returned he asked me what was wrong with it. I of course replied "there isnt a single thing wrong with it". He said it was steering wierd. I took it out and immediately noticed he had it in 4wd. My wife also mentioned that he asked her what gear to drive in and was apparently driving around in 3rd. I know it sounds really lame and I agree,I mean what the hell? So I showed him the 4wd switch and he says he never touched it. His explanation for that was somebody must have got in the truck and switched it. I know it sounds really lame.
Anyway,when I took it out of 4wd and drove it would accelerate but the tach showed the rpms staying low like 12-13oo and I could tell the shift patterns were totally messed up. So I decided to disconnect the battery and see if I could reset the shift points and it seems to have worked. Does anybody know what he could have possibly done to the truck while driving it to cause this or has anyone experienced this? I have no idea what kind of stupid shit he did when shifting the trans and transfer case. Thanks

 

Is it possible someone pulled up to him at a red light and challenged him for a drag race? Your Dad now knows he has 4 wheel boost and smiles , flips the dial and jams the gas pedal to the floor. With all that , it may be in limp mode.

 

I'm guessing he went to adjust the climate control and turned the 4WD knob by accident.

 

WTF
How many miles did he drive it like that ? And what mph ?
Being OCD I would at least change fluids in transfer case and diffs and at least a drain and fill on the transmission to look at the fluid .

 

If you're not hearing any clanging or banging it's probably fine

 

Limp mode was my guess but I wasnt sure if the trans had one,it feels like it is shifting as it should now after I disconnected the battery. Except for a slight rolling idle which will work itself out,thats normal for disconnecting the battery.

 

I feel for you O.P.,hopefully no damage was done,this is a perfect example why nobody is allowed too drive any of my vehicles,there is always one idiot that screws up the most simple things like driving .

 

With all the traction control knobs, buttons, and settings on these trucks we're lucky we can figure it out... someone that's never read up on it doesn't stand a chance lol.

 

Thanks,luckily I have some aptitude with this chassis and was able to reset it,but holy shit how hard is it to drive an auto.I thought he had totally fucked up the tranny. Still debating a fluid swap even though I did it 25k ago.

 

Modern automatics are always learning and adapting to how you drive the truck, you can have 2 of the same vehicles with 2 different drivers and they will behave differently depending on how they are driven.

Say one person drives it like a grandma and the other drives it like they stole it and then someone else gets in them they will seem like 2 different vehicles.

 

I believe you but I couldnt get above 1300rpm no matter what I did. I wish I knew what he did,I cant even find any info in the search.

 

Don't know then did you have a check engine light on?

 

Negative.

 

Idk then, the only thing I can think of is the brake switch was stuck on causing brake override to kick in maybe but a battery disconnect wouldn't have solved that.

 

I’d be willing to bet it has to do with him driving on pavement with 4wd on and putting a lot of stress on all the parts. Maybe it caused the trans to work so hard it overheated or something and put the truck into limp mode to limit the amount of power you could force through the trans? I don’t know though, I’m not an expert and I have a manual trans anyway. I’m surprised your 4wd still works, usually people tend to screw up the front diff and CVs when that happens, especially if they’ve been turning a lot.

Edit: I know he’s your dad and all, but I probably wouldn’t let him drive it by himself again until you have the time to show him how the entire truck operates. Not worth risking major damage to your truck unless it’s an emergency.

 

He wont be driving my trucks again.

 

The thing that has me scratching my head on this one is no CEL, and no codes. Have you tried lifting the front to see if the wheels spin freely?

 

Yea me too,I will do that when I get a chance but the front driveline spun fine when I lubed it today.