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Old 10-09-2007, 02:05 PM   #1
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Anyone have problems with the automatic transmission in their Ford tow vehicle? I just got the bad news that my tranny at 98K miles is shot, and needs to be replaced. This unfortunetly happened on my way back from a 1700 miles round trip to Wyoming, South dakota, Nebraska and such. The truck is at a dealership in Lincoln. I tow a small 3800 pound pop up, and sometimes pull a car trailer with around 7000 pound total weight. Not much mountain driving either. I did buy it used, and the previous ownder did have a 5th wheel hitch in it. Perhaps he was of the impression that his truck could pull anything.....

Basically just venting, and wondering if anyone else had problems with their Ford truck transmission.

Thanks
Coachman
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Old 10-09-2007, 02:05 PM   #2
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Anyone have problems with the automatic transmission in their Ford tow vehicle? I just got the bad news that my tranny at 98K miles is shot, and needs to be replaced. This unfortunetly happened on my way back from a 1700 miles round trip to Wyoming, South dakota, Nebraska and such. The truck is at a dealership in Lincoln. I tow a small 3800 pound pop up, and sometimes pull a car trailer with around 7000 pound total weight. Not much mountain driving either. I did buy it used, and the previous ownder did have a 5th wheel hitch in it. Perhaps he was of the impression that his truck could pull anything.....

Basically just venting, and wondering if anyone else had problems with their Ford truck transmission.

Thanks
Coachman
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Old 10-09-2007, 02:50 PM   #3
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Brian,

Take a look at some of the posts on The Diesel Stop, a forum dedicated to the Ford 6.0 diesel and its drive-train.
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Old 10-09-2007, 04:29 PM   #4
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I hate to say it but Fords 4 speed auto behind there diesel motor is very short lived. 98K on it is better then most owners, I would say a good amount of them go south befor 60K . Those that work in the trans world often tell there owners DONT use overdrive if your towing .
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Old 10-09-2007, 04:37 PM   #5
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">hate to say it but Fords 4 speed auto behind there diesel motor is very short lived. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

How about his 5 speed Torqshift, are they short lived too?
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Old 10-09-2007, 05:32 PM   #6
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I hate to say it but Fords 4 speed auto behind there diesel motor is very short lived. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Well here is a picture of our shop truck speedometer. A 2000 F-350 Crew Cab dooley with the original transmission. "Speedo picture here"

Here is a picture of that truck next to "Lil Red".
"Shop dooley picture"

The tranny in "Lil Red" had 130,000 miles or so on it when a plastic bag got jammed between the A\C condensor and the tranny oil cooler while towing our fiver on a trip. (Early 99) Needless to say it cooked the tranny before I knew what happened. My fault for not having the tranny temp guage then. (It has one now!)
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Old 10-09-2007, 06:36 PM   #7
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I have heard a lot of bad mouthing on the 4R100, but not the 5 speed TorqueShift.

The E4OD did not have a good name, but the 4R100 seemed to do better. The 4R100 does good if you keep the oil cool (Don knows this), change the tranny oil at reasonable intervals (I use 20,000 miles) and do not abuse the tranny or expect ti to carry excessive power. Seen a number of the 4R100's with over 120K miles and no problems.

Ken
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Old 10-10-2007, 03:49 AM   #8
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There are a lot of bad reports on the 4R100. Most people are lucky to get 100K mi out of them. The torque shift is the 5R100 5 speed. I have not heard a lot of bad things about it. Like mentioned above, look at www.thedieselstop.com and you will find more information on ford trucks than you will probably ever need to know.
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Old 10-10-2007, 05:00 AM   #9
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I frequent the 'thedieselstop' site and actually posted there right after it broke down to get ideas as to what it could be. No-one there had any ideas.

This actually started by me realizing that the radio went silent and then all the gauges went dead, on the way back on the trip. This never happens in a good place, so was stuck somewhere between nowhere in Nebraska. The alternator had gone out, and after much running around, I managed to get one from an O'Reileys supplier, in Lincoln Nebraska. The tow truck driver's wife took me down to Lincoln to purchase it. Once I put it on, all was fine, or so I thought. Said our goodbyes, and it now being midnight(broke down at 4pm) I felt the tranny surge, then grab, then nothing. Long story short, I thought it had something to do with loosing power, since the alternator went out and the batteries were both drained. Well, no connection there, but found out last night that they can either rebuild that one, or put a new one in and with the new one I would get a 3 year/75K warranty good at any ford dealership. Opted to go that route. $$$ ouch! but is probably best idea at this time.

Thanks for the ideas, and yes I have not heard much bad about the Torq shift either.

Brian
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Old 10-10-2007, 05:06 AM   #10
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Brian, out of curiosity, at what mileage intervals did you get the tranny serviced. And was it a full or a partial oil change and filter.

Ken
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Old 10-10-2007, 06:16 AM   #11
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I have paperwork from the previous owner that at 60K he had the fluid changed only. At 90K I had them replace both filters and flush/refill. All was well then, according to the service records. The impeller breaking and going through the tranny, or at least damaging the torque converter is the most common repair, as I understand from my local ford tech guy that I went to visit with yesterday. Totally disabling the tranny is not that common, although he has had one that it happened to.

I am waiting for pics from the tech where the truck is, as he also indicated that at some point this tranny got very hot, since it has blueing on some parts. That goes back to the theory that perhaps the previous owner used his truck a little harder than I am. I will install a real tranny temp gauge once I get it back. The truck has one in the dash, but not sure I trust it now. With the new tranny, I get a new cooler, lines, and filters.

Brian
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Old 10-11-2007, 06:23 AM   #12
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Coachman:
as he also indicated that at some point this tranny got very hot, since it has blueing on some parts. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Another theory on the blueing is that when the truck's voltage started dropping due to the alternator problem the electronic pressure control in the trans couldn't maintain the proper pressure and clutches started to slip. I can't prove that, but I sure can suspect it!
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Old 10-11-2007, 11:38 AM   #13
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Mark, I have been trying to come up with a theory as to how these two go hand in hand, but I am not sure. Your theory sounds good as any, since I do not know how the transmission works. I think it is a mechanical pump that maintains the pressure, but it sure is strange how these two things happened together.

Brian
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Old 10-11-2007, 11:50 AM   #14
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Many automatic transmissions now have electrically controlled solenoid valves to apply/release bands or clutches for shifting. I could envision a low voltage situation causing a solenoid valve to drift or hang up in mid travel, resulting in insufficient hydraulic pressure, slippage and heat.

Not being a Ford TorqueShift guru, this coffee pot theory may or may not apply to that particular transmission.

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