How many miles on your 3RD GEN! orig. tranny????

[therealblinky]

I got to 200 Kilometers on the orig before it cratered. now my new one has about 50k on it and still going strong

 

[svtcobratkd]

121K on 02 4x4 xls. Purchased at 67K
LS was shuddering, put in some friction modifier. Hopefully, it will do the trick.
Feel an occasional shudder at speed, assuming it's when down shifting. Only happened a couple of times.
I do not believe that the tranny has ever been serviced.
With 121K on it, should it be serviced? Drain and fill? Flushed?? Left alone??

 

[Hitchhikingmike]

If the transmission has never been flushed before, don't do it now, you are past the point of no return when it comes to flushing. You could drop the pan and replace the filter if its the original one. Discard the old fluid that came out with the pan off and just refill.

 

[Essex4x4]

wow you all sure make me look bad. i have a 2 year old expy with 37k on the od.

 

[patrleach]

Mines a babe in the woods. 33,000 and working great.

 

[jrford]

'04 EB V8 AWD 5r55s at 51,000, OD flash of death, Service engine soon light, Check trans light on the message center. No reverse gear but forward seems fine. Wife heard a clunk then lost power had to pull over. Towed on a flatbed home. Took it in this AM waiting to hear from the dealer.

Dealer Pulled codes for $90 talk about a rip off, code was no third gear, although no reverse either. Dealer at first wanted $3100, no way, found a guy (only does trans and gears) who would gives a lifetime rebuild for $1600,

 

[The Rainmayker]

Wow, lots of horror stories from 02-03 it seems.

Did the trannies get better with later models? We have an 06 XLT in the family now, has given no problems, and are considering an 05 XLT that a private party has for sale...

 

[Hitchhikingmike]

Wow, lots of horror stories from 02-03 it seems.

Did the trannies get better with later models? We have an 06 XLT in the family now, has given no problems, and are considering an 05 XLT that a private party has for sale...

it depends, remember that this site attracts owners who have problems more than those who do not. The later model explorers transmissions can hold a lot more torque than the earlier ones for sure. There are a lot of documented cases where transmission blow up within 40k miles on the 02-03. But there are still some people on this site who have gotten over 100k on their 02-03 original transmission.

If the transmission fluid is good and it shifts great, should be good.

 

[Hitchhikingmike]

1994 EB Ex. 262,000+ MILES ON ORIGINAL TRANNY.

automatic?:scratch: must be a manual.

 

[The Rainmayker]

Mike, thanks for the excellent response.

I have an 02 XLT that is my "chore" vehicle, it was a daily driver for years, has been relatively problem-free but has the infamous rear diff humming sound (barely improved w/change to 75W140 fill), I am thinking of parting with it before it becomes a handful.

A gentleman down the street is selling an 05 XLT that I am considering replacing the 02 with, but to be honest after reading horror stories about that generation, I am thinking of just keeping the 02 and dealing with anything that may go wrong. At least I know the history of the 02 and can make the decision to fix it or sell it should disaster strike.

 

[doneyd67]

Well I've bought my 02 XLS with about 42k on it and just recently got the OD light from hell with the check engine light while i was on vacation at Virginia Beach, I was able to drive it back home to Maryland with a wing and a prayer, and sad to say my Truck is now sitting till i can get the funds to rebuild the tranny, i have 113k on it and my extended warranty expired about just a couple of months ago....talk about BAD LUCK! eerrr!

 

[DD243]

02 tranny died with 104K and now 10K later am havin problems again,complete rebuild but its still under warrenty

 

[blue_goose]

So is the secret just taking care of it? I mean, some guys go over 150k, while others dont even hit 100k. thats quite a range there. Mine is 105k and no problems yet, however I want it to last for a long time. I tow a hobie 16 (not real heavy) across the midwest and aboubt once every few months tug vehicles from the ditch (including 3/4-1 ton trucks that i sometimes don't have the tracton to pull out on dry/snowy pavement) and a considerable amount of off road. I try to take care of it as much as possible too with being easy on it whenever I'm not working and I flushed it about 7k ago. So what did you guys do to make them last? It almost sounds like its luck of the draw.....

 

[97awdx]

5r55s, 118,000 on the original tranny, believe it or not. It is starting to have some problems though. When you shift to reverse after driving for a while it stalls. When the time comes I will rebuild it myself, with all the goodies.

 

[Hitchhikingmike]

So is the secret just taking care of it? I mean, some guys go over 150k, while others dont even hit 100k. thats quite a range there. Mine is 105k and no problems yet, however I want it to last for a long time. I tow a hobie 16 (not real heavy) across the midwest and aboubt once every few months tug vehicles from the ditch (including 3/4-1 ton trucks that i sometimes don't have the tracton to pull out on dry/snowy pavement) and a considerable amount of off road. I try to take care of it as much as possible too with being easy on it whenever I'm not working and I flushed it about 7k ago. So what did you guys do to make them last? It almost sounds like its luck of the draw.....

The best way to make your transmission last is to ignore Ford's recommended maintenance procedures (or lack there of). Ford says our transmissions "do not require any service or maintenance till 150,000 miles. This is Bull***t.

Flush your transmission at the most every 30k miles. Since you tow an additional external transmission cooler will most definitely prolong the life of your transmission. Installation of an external filter will also help.

 

[DK4]

175k on my 04 XLT however.... just this week i had to breakdown and get ALOT of work done. I knew things were going because the slight whine from a year ago turned into a hum like the feedback from a guitar amplifier so i was way overdo for the following components:
all new wheel bearings
new tie rod arms, rear
parking brake
This was about 2k of parts and labor, as I only do light stuff like plugs and oil myself
The tranny is still holding out with a shudder in overdrive sometimes so i frequently take overdrive out of the selector range with the thumb button
Overall I have light highway miles and I am very religious about oil change every 5 k with valvoline syn blend that advertises 7.5k, plus the top of the line fram filter, and frequent Air filter changes (every 10k average), plugs at about each 70k miles
Hate to say it but my old 1985 2.8 Chevy s10 blazer went 230k without any wheel bearing or tie rod failure and i used to duck hunt with that thing! So i am not high on Ford right now. My mechanic says that since all wheel bearings are made in China now that is why they wont last as long as the USA bearings on the S10.
I am hoping to get another 50 k on the current tranny.

 

[superfestiva]

Mine has 122K...works fine for now...occasionally I hear a small clunk when I let go the gas pedal when in the middle of a shift...but it is very low that you barely can hear it...maybe if I change the oil, will it help?
I don't think that with this small issue I have to buy a new tranny or rebuild it...

 

[not8taxi]

before i got my 02 ex i had a 96 lincoln town car...my dad used it for work...i gave up the car once the original tranny went at around 370,000 miles...

 

[peter100]

My 2002 XLT's tranny went out at only 28,000. The engine would race, but the car would barely move. The dealer replaced it with a re-built, and now I have 197,000 on it. However since that incident with a brand new car, I wonder daily if today will be the day.

 

[Hitchhikingmike]

Wow 169,000 on the same transmission. Don't you mean since new transmission? not car? At least Ford did you right. You had a problem with your transmission under the warrantee, and Ford fixed it.