Anyone else have tranny troubles?

[02sport trac]

I just got my trans rebuilt at 77k for $2100 at a reputable trans shop that's been in business for 40 years locally. It was fine until a saturn slid across the highway and forced me to hit the ditch at around 40 mph, well to make a long story short I cooked my trans in 4low getting it out. Im a maintenance freak so I'm surprised the trans blew. The trans shop said I have the "good" trans, I guess the sealed trans is far worse? Well anyway I stayed away from the stealership cause two different ones said 3300-3600. The trans shop gave me a 3 year unlimited mile warranty.Any other horror stories out there or am I the only one? P.S. I used the rear axle bearing write up last weekend, that is a life saver. -Ron

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! I've deleted your other thread since it's the same as this one. How do you know that it's the transmission, and not the transfer case?

 

[02sport trac]

It was throwing the dreaded od off light, that was the excessive slipping code and non lockup of torque converter. The trans dude said my pump came apart? I did notice the 2/3 flare starting this past summer after a ford trans service. I took it back and they said it was normal, of course. The trans is nice and tight now! I guess now I need to address my idle fluctuation after i put it in park after driving.

 

[John_Rock]

I cooked my trans in 4low getting it out.

Ron, that says it all right there.

When stuck it doesn't take long for the tranny temperatures to get up really high. That's why I like having a tranny temp gauge installed. It helps me know when I start to abuse the transmission and I can back off and give it a rest.

 

[02sport trac]

Do you think I would benefit from adding a cooler? I'm also interested in doing a amsoil fluid swap to add some additional life? Any ideas if these changes would do some good, or are these just money/time wasters?

 

[BrooklynBay]

An additional cooler is a good idea as well as a fluid change, but you have to determine if the problem is in the transfer case or the transmission.

 

[John_Rock]

but you have to determine if the problem is in the transfer case or the transmission.

From what I read, he fixed his problem already by getting the transmission rebuilt. He burned it up when he got stuck in a ditch. His tranny probably already had a lot of wear on it. City driving(stop and go driving) is very hard on transmissions. And when he got stuck in the ditch the situation probably just put the nail in the coffin so to speak. But, I would agree that he should check the fluid in the transfer case after such an abusive situation and maybe replace it. It uses the same fluid that goes in the auto transmissions.

 

[John_Rock]

Do you think I would benefit from adding a cooler? I'm also interested in doing a amsoil fluid swap to add some additional life? Any ideas if these changes would do some good, or are these just money/time wasters?

If your truck doesn't have a tranny cooler then you definitely should put one in. If it does have one then adding one is good too. In my 2000 Limited I run the stock tranny cooler plus an additional one. But even with two tranny coolers you can still get in situations where the tranny temps get hot and you are abusing the transmission.

One summer I got stuck in stop and go traffic on a freeway up in Dallas. My tranny fluid temp still reached 220 degrees even with two tranny coolers.

Heat kills transmissions. Unfortunately Ford doesn't install tranny temp gauges in the light duty trucks. So we are blind to when we are abusing our transmissions.

I eventually want to replace my stock tranny cooler in my Sport Trac with one that has a fan on it. Because of course when I'm offroading its easy to abuse the transmission and most of the driving is at low speeds. So, I really need a fan to help push air through the cooler.

 

[John_Rock]

I'm also interested in doing a amsoil fluid swap to add some additional life? Any ideas if these changes would do some good, or are these just money/time wasters?

Well I am sure Aldive would tell you that something like Amsoil is a must. But I stick with the Mercon V fluid. It is a synthetic blend. It's a lot more cost effective than something like Amsoil.

There are other things to do to help that don't cost much. Like adding a 2nd fluid filter that can be changed easily at regular intervals. I have a setup like that on my 2000 Limited. My 2nd filter is installed just under the air filter area. And I use the Motorcraft FL-1A filters. So every time I go to change my oil I also change the 2nd tranny filter. And in a sense this is changing your tranny fluid slowly 1 quart at a time.

Aldive has a much more fancy 2nd filter setup...
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=126111

Here's a writeup on installing a tranny temp gauge...
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=176798

There are a lot of stickied topics on transmissions and transfer cases here:
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=109

 

[02sport trac]

Wow, tons of information! My post was confusing due to the run around story, yes its just been rebuilt. I'm very happy with the rebuild, my rebuilder rebuilt the trans to better than factory specs. I guess this transmission is prone to servo bore distortion. Thats the same thing the dealer said,but they replace the trans as a unit instead of cutting out the old bores and installing stainless sleeves. My rebuilder also used raybestos clutches "my 2/5 band ended up in my fluid" my shifts are tight and my converter is locking up better than it did when it was new. Fifth gear drops the rpm lower than ever, it makes me think that it may have been failing for some time. I think I may purchase a gauge and a extra cooler with a fan and thermostat. I want this trans to go the distance.

 

[John_Rock]

After reading all the auto tranny problems by members here and I personally know some guys that have had plenty of tranny problems. It's my biggest dreaded fear to have happen to my trucks. There's no way I could afford a tranny rebuild like you had done at this time. So, I am very happy with the tranny precautions that I have installed so far. I think the #1 tranny mod to do is installation of a temperature gauge.

One of these days I have to get off my butt and service the Sport Trac tranny. It does have the 2/3 flare. But she is still kicking.