Are Explorer auto trannys bad?

[fastcougar]

Explorer has 111K miles with a full tranny rebuild at 87K due to blow seals and a singl broken band. This has been the ONLY thing to happen to my Explorer ... completely 100% trouble free otherwise ... knock on wood!

 

[kammo]

only done 36k miles ( in 5years..lol) and major trans service 6 months ago
maybe they did a dodgy service...was only a local repairer-not a ford dealer as they wanted $440 for the job
engine does feel rough also when cold and has stalled a few times
time will tell i spose*

 

[jimbo74]

i never baby my truck..... and she is ticing strong at 106k all original.... those who know me and my reputation can vouch for my not babbying my truck

 

[91'explorer 2wd]

they suck, mine has given me so many problems, i just got her out of the tranny shop 3 days ago and she just went in this morning, and that's cause the guy took like 2 weeks to fix it . ok i got a question for y'all, what tranny can i drop in that won't give out on me when i gotta drive it hard.

 

[rrengineer]

Of those of you who have rebuilt your trannies, who did the work and what did you pay? My tranny was fine until I changed the fluid at 74k. By 80k the first gear band was slipping when first put into gear. Now that I must do an engine I am also doing the tranny and want to know what my options may be. I have looked into other postings and the tranny can be made strong enough to handle upwards of 300 hp. From what I read it is more a case of the shop not being able to rebuild and align parts correctly which causes the failure. I wonder what shop is capable of doing a competent job?

 

[MikeTEC]

I think a lot is driving techniques/style and maintenance. My 93 has been used to do a lot of towing large pop-ups and small travel trailers 600 miles plus, loaded with A/C on in the hot Texas heat and so far no problems at all. Of course, I have always towed out of overdrive, as recommended in the manual. Very little difference in milage towing, but a lot of difference in power. Swithed to Mobil 1 snythetic at around 110K for added insurance against heat and I really like it. Mike

 

[jtucker]

mine is at about 86,000miles on my Auto Tranny and I drive it VERY hard.

I floor it everywhere I go
I jump dirt mounds
I run sand hills
I do creek crossings
etc.

I have put over 3,000 miles on it in only 18 days.
So far so good

I figure when I do need to get it rebuilt,
will just switch over to a Manual, get the conversion
over with since this will be a mainly offroad truck
in 3 years anyways. I want all the power I can
draw out of this sucka, and if I got a weak tranny,
once I put a turbo on it, I expect it to blow fast.

Well, I will let you know when (not if) I blow it. I
have gone through 3 trucks in under 2 years, lets
see how this one holds up.

 

[thedirtyneck]

Has anyone done business with, or heard anything about netgearhead?

Dead Link Removed

 

[S. Allen]

Ford's auto trannies....

...are bad news all the way around.

They don't live long and are problematic in several areas. If Ford figures out how to build a decent auto tranny, they'll rule the world.

They run too hot, shift really funky and leak from everywhere that two parts bolt together.

The worst part is that you cannot find anyone decent to work on them. The independents are mostly rip-off artists who cannot rebuild anything worth a damn and just want your money and the dealers just want to take the whole thing out and replace it entirely!

The rest of the Explorer is pretty solid with small troubles here and there that are easy fixes, but Ford's auto tranny has me thinking I'll never buy another Ford with an automatic tranny.

So yes...to answer your question...YES Ford Explorer auto trannies are HORRIBLE!

This vehicle has been around since 91 and they STILL cannot get it right. I'll bet the new generation "mini-van" like Exes have crappy trannies, too...time will tell.

You wont get more than 100-130K miles out of the origina unit...maybe much less. Thats the truth!

-SA

 

[Explorer94GV]

my tranny went out 2 days after i bought it in August of 00'. I went to Aamco and it cost 1400 for new torque converter and rebuild. Just about 2 weeks ago it went out due to mudding. Took it back under the 1 year warranty you get and they rebuilt, new torque converter, and paid for towing free of charge. I will never abuse this tranny again. I give Aamco A+ Only bad thing they do not give warranties for 4x4 or manual trannys only automatic 2x4.

 

[jtucker]

Lol...

Well, after 4,000 miles of flooring the accelerator, mine
is starting to act funny. Not shifting correctly, etc. Glad
I live in Alaska where we get a dividend, that thing is
gonna go right to doing a auto-to-manual conversion.
It's bitter sweet though, you get lazy with an Auto

Anyone know any good mechanics in Alaska??? Just
wondering cause all the ones I have seen are either
complete morons or rip-offs. I could do a better job
myself...which I would do if I had another car right now.
I mean my mother brought her car in to be worked on,
and they STILL have it, and its going on week 5...they
busted the steering column somehow, and the problem
was a fuel-injector problem!!! Morons....

Anyways, I wanna bring mine to someone I can at least
semi-trust.

 

[XCIX xls]

Transmission ??????

I've noticed in the morning when my truck is cold the transmissions seems to skip a little on the first complete stop. It is like something lets go 1 or to 2 seconds after the car reaches a complete stop. After that it does not happen again unless the truck is parked for a long period of time.
Has this ever happen to anybody?
I have a 99 w/51000 miles
Thanks!

 

[ld50]

Didn`t the whole "EXPLODER" nickname come from it`s history of tranny failure? That`s what a buddy of mine who works at a dealership told me.
Come too think of it, he told me too much! I can never trust a dealership again!

I had a mustang with a crappy auto trans. It never died, but stuttered when going in or out of overdrive.

 

[Mike T]

Originally posted by pbzmag
...he was the one who took my Ex in and have never been satisfied smoke:?)by him.

I don't know if that's in his job description, LOL!!!

Just joking of course.

 

[mattadams]

Mine has 110,000 miles on it and no problems to date. I have no idea about hwo it was maintained prior to 80,000 miles (when I bought it).

 

[MikeTEC]

Just hope my 96 5.0 turns out to be as reliable and good of a truck as my 93 4.0 which has 119K on it. Great vehicle! Mike

 

[BUCHVILLEMAN]

1st tranny blew rear seal at 95k
1st tranny took the great dive at 130k one year later after hitting a deer and running into ditch at 60mph
2nd tranny lasted 3months, upon inspection the mechanic did not use loctight and bolts were not torqued, houseing cracked (inpsected at local ford place - installed by mechanic insurance recomended )
3rd tranny now has 15k, it was a rebuilt unit and i installed shift improver kit while i was putting the tranny in myself
3rd tranny is by far the firmest shifting and has least amount of torque converter slippage

also i have tranny cooler and will eb installing remote filter soon.

my dads f-150 with 4.2 motor (im not sure of tranny) is on second tranny.

BTW - i think that i am maticulous with my manitenance (synthetic change - flush once a year)
and i think i give it hell - all the time (wheeling, lots of miles a day on highway, racing whoever gets next to me, being over all lead footed)

i think that they are week but i cant complain too much as i know im to blame fro much of it. seems like engine takes the same beating but keeps going strong.

 

[rrengineer]

Who'se shift kit did you install and what is their URL?

 

[BUCHVILLEMAN]

Dead Link Removed
that link is a discusion about the shift impover kit. mike rutledge had the best info concerning the kit install ad functionality.

as far as the link to the kit i got - my car parts guy ordered it for me. it was a b&m kit. he charged me $60 for it but i have seen on the web cheaper. i had uncle and pa in law help install it. basically you are increasing the flow if tranny fluid which raises the pressure which quickens the shifting of gears. i had to have help installing as when i got into the tranny i was like

heres one that is just like what i installed that i found on jcwhitney
http://jcwhitney.com/productnoitem.jhtml?CATID=78423&BQ=jcw2

good luck. with the shift improver and external filter kit i plan to install i hope to make this tranny last for a while

 

[JR97COBRA]

The tranny in our '96 just died, with 131K miles on it; complete failure with no warning whatsoever. I changed the fluid regularly, the last time being at around 120K miles. Just as I was merging onto the freeway, it got stuck in gear and the overdrive light started blinking. Mechanic says a band broke, and totally trashed the tranny. It's a 4x2 and has never been off-road.

Seems like these things are grenading at around the same mileage.