Tranny went out...again..Need advice

[motc777]

I have a 2004 Mounty. I just rolled 194K miles on it. Last May 2015, I got the OD light blinking. I had the tranny rebuilt. They gave me a 12 month 12K mile warranty. When I brought it in, I had a little over 165K miles on the odometer.

So just under 30K miles later, the same thing happens again. I lose 2nd gear, and jumps to third, OD light blinking. I take it back to the same shop, and they stated that for sure, something broke inside. They have agreed to do the overhaul again without charging labor, but the parts cost could be up to $1100 dollars.

Here's my thing, the engine on this vehicle is still running strong. The only thing I started to have is a very low grade oil leak from the rear of the valve covers. Other than that, it gets good mileage and have not had a single engine issue.

I just don't know if it's worth it to either A. Have them overhaul it again, and watch it die 30K miles from now, or B. Get a brand new transmission, which many are going for $1400-$1800, plus core?

Advice, talking to, etc is welcomed.

I will say that I am beyond a bit miffed that I drove it for 165K miles on the factory tranny, but on a rebuild I can only get under 30K miles.

 

[anthonymtz]

Yikes! Dropping a 1k bomb on that is terrible, I would suggest just getting a new one, only a 12k mile warranty? That shop dose not sound too good, I know some shops in my area (texas) that offer 30 to 50k or 3 years, the transmissions on the explorer are hit or miss, some get 200k + miles out of them and some barley make it to 50k. But like you said a new one would be around 1400 instead of risking 1100 and have it mess up again, look around and do a little research on prices, warranty and cores, IMO I would pay the few extra hundred on a new/refurbished one with higher warranty. I'm also thinking the shop just didn't do a good quality job if stuff is breaking at 30k, another thing to look into is the servo bore fix, it's about 200$ and people have gotten 65k to 150k without problems, but it will eventually wear out and start shifting funny and need the repair agine. Also the 4.0 engins are a hit or miss too, once the timing chain starts rattling say goodbye, the genius engineers at ford decided it was a good idea to put the the chains in the back and use cheap, weak plastic chain guides... good luck pal!

 

[fordbluefamily]

Let the shop do it again and ask for a longer warranty this time. They should have no problem going longer on something they get to take two shots at getting right. If they refuse, get one elsewhere.

 

[Number4]

Take it somewhere else. They didn't do a good job the first time, why would they do anything different the next?

I've noticed, that those who have trans issues around 150k or less, continue to have issues. As if there's an issue with it and its components. Trans shops reuse certain parts.

Then there's those who don't have issues, or at least not until after 200k.

 

[motc777]

I appreciate the input guys. Here is our decision.

We are selling the Mounty.

This was not an easy decision, and I found out this weekend, affected myself and my wife in an emotional way. I was surprised by that, because I've never been emotional over any car/truck. However, we got this vehicle in 2005 when my first child was still in a baby carrier not even 1 year old. My son had not even been born yet. Basically, this SUV is the only vehicle my kids have really ever known.

We decided that we are going to sell it for the following reasons:

1. Too expensive to fix for $1100. As you all pointed out, I do not think the shop did a good job the first time around, and frankly, I don't want to run the risk because of the following other reasons.

2. It's a 13 year old vehicle. While the engine right now is sound, I've read some posts in here that state that the V6 engine, after about 200K miles, starts to have timing chain issues. Specifically, the guides are made of plastic, and will break. Can only imagine that is an expensive fix.

3. A new transmission is probably the way I would have gone if we kept it. However, the cost of one is around $1800, plus the labor to install it. That's in excess of $2K and, well, considering the potential engine issues due to mileage and age, it's a high risk. Granted, things may be fine, but you know.

4. The valve cover gasket as I stated earlier has a very small leak at the rear of both valve covers. I tried to replace this a few weeks back, but found out that some genius at the factory stripped out one of the air intake star screws so I had to abandon that. Fix for that is about $300-$400 locally I'm finding.

5. Probably the overarching reason, other than it's old, is that we are trying to save to build a house, and well, this would set us back months. We have another vehicle, so we are going to have to limp along for awhile being a single car family.

That's really it. I checked the KBB value and it's just barely over $4K in fair condition, which denotes it needs some mechanical repairs. I know I won't get anything near that but I will get something. I do want to say a major thanks to everyone on this site for all the tips, videos, fixes and tricks over the years. You guys are awesome!

 

[fordbluefamily]

It's worth more in parts if you have a place to strip it and a way to haul it to the scrapper afterwards. . You can sell a running 4.0 SOHC for the same price as a whole broken 3rd gen that needs a trans.