Transmission Overhaul

[fit2btied]

I have an 89 F-350 CrewCab, Longbed Dually, 7.3 diesel with an automatic transmission. The forward gears went out on it. My brother-in-law and another mechanic spent most of the day pulling the tranny out for a rebuild. Man, that thing is a monster - felt like it weighed at least a ton! They said the fact that it still had reverse was a good sign, but that "This is still gonna hurt!" I figure it's probably not worth it, but compared to the cost of the new truck I'd like to have, it's my best option. Plus, this one is really broken in well and I can do most anything I want with it. After the bull altered the tailgait on my wife's truck this past spring, she says "Repeat after me, You will NOT pull a new truck into the fields again!, You will NOT pull a new truck...

 

[dun]

Have you considered buying a rebuilt tranny from one of those outfits that do it for a business and will gaurantee the transmission? Or maybe check at a junk yard (sorry, auto salvage yard) for a tranny from a low mileage wrecked truck?

dun

 

[Earl Thigpen]

I have an 89 F-350 CrewCab, Longbed Dually, 7.3 diesel with an automatic transmission. The forward gears went out on it. My brother-in-law and another mechanic spent most of the day pulling the tranny out for a rebuild. Man, that thing is a monster - felt like it weighed at least a ton! They said the fact that it still had reverse was a good sign, but that "This is still gonna hurt!" I figure it's probably not worth it, but compared to the cost of the new truck I'd like to have, it's my best option. Plus, this one is really broken in well and I can do most anything I want with it. After the bull altered the tailgait on my wife's truck this past spring, she says "Repeat after me, You will NOT pull a new truck into the fields again!, You will NOT pull a new truck...

There are two control units in the transmission which must be applied, one for all forward gears and one for reverse. More than likely the forward clutch pack is shot since you say that ALL forward gears are out. (There's more than two control units but only two for the basic direction. For example to move forward in automatic "Drive" you would need FORWARD clutch pack and a LOW spraque or low clutch pack or band control units to be applied)

OK, that sounds like it might not be too bad - hold on. There's not a transmission shop in the world worth their salt that would replace JUST the clutch pack. All clutch friction discs and steels should be replaced as well as all lip seals, o-rings, gaskets and band(s) should be replaced. Throw the torque convertor in for insurance (the torque convertor is difficult, if not impossible, to clean) and rebuild the front pump (only pump) and valve body. Clean the myriad piece parts, replace the bushings and bearings and reassemble.

Parts described above can be purchased for about $400 but the bench job is going to cost you $1500 to $2000 (including parts). Now you have just one hurdle to manage - getting the transmission back in the truck and bolted up without destroying the pump because you didn't get the convertor stabbed into the pump correctly.

 

[fit2btied]

In reply to dun and Earl, none of the local salvage yards had a tranny in stock and wouldn't guarantee one if they could get it. The rebuild tranny shops said the cost for an already rebuilt drop-in would be about double the cost of having mine rebuilt and it would only come with a 30-day limited warranty. The guy who is going to rebuild it works for the tranny shop but takes jobs on the side for extra folding money. He will also back it for 30 days, in writing, and save me the shop's part of the proceeds. The $1500-2000 figures Earl described are right in line with the preliminary estimates I was given, plus a couple hundred for the drop and reinstallation. But life is good - at least I can afford to have it done. Gotta shorten that Christmas list!

 

[cfpinz]

Does it have OD or not? The old C6s without the OD were supposedly a lot better than the OD transmissions Ford used later. Never owned either one, just what folks tell me. I owned an automatic truck for all of two months, hated it so bad it left in a hurry, never again.

cfpinz

 

[Earl Thigpen]

In reply to dun and Earl, none of the local salvage yards had a tranny in stock and wouldn't guarantee one if they could get it. The rebuild tranny shops said the cost for an already rebuilt drop-in would be about double the cost of having mine rebuilt and it would only come with a 30-day limited warranty. The guy who is going to rebuild it works for the tranny shop but takes jobs on the side for extra folding money. He will also back it for 30 days, in writing, and save me the shop's part of the proceeds. The $1500-2000 figures Earl described are right in line with the preliminary estimates I was given, plus a couple hundred for the drop and reinstallation. But life is good - at least I can afford to have it done. Gotta shorten that Christmas list!

I sure wish I could help you, pardner. I'm just too old to be rolling arouind the ground under a 200 lb transmission but I can give you advise and hope that helps. Besides being too old I'm in Texas and you're in Mo.

Since your truck is 17 years old I think you got pretty good service out of it but here's a couple of tips that might improve things a little for you.

1) install an external cooler, one that is seperate from the cooler in the radiator. The coolers are rated in lbs so get one that is in the 20,000 lb range and mount it in front of the radiator and/or the A/C condenser. It needs to be the first heat exchanger the cool air hits. Cut the steel tubing on the factory cooling lines attached to the radiator. Get the line that goes BACK to the transmission and hook your ext. cooler in series with that line.

2) have your transmission guy install a stage one "shift kit". This will "quicken up" the time between shifts and will help prevent wear on the friction discs while they are slipping past one another on their way to full engagement. (don't go crazy here. You just want a little quicker engagment and better timing between shifts - not something that will give you whip lash when it shifts)

3) your mechanic can play games with the clearance between the friction and steel discs for the forward control ONLY. The only time the forward clutch control unit is in the "slip" mode is when your backing up so that's not a lot of time.

And 4) the mechanic can also play games with the piston return springs in the forward clutch control unit by removing every other spring. Some auto manufacturers have gotten smart with this trick in that they have made the number of springs a prime number (13 or 17 springs) so that it's near on impossible to remove springs without unbalancing the return pressure.

Last but not least, I think you made the right choice in getting the thing rebuilt rather than getting one from the salvage yard. You've got history with your transmission - it has worked for almost twenty years. What you might get out of the salvage yard - well, it's anyones guess. Good luck!

 

[MillIronQH]

I wish my '94 had the C6 instead of the E4OD. The C6 is the best tranny Ford ever built. Fix it and keep the truck another 15 years.Z

 

[fit2btied]

Does it have OD or not? The old C6s without the OD were supposedly a lot better than the OD transmissions Ford used later. Never owned either one, just what folks tell me. I owned an automatic truck for all of two months, hated it so bad it left in a hurry, never again.

cfpinz

Yes, it does have overdrive.

 

[MillIronQH]

Does it have OD or not? The old C6s without the OD were supposedly a lot better than the OD transmissions Ford used later. Never owned either one, just what folks tell me. I owned an automatic truck for all of two months, hated it so bad it left in a hurry, never again.

cfpinz

Yes, it does have overdrive.

??????? I didn't know they were using the od trannys in 89. Our 89 F250 had a C6 in it. You might see what it will take to change it over. We were going to do that to our 94 but the transfer case wouldn't fit and the shop couldn't find one that would. I should be a bolt in deal except for the drive shaft.Z

 

[DiamondSCattleCo]

I wish my '94 had the C6 instead of the E4OD. The C6 is the best tranny Ford ever built. Fix it and keep the truck another 15 years.Z

I wouldn't worry about it. The E4OD is a fine transmission, according to a good friend who owns a trans shop. He said there were some issues with the OD portion, but they were easily correctable when the trans is rebuilt. As with most transmissions, including standards, the issue often (but not always, so don't burn me at the stake here) lies with the driver. Pulling in OD is probably the leading cause of light truck trans failures. Failure to properly service the trans is likely #2 on the list.

Rod

 

[MillIronQH]

I agree. The E4OD is a good "light duty" transmission. I don't consider F250 HDs or F350s that consistantly pull heavy loads in the light duty catagory. I pull a 32' trailer that is regularly loaded with cows and/or calves. That doesn't qualify for light duty for an F250. And yes I'm religous about turning off the OD...Z