Warranty issues

[Marko66]

I have a f150 with 67K on it. I have put 4 quarts of ATF in in in about a month. The seal going to the torque converter appears to be bad. Ford put a new transmission in at 35K, after the OD light started to flash.. Should I press them to fix this under warranty? I also had a code for 1/2 shift, but perhaps that came from being low on fluid at some point. Any opinions or experience. It seems like a transmission should last longer than this.

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[robertplattbell]

The basic warrenty on the truck has long since expired, and I don't think transmissions qualify as "emissions" equipment (5 years/50,000 miles). (Does Ford offer extended drivetrain warrenties?).

Sometimes manufacturers offer "hidden" warrenties on problems with particular cars. The THM-250 transmission (the so-called "Chevette Transmisssion") that was put in many early 1980's Caprices is an example. GM quietly rebuilt/replaced these or covered a portion of the costs.

I think the secret is to ask nicely, and if they say "no" at the dealer (they probably will) ask for the name, address, and phone of the zone manager or whatever they call the next guy in the chain in the warrenty claims department. Write a nice letter with all your documentation and see what they do.

The thing about automatics is that if they are overheated, even once, they fluid turns brown, loses all lubricity, and the tranny lunches out. So if you had an overheat situation at one time, it might have caused the problem. Low fluid level can cause overheating.

Also, contrary to the Urban Legends on the 'net, automatic transmission fluid should be regulalry changed. The legend started, I suppose, because some schmuck changed the fluid on his 80,000+ mile tranny (for the first time) and then the tranny "blew" (it was going to go anyway) and he blamed the fluid change.

My mechanic at the local Ford dealer told me the 93-94 F150's had a very bad tranny situation, where the autoboxes failed at 30-60K miles on almost every truck. "They had them (old transmissions) lined out up the door" he said, and it took weeks to get replacements. Supposedly it was fixed in the 1995 model year. The culprit? Overheating, supposedly. Apparently the transmission oil cooler as orignially designed was not up to snuff. Ford fixed those, even though they were out of warrenty.

I don't know if a similar sitation exists with the 2000 models. How often do you change/check your fluid?

The BMW E36 has a similar problem. For many owners, the tranny's die at about 60-80K miles. What gives? It is a GM Hydramatic box, it should last forever. BMW took the dipstick off, so there is no way to tell the fluid level. The thing leaks at the selector shaft, and the fluid level goes low. Joe Blow drives it and notices it is "slipping" and keeps driving it with predictable results. Who the heck orders a BMW with an autobox, anyway?

Give it a shot. It never hurts to ask.