I have a 1998 Ford F150 4x4. I've had a transmission shudder in 3rd and overdrive since 60,000 miles. I've done everything I know to do-flush the trans and converter, change the filter and fluid, the whole nine yards. The shudder was still there. I was out of my warranty period, and the dealer "diagnosed" over the phone that the torque converter needed to be replaced. Since I couldn't afford to drop $1,000 at the time, I decided to live with it for as long as I could and just clicked the overdrive off when driving around town.
Now, I'm at 145,000 miles, and while it hasn't given me too much trouble driving around home and town, it's been getting much worse taking it for longer trips. Especially on roads with inclines. I know at this point that It probably isn't worth replacing just the torque converter with this amount of miles on it. I have a long road trip planned this summer and want to be done with this problem once and for all. I was thinking about just taking it to the dealer and have them drop a brand new trans and converter in. They gave me an estimate of $3200 on a factory rebuilt unit (apparently, you can't buy a brand-spanking new one anymore) with new torque converter and a 3 year/36,000 mile warranty. Does this sound like a bad idea? Should I go with an aftermarket rebuilt unit? Or should I just take my chances and replace the converter?
I've got to go with Fast on this one. A good rebuild shop will make that tranny better then new. Especially with a 4x4. If you do a lot of off roading I'd have them do the transfer case as well. It'll cost you alot less too.
I checked a few months ago, and a " factory rebuilt " from the Ford dealership was around $ 1,800 with the 3 yr - 36,000 warranty. An independant trans shop told me that was a good deal, a that they would install it for $ 400.00. It sounds like your dealer wants too much to install.
A rebuild should cost you like $1000, maybe less, I was quoted like $800.
where did you get your quote at?? either you got a heck of a deal or i got ripped off. it cost me $1500 to get the tranny rebuilt in my thunderbird
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it's all labor intensive... complete rebuild (steels, seals, clutches, etc) kit and a set of bearings costs about 270 dollars.. + mercon V and filter, so about 350 total, give or take, roughly for parts... took me longer to get the damn thing out of the truck than it did to actually disassemble, clean and reassemble the transmission...
where did you get your quote at?? either you got a heck of a deal or i got ripped off. it cost me $1500 to get the tranny rebuilt in my thunderbird
I didn't get mine rebuilt, I have a leaky output shaft, and I was calling around to see what the fix would be and how much. The cheapest route was to replace the output shaft for somthing around $150, or I could rebuild it for like $800 - $1000. And your Thunderchicken was probably more to rebuilt because of labor, I would imagine that it is much harder to get the transmission out of a Thunderbird than it is our trucks.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RockPick
Having fun as a kid is one thing... being an absolute toolbox is another. You're the latter of that comparison.
I just had my E4OD rebuilt locally after getting one of those ludicrous $4000 quotes from Ford, $1800 for a complete rebuild, 36/36K.
Personally I'm starting to wonder why my dad had Fords all his life, the two dealers I've done business with in the last year have convinced me a better idea would be to avoid Ford dealers altogether.
it's all labor intensive... complete rebuild (steels, seals, clutches, etc) kit and a set of bearings costs about 270 dollars.. + mercon V and filter, so about 350 total, give or take, roughly for parts... took me longer to get the damn thing out of the truck than it did to actually disassemble, clean and reassemble the transmission...
Since you're in S.E. Michigan, what's the chance I can bribe you to assist me with a manual trans rebuild if I need help?
I tried to e-mail and PM you, but you turned those options off.
I have a 1998 Ford F150 4x4. I've had a transmission shudder in 3rd and overdrive since 60,000 miles. I've done everything I know to do-flush the trans and converter, change the filter and fluid, the whole nine yards. The shudder was still there. I was out of my warranty period, and the dealer "diagnosed" over the phone that the torque converter needed to be replaced. Since I couldn't afford to drop $1,000 at the time, I decided to live with it for as long as I could and just clicked the overdrive off when driving around town.
Now, I'm at 145,000 miles, and while it hasn't given me too much trouble driving around home and town, it's been getting much worse taking it for longer trips. Especially on roads with inclines. I know at this point that It probably isn't worth replacing just the torque converter with this amount of miles on it. I have a long road trip planned this summer and want to be done with this problem once and for all. I was thinking about just taking it to the dealer and have them drop a brand new trans and converter in. They gave me an estimate of $3200 on a factory rebuilt unit (apparently, you can't buy a brand-spanking new one anymore) with new torque converter and a 3 year/36,000 mile warranty. Does this sound like a bad idea? Should I go with an aftermarket rebuilt unit? Or should I just take my chances and replace the converter?
Sounds like everyones getting a little extreme here , I have the same year truck and had the same proble you describe . I to swore it was the trans but it was not the trans at all , It's the rear end , you have to change the fluid to , I think its 75w 140w something like that , you can look it up .. Most important thing that makes your troubles disappear in about 70 miles or so , double up on the friction modifier .. It takes a few miles to be totally shutter free , but it has worked on two occasions for me.. Hope that helps.
Jbrew, 98 f 150 4x4, 3 dr. Super Cab, 5.4 @ 185k . Stock trans and diffs . Strongest , most reliable truck I ever owned.
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it cost me $1500 to get the tranny rebuilt in my thunderbird
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