'98 4R70w auto tranny bit the dust - good mechanic in Central Florida?
#1
12-28-2006, 01:23 AM
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'98 4R70w auto tranny bit the dust - good mechanic in Central Florida?
Folks,
Got an auto tranny story for you, and could use an opinion or two:
A few months ago, got into my '98 F150 4.6 w/109k miles, 3.55 LS rear, started to slowly back it up - heard a crackling noise best described as if I was slowly driving over pieces of plastic (maybe CDs?) from up under the center of the truck. Stopped after backing up three feet, put it in drive and moved slowly forward.
Backed up again & out of my driveway. Still heard a bit of noise, nothing under the truck. Pulled foward a few feet, noticed that still had some scrunching noise, bit of vibration. Stopped, got out and crawled under the truck, looked around. Saw nothing. Drove off, some vibration for awhile, faded away. Strange. Checked fluids later, all was good & well. Sometimes there was a bit of vibration & sluggish performance after a cold start, sometimes not.
Noticed about two weeks later, I would hearing a faint weird, quick whine as my OD would shift back & forth out of OD. Couldn't feel it, but I'd hear it if the radio was off - never did that before. Then, as I almost came to a stop at a light and the light turned green, as I put my foot on the gas, the tranny hesitated, then slammed into gear so hard I could have sworn I was rearended. Time to go to the shop....
The shop, which will remain nameless (except it is reported to be a top notch automotive repair shop with expert mechanics, and the owner, a master mechanic, has had a weekend call in show on a local AM radio station for the past 15+ years), had a tech look at it for two hours - he couldn't find anything wrong with it. Had to take the tech out for a drive for five miles to get him to finally hear the whine when the OD would shift in & out. His recommendation? Service the tranny: drain the pan, replace the filter, top it back off w/AMSOIL (and they push AMSOIL reaaaal hard at this place) and drive it. I'm ok with that, I thought: I'd serviced the tranny in this manner around 60k, and topped it off with AMSOIL.
But, no, Captain Master Mechanic decided to take a look at the tranny, tells me that the tranny would need work, the noise was caused by a coupling spinning in the race, problem could be caused by fluid starvation since I had a factory tranny cooler, and they're notorious for clogging up.... anyone here ever hear of that "problem" before? I hadn't, and considering the easy life and good care this truck has had, I was pretty ticked that the tranny was going up. Anyway, no service to the tranny - recommended that the tranny be replaced with a Jaspar reman unit for $3600, and that's all they would do. Ka-ching for them, but not for me.
Drove the truck without problems for another two weeks, then as I tried to get out of a Best Buy parking lot, tranny started slipping, then slamming. Barely got the truck out on the open road, just barely managed to get the thing home & into the driveway in pouring rain.
And it's been sitting since then while I put together some coin for repairs. I start it up once a week -put it in reverse & tried to back it up, it moved about a foot and stopped cold, moved it back forward. Oh, and the tranny fluid? Normal red, and not the smallest hint of a scent of burnt fluid, or any debris.
So, to end this saga: I THINK I have a tranny problem, but after reading some of the other problems here, I'm not as sure about that as I was, so opinions & comments are welcome. And, while I'm at it, does anyone know of any reputable, honest auto tranny mechanics in the Orlando metro area? I've already been provided a good list of ripoff artists....
Got an auto tranny story for you, and could use an opinion or two:
A few months ago, got into my '98 F150 4.6 w/109k miles, 3.55 LS rear, started to slowly back it up - heard a crackling noise best described as if I was slowly driving over pieces of plastic (maybe CDs?) from up under the center of the truck. Stopped after backing up three feet, put it in drive and moved slowly forward.
Backed up again & out of my driveway. Still heard a bit of noise, nothing under the truck. Pulled foward a few feet, noticed that still had some scrunching noise, bit of vibration. Stopped, got out and crawled under the truck, looked around. Saw nothing. Drove off, some vibration for awhile, faded away. Strange. Checked fluids later, all was good & well. Sometimes there was a bit of vibration & sluggish performance after a cold start, sometimes not.
Noticed about two weeks later, I would hearing a faint weird, quick whine as my OD would shift back & forth out of OD. Couldn't feel it, but I'd hear it if the radio was off - never did that before. Then, as I almost came to a stop at a light and the light turned green, as I put my foot on the gas, the tranny hesitated, then slammed into gear so hard I could have sworn I was rearended. Time to go to the shop....
The shop, which will remain nameless (except it is reported to be a top notch automotive repair shop with expert mechanics, and the owner, a master mechanic, has had a weekend call in show on a local AM radio station for the past 15+ years), had a tech look at it for two hours - he couldn't find anything wrong with it. Had to take the tech out for a drive for five miles to get him to finally hear the whine when the OD would shift in & out. His recommendation? Service the tranny: drain the pan, replace the filter, top it back off w/AMSOIL (and they push AMSOIL reaaaal hard at this place) and drive it. I'm ok with that, I thought: I'd serviced the tranny in this manner around 60k, and topped it off with AMSOIL.
But, no, Captain Master Mechanic decided to take a look at the tranny, tells me that the tranny would need work, the noise was caused by a coupling spinning in the race, problem could be caused by fluid starvation since I had a factory tranny cooler, and they're notorious for clogging up.... anyone here ever hear of that "problem" before? I hadn't, and considering the easy life and good care this truck has had, I was pretty ticked that the tranny was going up. Anyway, no service to the tranny - recommended that the tranny be replaced with a Jaspar reman unit for $3600, and that's all they would do. Ka-ching for them, but not for me.
Drove the truck without problems for another two weeks, then as I tried to get out of a Best Buy parking lot, tranny started slipping, then slamming. Barely got the truck out on the open road, just barely managed to get the thing home & into the driveway in pouring rain.
And it's been sitting since then while I put together some coin for repairs. I start it up once a week -put it in reverse & tried to back it up, it moved about a foot and stopped cold, moved it back forward. Oh, and the tranny fluid? Normal red, and not the smallest hint of a scent of burnt fluid, or any debris.
So, to end this saga: I THINK I have a tranny problem, but after reading some of the other problems here, I'm not as sure about that as I was, so opinions & comments are welcome. And, while I'm at it, does anyone know of any reputable, honest auto tranny mechanics in the Orlando metro area? I've already been provided a good list of ripoff artists....
Last edited by jes2; 12-28-2006 at 01:34 AM.
#2
12-28-2006, 01:55 AM
Wow !! I could take guesses at it but it doesn't matter now. Jasper , you really can't go wrong there. The price you received was completely ridiculous. If you or a friend can install , a jasper trans is a little over 2 grand.
I spent allot of time looking for a trans in the last 4 months. The best deal I seen on your trans was on eBay - some guy had 4 or 5 bran new ones he was selling for $800 a piece. Those didn't last long...
I suggest searching eBay and buying direct - or buying direct from Jasper (you'll save on the markup
)
A trans swap isn't hard if you have tools and a good floor jack.
Good Luck
Keep an eye on eBay - they add stuff every day..
I spent allot of time looking for a trans in the last 4 months. The best deal I seen on your trans was on eBay - some guy had 4 or 5 bran new ones he was selling for $800 a piece. Those didn't last long...
I suggest searching eBay and buying direct - or buying direct from Jasper (you'll save on the markup
)A trans swap isn't hard if you have tools and a good floor jack.
Good Luck
Keep an eye on eBay - they add stuff every day..
#3
12-31-2006, 12:54 PM
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Central Florida
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4R70W Tranny probs
Jbrew,
Thanks for the advice on the 4R70W!
I've been fortunate that I've been able to work from home starting at the time my tranny went up... but that's coming to an end soon.
I have a three ton jack & jack stands.... tools.... even some service manuals, but I've never attempted anything like swapping out an auto tranny. Time & expertise may bring that idea to a screeching halt.
What fascinates me is that of everyone I can find that has had auto tranny work done in the Land of the Mouse, only one person had found a good mechanic that did it right, and also did it without sodomizing the customer (some people got crappy repairs AND a ridiculous bill). And that mechanic retired....
Just talked to a guy that used to work for AAMCO Transmissions (no, you couldn't put a gun to my head & make me take my truck there). He suggested that I disconnect the battery for half an hour so the computer would reset, connect the battery, and see what happens. Funny guy - what a sense of humor.
I think I should have become an auto tranny specialist - if I was even halfway decent as a mechanic and charged a fair price, I'd have enough work for the rest of my life. Today's transmissions are semi-plastic junk.
Got a big block '71 Monte w/Turbo400 in the garage..... hmmmm....
Thanks for the advice on the 4R70W!
I've been fortunate that I've been able to work from home starting at the time my tranny went up... but that's coming to an end soon.
I have a three ton jack & jack stands.... tools.... even some service manuals, but I've never attempted anything like swapping out an auto tranny. Time & expertise may bring that idea to a screeching halt.
What fascinates me is that of everyone I can find that has had auto tranny work done in the Land of the Mouse, only one person had found a good mechanic that did it right, and also did it without sodomizing the customer (some people got crappy repairs AND a ridiculous bill). And that mechanic retired....
Just talked to a guy that used to work for AAMCO Transmissions (no, you couldn't put a gun to my head & make me take my truck there). He suggested that I disconnect the battery for half an hour so the computer would reset, connect the battery, and see what happens. Funny guy - what a sense of humor.
I think I should have become an auto tranny specialist - if I was even halfway decent as a mechanic and charged a fair price, I'd have enough work for the rest of my life. Today's transmissions are semi-plastic junk.
Got a big block '71 Monte w/Turbo400 in the garage..... hmmmm....
