If your brother-in-law is the GM, what's the friggin problem and why are you getting a rebuilt?

John

 

JR,

I don't think I'm getting a rebuilt, I assume the're just going to fix the problem area or part and reassemble the unit. I guess it's up to them whether they do a complete overhaul or just repair what's damaged. I really just don't know where my bounds are with this issue and what I can say without becoming marked.

The dealer is making the decisions, not me and they will have to live with what happens as a result. I don't want to take advantage of the fact my Brother-In-Law is the GM, that's just not proper protocol in my opinion. Besides, he's the General Sales Manager, not the General Manager of the dealership. I don't think he can just go barging into the Service Manager's office and start making demands that his family's vehicles should get different or special treatment vs some other customer.

I'm not happy with what's happened to my transmission, that's for sure. The dealership is running the show, not me 'cause I don't think I'd get very far. I guess I could try to raise holy hell but it'd be so obvious to all the employees and service techs what was happening and that's not what I want. I guess I can complain all I want on this site and what I should get but the fact of the matter is they're only giving me what they feel is necessary to satisfy the warranty agreement. After all, they protect the manufacturer more than they protect me, at least that's the assumption that I'm going on.

BTW, I'm going to my dealer today to see if I can poke around and actually see the damaged parts. If I get lucky I might be able to get a snap shot or two of the unit opened up and maybe a shot of the broken parts. That would make me feel a little bit better and I can reassess my decision of what I'm going to do or say.

If this transmission repair goes sour, then I will be back giving the dealership a piece or my mind. For now, I'm trying hard to give the dealership the benefit of the doubt and let them do their jobs.

~DM~

 

As I've told you Dave. I had some success with Ford Customer Service on a tranny in a former vehicle that I owned.

I was sincere. Told them how I felt without blowing a gasket while talking to them on the phone and lo-and-behold, I got a new tranny.

I certainly think it would be worth your time to contact them and discuss the matter rather than just dealing with the dealership. It can't hurt anything...


RP

 

Good point. I was actually going to suggest to Dave to call corporate HQ. It's the only way I ever got any satisfaction with my local dealer. Although, they will tell you to settle the matter with the dealership first. If Dave has tried that route, then by all means give them a buzz and explain your frustrations.

Dave - Whatever you do, keep us posted so that the rest of us will be better armed for battle if we run into a similar situation.

Jim

 

Update from dealer visit today, photos taken and discussions made.

Here's the first picture I took of my truck on the rack:


Here's the tranny torn down:


Here's a shot of the part that is defective:


Here's all the shots in succession:
https://www.f150online.com/galleries...-452-33297.jpg
https://www.f150online.com/galleries...-452-33298.jpg
https://www.f150online.com/galleries...-452-33299.jpg
https://www.f150online.com/galleries...-452-33300.jpg
https://www.f150online.com/galleries...-452-33301.jpg
https://www.f150online.com/galleries...-452-33303.jpg
https://www.f150online.com/galleries...-452-33304.jpg
https://www.f150online.com/galleries...-452-33305.jpg

I spoke with several high ranking staff members at my dealer and Monday may prove to be a better day that I was thinking. When the service manager returns, I'm giving him a call and we'll have a man to man discussion about what I've seen and now know.

The only bad part I could see is depicted in the third photo at the begining of this reply and it's the weld on the driving shell where the sun gear attaches to the shell. I could grab the bevel sun gear and spin it with ease and it was smooth as glass. Actually this gear is welded to the shell so all that has really happened is the weld has let go. The weld on the sun gear looks excellent, however, the weld to the driving shell looks cold and almost no penetration to speak of. At least I now know the whole story about what happened and ironically is what I thought of as soon as I heard the clunk and lost second gear.

I'll keep everyone informed of what happens from this point.

Later,

~DM~

 

No I don't know much about transmission or welding, but wouldn't bolts be better than welding for gears that have a lot of torque/strain on them?

Or at least a notch/interlocking sort of thing so that the weld dosen't just break?

Again please excuse the question if it seems stupid but I know you dont weld tow hooks on, you bolt them on and so on...

Oh yea and its intresting how much the rear end hangs down up on the lift, I don't remember my old truck doing that on the lift, but it was a 2x4.

 

DAVEMAN,
Sorry to hear about your truck. I know just how you feel. I lost my reverse at about 1700 miles. 2001 Screw, 2 x 4, 5.4 Liter, build date 8/2000. I believe it was the same problem you have - a bad friction weld on the sun gear. I never got to see the bad weld because they sent it back to the factory for inspection, but one of the service reps described the problem while showing me the same gear from a nearby transmission. I asked for a new transmission but the service rep reminded me that the repaired transmission would still be covered under the warranty. There was still LOTS of warranty left so I agreed if they would do a complete flush of the torque converter and they agreed. I am now at 22,500 miles on the rebuilt unit and there are no problems at all.

I couldn't really yell at the dealer or Ford for a bad friction weld but it was very noticeable that NO ONE at the dealer ever said a single word to the effect of "Sorry about the trouble, Sir". THAT did make me mad. One suprising comment was made late in the day when I arrived to pick up the truck after repairs were made. Things were closing up at the shop and a late working mechanic had to find the keys. I described the problem to him as we went looking for the truck and he muttered something to the effect of "Boy, of all the problems we do have with the trucks, the transmission is not one of them". He really seemed suprised and I took that as a good sign.

I would suggest letting them rebuild it, but see if you can get another 36K warranty for the transmission or maybe get them to throw in a free tranny fluid flush to be used in a year or so. Good Luck.

 

Infernal,

Thanks and glad to hear you made out okay, that makes me feel better already just knowing someone who's had the same issue and got it resolved. I'll consider your advice when I return to the dealer sometime this next week.

Thanks again and talk later,

~DM~

 

DAVEMAN,

My heart goes out to you... I don't know how you did it without crying, seeing your baby up there with her inards laid out on the table like that. You're a bigger man than I sir.

I didn't have quite the same problem you did but have a similar experience and can only say one thing. You are doing the right thing by getting informed and holding your tongue as you have until you have all the facts. I had a what I would call a relatively good experience and can only hope you have the same.

I had less than 3K miles on mine when it finally started to slip. It seemed to go overnight. I had a friends boat and we had towed it to a remote lake for a weekend of waterskiing without a problem. We put the boat in without a problem, but when I went to pull it out, we about had the boat and my baby in the lake for good. Backed in with the trailer, loaded the boat, took my foot off the brake to pull forward, applied pressure to the gass and all that happened was the engine revs increased and the truck started to roll backwards. Hit the break quick and check to see if I was an idiot and didn't get it in drive. Nope, no rectal cranial inversion this time. Put in park, back into drive and tried it again. Similar behavior but thist time the tranny all the sudden caught after a second or so and we pulled the boat out. Got back to the cabin but had problems everytime we had to stop. Unhitched the boat spent the rest the night looking around/under her to try and figure out what was wrong. Found the transmission fluid wouldn't even read on the dip stick. We got a local service shop to open up long enough to sell me the ford approved tranny fluid at $23 a quart (took 3+ quarts to fill it back up). We left the boat behind the service station and limped home on Sunday. By the time I had gotten home it was slipping again.

Well, to make a long story short (can that be done at this point? , it turned out I had a seal between the tranny and transfer case that had been installed incorrectly at the factory. Transmission fluid was flowing into the transfer case. My dealer did pay for the 65 mile tow from my house to his dealership (Ford only will pay for 30) and let me drive a extended cab F150 while mine was being fixed. (Used that to get my buddies boat back one night).

I found out I wasn't getting a new tranny either, they were just going to repair mine. I about blew a gasket myself, but figured I ought to get informed before trying to tell him his business. I got the details on what the repairs involved and talked to others in the transmission buisness (I know that the transmission connects the wheels to the engine and that's about it). Other transmission guys indicated that the problem I had wasn't catastrophic and as long as the flushed the system real well after the repairs I should be good to go. After several long talks the service rep, the guy who fixed it, the service manager and the GM of the dealership about to what extent they went to make it "like new" I finally drove my baby home with a written agreement that my tranny would be covered for an extra 3K miles beyond my original warranty. I was still pretty skeptical but it's now 30K miles later and the tranny has been working like a champ (no thunk knock on wood!).

Give them some credit but hold your ground. If you think you aren't getting quality service, kick some butt but do it in a firm even manner. People tend to get the bit in their teeth if they feel they are being assaulted.

I'd say I would go back to my dealership in a heartbeat but it has since gone under new management and most of the service and sales guys have gone to other dealerships since.

My $1 worth..

Cheleri

 

DAVEMAN,

I feel for you as well. The question of why they put the smaller transmission in our trucks is one I would really like to have Fords explanation of.

If it makes you feel any better, several years back I had a new GMC 2500 Diesel that after it dropped the automatic transmission the 3rd time the answer from the factory was to install manual transmission.....which they did.

Good luck!

 

Cheleri and xole,

Thanks for all the consideration and time spent commenting. I really appreciate all your help and I have yet had a chance to make it down to the dealer to talk with the service manager or to get an update.

I was swampped at work today and I called twice to speak with the service manager and both times he was out. I had left a message already that he had not yet answered so I didn't leave another.

I think everything will work out just fine, at least that's what I keep telling myself.

BTW xole, for some reason when I see your screen name I keep wanting to say XOl'Lady...long story, very long story...fifteen years long.

Later,

~DM~

 

my 01 sc 4x4 lost the 2nd 3rd solenoids and harness in the tranny with 41,000 miles no warraty ,even after taking the truck back twice for a 2nd gear shutter since new ,took back at 9000 and 17000 miles no fix found,after solenoids were replaced it shuttered even more, all this after ,front end ball joint @27000,power window motor 13000 brakes turned and new pads 27000,lost ecu and o2 sensor,truck was taken care like a baby it was an awesome looking truck,but enough is enough,traded it for an 02 f 250 w/v10,will see how that goes??????/3000 miles so far so good

 

polaris,

Dude, I thought I had it bad, man you had the cake and the icing. Jeez, I feel lucky after hearing all the crap you been through. Pretty loyal of you to stay with Ford. Wonder if Ford really reads this crap, hope so?

~DM~

 

Update,

Good news, I got my truck back and the transmission seems to be running okay. The dealer only changed out the part that was damaged, not much more than that. They claim they flushed the system out but they cut my cooling lines and added a freaking filter. The transmission feels the same as it did before the driving shell weld let go. It still shifts like it's in a damn powder puff league. Anyway, I'm glad I got it back, damn Escape was not my cup of tea, at all.

Coming home, the check engine light is on now and it won't go out, hmmm now WTF is wrong?

Seems that once something has been ****ed with, rarely does it work properly from that point on unless it's been repaired by highly skilled technicians, which are rare finds.

Help me if you can?

~DM~

 

daveman,

glad to hear that most everything is working okay. have to wonder if the check engine light is related to something that just needs to be reset?? was the light on when you left the dealership? is your gas cap missing -

anyhoo, my main qestion, what about the thunk, is it gone?

troy