What a joke. My transmission went out the other day with hardly much warning. My regular mechanic wants to refer me to a tranny shop. Said it was definetly the tranny and that it looked pretty bad. This makes me nervous. I need a master rebuilder to do this job and do it right so that I'm not in this boat in another year or so. Needless to say, anyone know a good, honest, quality tranny shop in the Dallas/Carrollton, Tx area and what (ballpark) this will cost? I've always taken care of this truck with maintenance and such. Don't ever tow anything. Have used it for work (painting) and that's it. No heavy hauling. The trucks an '04 for crying out loud. What gives? Thanks

2004 F150 STX Heritage
4.2 L V6 52,356Miles
3.55 LS Rear end (I think)

 

Did you service your tranny every 15k?

 

You mean 30K miles.

 

Nope 15k. Whenever you use your truck as work truck, Ford suggests that you service your transmission every 15k miles.

 

That's the problem, Ford serviced it the past 2 times at around 20,000 or so and I swear that's where i believe the problem started. BTW sweet pic Stealth!

 

Thanks, sorry your truck is bugging out.

 

Yeah me to. Looks like I'm going to have to fork it out. it's just frustrating. The engine has also been giving me problems with lean codes, bad idle, vacumm leaks from the intake (somewhere) and what looks to be shot Coil pack as well. Some kind of irregular sounding tick from the engine while it's running. Look like oil is coming up through the PCV line. Shouldn't be doing this so early in the life of the truck. I'm a stickler for taking care of my truck. Thinking about hanging it up and going for a Dodge!

 

Well, you have to do what you have to do. My best friend traded his 04 heritage STX v6 for a Chevy! He is a cable guy, so his truck is a work truck as well. He was having some problems too. None like you describe though.

 

Same goes for your oil change, since you operate you truck under special Operating Conditions you should have changed your oil every 3,000 miles, 3 months, or 200 hours of engine operation, whichever occurs first. I doubt that your problem is lack of maintenance, you just got a bad apple. Sorry to hear about your truck troubles.

 

yeah, oil changes at every 3K and regular maintenance stuff. i'm thinking that when the new transition came in '04 they threw together the heritage to make room for the total re-design and production. I've had 3 Ford Trucks and it seems like they just aren't making them like they use to. Their warranty is crap. they don't back their product and the service guys and facilities (well, need i say more).

 

sorry to hear that man

 

Its not really thrown together, they just kept producing the 03 model while they make the change over.

 

Hey guys, this is a 4R70w inthis truck right?

 

It should be.

By the way, what makes you think that the Dodge will be problem free? I'm not trying to be a smartass. I'm just wondering what is leaning you in favor of the Dodge. Unlike other Ford truck enthusiast on this site, I do not have a pre-judged loyalty to Ford nor am I what they call a "Ford Man". If someone can convince me, with verified evidence, that there is a better vehicle with a better value, then I am sold. But didn't Dodge just have a transmission issue and recall? I have never owned a Dodge. I have owned Ford & Chevrolet. My last Chevrolet, an S-10 Tahoe, was terrible. I went through 3 transmissions, all replaced free under warranty, in 36 months. I decided to cut my losses short after that. I gave up the Chevrolet, but couldn't get rid of the bad taste in my mouth. I pity the fool who bought it from me. The transmission was brand new, and it ran great. He even paid a premium price. But I wonder how long he owned it before it broke down on him

 

If it is that's the problem. The 4R70W is junk if you ask me.
Plan on spending anywhere from $1200 to $2500 depending if you go with some heavy duty parts or not.

Phil