Hi All,been awhile since I've been here,no problems until my 17yr old took his truck river riding,well the road to the river anyway,once he decided it was to deep, it was to late,he tried to turn around,and slipped off the road,the driver side front was just above the top of rim,passenger side was a little deeper,water did not get to the computer,but did get to wiring harness just below the computer,here is the problem trans shifts fine from 1st to 2nd,but will not shift past 2nd,do you think the problem is with the trans or the computer from water getting to the harness? 98 f 250 5.4 4x4.

Thanks for any help in advance,
Jerry

 

I am wondering if water got in the transmission.

Transmission fluid is lighter than water. I don't know how you could tell if water is in the transmission fluid unless you siphoned some out after driving the truck and see if it seperates into water and transmission fluid.

Im not sure if the F150 has vents on the tranmission though.

http://trucks.about.com/cs/4x4offroa...ad_driving.htm

 

Flush the tranny, and the axles need to have the fluid changed NOW.

Adrianspeeder

 

thanks guys i'm going to pull the drain plug on the trans,and see what the fluid looks like,and check the fluid in the axles.

thanks

 

ok drained the trans fluid refilled and drained again,put some in clear container,but did not see any seperation,but the fluid is cloudy (pinkish) what would be the best way to flush the trans,have not made it to the axles yet,but what will be way to do them,just drain and refill? or what??

thanks

 

Another question, Jerry. Was the truck sitting in the water or was it just driven through the water without the engine ever dying and the truck continuing thru the water?

Well Jerry, I got a Rambler going again after it had water over its roof. It took me 3 days to get water out of the cylinders and replacing wiring and oil and such.

About all you can do is get as much out of the axles and oil and transmission and hope electric wiring will hold up.

I suggest re-packing the wheel bearings and lubricating all the grease zerks with a grease gun. In severe cases the brake fluid can have water in it and you will probably notice the brakes start fading if water got in the brake lines.

As I remember the axles can hold some of the gear oil themselves so I would jack up each side, one at a time just to make sure nothing is left in them. Hopefully the water that is left will evaporate out over time though the axle vent.

Same with the oil. Get as much out as you can and hope the engine will evaporate the rest out when it gets hot.

You should have a plug on your torque converter that you can drain more transmission fluid out of.

You have a 4x4 so you should probably change the fluid in the transfer case.

Im don't know much about the front differential but I suppose it needs drained and refilled also.

Once you have changed all these fluids, I would take it for a short drive and then change the transmission fluid one more time. Pinkish transmission fluid ican be a sign that it has water in it but I would think it would seperator over time. Some new transmission fluids are naturally pinkish.

I take no responsibility for any of these suggestions as I do not have lots of experience with this stuff and I am only telling you what I would do if it were my truck.

Lots of water damaged vehicles are eligible to be written off as a total loss and then you have to get a salvage title.

 

Thanks Temp, for the reply and good tips,my son said the truck was in the water for about an hour before a friend pulled it out,engine did not die,and oil looks good (no water),brakes are good (no water) although he did leave the cap loose last time he worked on it and it was really low on fluid.Can you get to the plug on the torque converter from the rubber plug in the bottom of the bell housing? I'm thinkink the transfer case is ok, since the vent hose runs up to the firewall,but may change fluid anyway.Full coverage insurance????? HUMMMMM,i'll have to ask his mom if she got that with my child support payment,I'm thinking NOT!!!!!!!!!.Truck was on me insurance was on her

Thanks,
Jerry

 

To change the fluid in the TC you need to remove that rubber plug, then turn the crank until you see the bolt come around. Remove that bolt and wait for the fluid to drain...this can take a while, it comes out pretty slow and theres a good bit of fluid in there.

 

Sorry if i came across a little cranky, Jerry but I know the frustration of going through this. It also reminded me of that old rambler I fixed that my sister almost drove off a cliff into a lake. The only thing that saved her and the gal that was riding with her was the utility pole she ran into. It may be really important to get the water out of the transmission fluid though. I saw a service memo for transmsissions one time that said .2 percent water was too much. Good luck Jerry.

 

Ok ,thanks guys i'll drain the tc this afternoon.

 

The external connectors on the truck are weather resistant. Under normal conditions they should not allow water intrusion. Just to be sure check all the connectors between the tranny and the PCM. Pay close attention to the connector at the DTR senson on the tranny. Check the oil level in the tranny to see if it is higher than normal. This is only usefull as an indicator if the level proves to be abnormally high which would indicate water displacing the oil and raising the level. There is a breather hose on the tranny. There is also one on the T-case. Check to see where they are routed and look for signs of them being wet. As a precaution extend them to at least the hood line along with both differential breather lines. If the connectors check out call a trusted tranny shop and have them check it out. Tell them what was done, it will save them scratching their head trying to figure out why it won't shift properly, and get an estimate for the repair. No amount of tranny flushing or oil changes will repair water damage. It will cost you the price of all the waisted oil trying to fix the water problem.

JMC

 

thanks JMC for the reply, could you help me a little more,what is the dtr and where would I find it,will I be looking for a loose connection,or something else?

Thanks again,
Jerry

 

I have the exact same problem. It happened two days ago after running through some mud puddles at the ORV park. Truck takes off and shifts to 2nd just fine but that is all, no 3rd or OD. Trans fluid is clean and full. I checked the wiring harness connection on the transmission-no broken wires or moisture in it. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I have a 98 F150 with a 5.4 and E4OD. Thanks!

 

The DTR sensor is on the driverside of the transmission just above the pan. It has the shift cable going to it. All the shift cable does on these trucks is move the sensor and engage the parking pawl. The sensor determines what gear to command by sensing the position of the cable and the PCM activates solenoids in the tranny.

JMC

 

Hey black,If you find out anything please let me know,if I find out anything I will post it here.
Thanks