Like the title says I have a 2000 F250 V10 4x4 crew cab long bed. I Bought it in 03 with about 100k miles on it. It's not a daily driver, but it doesn't sit for long periods of time either. It does not go off road and I don't tow with it. It's just a toy I got at a really good deal. I actually know very little about auto mechanics. First thing I did when I got it was lift it and put 37" tires on it. Over the course of several years I went up to 39s and eventually 44s. The truck seemed kind of sluggish with the 44s and a buddy of mine suggested I put gears in it. So the truck has 5.13(i believe) gears. Truck ran like a top. Last May I needed to get some new tires. I found a set of Michelin XXL 46s, that, even having to buy wheels, were much cheaper than any set of tires I could find around that size.

Anyway I put these tires and wheels on there. Truck started to seem sluggish again. Take off was fine but once you got up to speed, and I apologize for not being able to explain this any better, but it's almost like it started slipping going into over drive. Especially on any sort of incline. I replaced the little plug on the rear end, some kind of sensor, and this went away. For a while. Then it did it intermittently. One day I pulled a buddy out of a ditch. 3 days later I went out to the truck one morning and had no forward gears. At this point the truck had 207k miles on it. Had it towed to a Tranny shop. Guy suggested I get a reman from Jasper. Not knowing any better I did. Got the truck back a few days later, everything seemed fine. Then the slipping feeling started again. I took it back to the shop. They ran all kind of diagnostics and said it was fine. So I babied it for a month or two. Again it doesn't get driven very often. One day on the way home it just stopped. Like the truck was put in neutral. No reverse, no forward gears. The RPMs do change when you go through the gears, but it will not move. Linkage is fine. It also will not crank in Park, only neutral. I'm going to have it towed and go through the warranty process with Jasper, which from what I've read is a nightmare. Now, to my question....

Are these tires just too much for a basically stock truck. The only thing I've ever done is put gears in it, and lift it, save for general maintenance and it has ran like an absolute top without any issues. Now with these tires I've burnt up 2 trannys, and it never leaves the pavement. I'd appreciate any suggestions or opinions, as I don't want to keep dumping money into this thing. Sorry in advance for the length. Cheers.

 

Will park keep it from rolling, or will it roll in parK? And I mean more than rock back and forth, can you move the truck when it is in park?

 

Huge tires are very hard on trucks, especially transmissions and transfer cases. Do you have the manual 4x4 selector on the floor? Have you ever serviced the T-case? I have a feeling the Transfer case had enough of big tires and lifts.

 

I seriously doubt you have burnt up 2 transmissions, matter of fact I bet you have completely wasted your money having it replaced in the first place. These transmissions are 100% computer controlled so you need to do yourself a favor and get a code reader to see what the computer thinks is wrong. And because of the way the PCM is programmed any sensor issues anywhere on the vehicle and in particular anything to do with throttle position, vehicle speed, and the gear selector lever are critical to correct transmission operation. To that end accurate vehicle speed is very important to transmission operation so you need to recalibrate the speedo for those stupidly oversized tires. From I can gather the dealer can do this with a scan tool that changes the revs/mile in the RABS module and there are some consumer based scan tools that you can buy to do it yourself.

 

I disagree with this. If it had no gears at all there was a mechanical failure inside the transmission. There is nothing in the computer controls that could cause no gears at all.

 

The truck definitely does not move in Park.

The tcase has never been serviced while I've owned it. The 4x4 selector is a **** on the dash. When switching it to lo or hi and back I can hear the tcase clicking like it's engaging and disengaging.

The first tranny I had reverse and it would limp in 1st. It was also a reman from Ford sometime during the 1st 100k miles. This time it has nothing at all.

Speedo has always been off. More so now than ever. About 14mph at 55. I had no idea this had such a negative impact. I'll surely get this calibrated once I get the truck to move. I'm going to hook a scanner up to it tomorrow before I have it towed next week.

I guess what really chaps me about it is the guy who suggested I go with Jasper talked about all these upgraded parts they include and their bulletproof warranty. I don't even have 5k miles on this thing and it was over $3k. Even if it does boil down to a mere defect, because of the truck the way it is, I have a feeling they are going to try to pin it on me.

Thanks for the responses guys.

 

sounds like you need to take the truck to a good mechanic not a transmission place. AAMCO comes to mine "all automatics must come out". any problem with a transmission and "bam" they wana replace or rebuild them. I work on german cars for a living and can tell you first hand that its not always the transmission. but...... in your case the facts add up, huge tires, huge gears and questionable driving (honestly you dont get on this thing) add up to broken parts. the TCM transmission control module also takes into account speed along with other things to determine line pressure and such. I am willing to bet that you messed up the trans in both occasions or the T-case also because the readings back to the TCM, Engine computer, ect are way way off. add that to the physical strain those tires place on things and you get the idea.

Does the truck move in 4x4 at all. is it possible you damaged the rear end and it does not turn anymore (check if drive shaft is moving when trying to move it), Also damaged t-case could cause a lack of movement in a car when placed in drive.

Take truck to ford, explain the mods you have done. And tell them you wana know what failed. That "i only drive 55 mph, on flat level pavement down hill both ways" song and dance doesnt go very far with mechanics we all know what happens to cars. its your best chance to get a straight answer.

 

Thanks for the reply. I'm going to see where I get with the warranty process. One way or the other, I need to know, once repaired, regardless of the issue, what exactly do I need to do to ensure everything is calibrated and tuned properly. Obviously recalibrating the speedo is one of the first things I'll do. I'll probably replace the vss again just to be on the safe side. I believe it's only about $12. What else do I need to calibrate, tune or upgrade to ensure the Tranny is getting all the right signals and readings to function properly? Will they tell me all of this at a good garage?

Thanks again.

Edit: The drive shaft doesn't move at all in any gear.

 

That trans is done. Stick a fork in it.

 

Cheapest way I can think of would be a tuner to be able to recalibrate everything. It will allow you to set revs per mile of tire and gears. And get very mild gains in hp to help turn the tires.

Also vss is probably fine if you just replaced it. Just changing the computers comprehension of gear speed and tire size will allow the trans to shift at the proper spots.

I would also suggest a built trans from Brian's truck stop if the warranty doesn't pan out with jasper. Or a shift Kit on the current one when rebuilt.

Sent from my Galaxy using IB AutoGroup

 

I would be amazed if Jasper would warranty a trans on a setup like that. I would also look into the T-case and I would change the fluid. The T-case is under almost as much stress as the transmission. I also would go with an OEM motorcraft VSS or put the original one back in, aftermarket electronics aren't the best. I also recommend a transmission built to handle your setup. BTS comes to mind and can build one to your needs.

 

While I see what Tom's getting at, I don't think Jasper can do anything but honor their warranty in this situation. Sure the huge tires are hard on everything, but with your 5.13 gears the transmission honestly shouldn't know much of a difference. Your 5.13 gears are 38% taller than stock 3.73s, and your tires are 39% taller. That's NOT much of a difference, so why would the transmission care?

That being said a truck in that configuration can't be anything BUT a money pit. Between how hard it is on balljoints, steering components, bearings, brakes, and everything else you have quite an expensive truck to operate.

 

Since the OP stated above that the Speedometer was never re-calibrated for the gears and tires, There might be a question but since there probably not going to physically inspect the truck, the warranty is probably still honored.

 

Thanks again for the input. Re-reading the post I think they gears are 5.38 actually. Also the vss I put in it was Motorcraft. Had I known about BTS initially I would have came off the extra cash from the get go. If things with Jasper don't pan out I won't be able to drop another 3-4k in it for a while. The weight of these tires bothered me when I first got them. I think they are 260lbs a piece without the wheel.

In any case I'll be sure to stop in and tell you guys what happens. Cheers.

 

Is having a Jasper transmission bad?

A previous owner had a Jasper transmission put in my truck at 140,000 miles. The previous owner that I bought the truck from had big tires on it- 36 or 37, can't remember which. Anyway, it had wierd shifting issues. I immediately went down to a more reasonable tire size for my use, and did the typical transmission maintenance. Everything's been fine since.

It has a touch over 112,500 on the Jasper transmission with no issues, despite the previous owner torturing it...