Thank you for reading this post. I am new to this site due to issues with my 2001 F250 Super Duty that has only 70k miles. It appears that I have the dreaded defective mechanical diode. Transmission was torn apart today and I was shown the part. My question is, is there any recourse from Ford? It's obvious from the TSB that they knew they had a problem pretty quickly. Why hasn't this been recalled?

 

Recalls only happen for safety or emissions problems. This was neither.

The transmission had a 3 year/36,000 mile warranty. You're well past that. If you ask Ford really nicely sometimes they will discount the repair quite a bit.

 

I really do feel it was a safety issue. I was towing horses when the first signs of failure started last week. Today they showed me how bad the damage was and how the gears were also damaged it could have really been dangerous. What if I would have locked up with my horse trailer on the highway? Definitely a safety issue and Ford knew it. I've tried asking nicely but that hasn't helped. I will be reporting this to as many consumer sites as possible. We also had the spark plugs blowing just last month. Another known issue with this truck and year. $5k in 2 months. I appreciate your information. Thanks!

 

Welcome to FTE.

If you have a gas engine, you don't have a diode in the trans. Only the diesel truck have this. Who is doing the work on your trans?

 

I am no mechanic but I dont believe that when the diode goes kaput then the gears get mangled. Mine sure didnt do that when it went out

 

Sorry I'm not a mechanic and really don't know much about cars. I did actually see the parts. The mechanical diode was damaged and there were two teeth that broke off. I may have misunderstood how the gears were messed up but when I asked the guy working on it he said it was from the failure of the diode.

 

I do have a gas truck and it does have the mechanical diode aka one way clutch? Sorry if I don't have the terms correct but it does have the part. I actually took pictures yesterday.

 

If you don't mind, post the pic. Yours will be the first gas truck on here to have the diode.

 

 

That photo is of a mechanical diode. Many gas engine transmissions were built with the mechanical diode. When I was at Ford Automatic Transmission Engineering we were told that all gas engine trucks had the transmissions replaced with non-mechanical diode transmissions before leaving the factory. This is evidence that at least one was missed. I can see how that could happen.

 

Glad to know I'm not going crazy. My questions is, is there any recourse? How can I request reimbursement for this since it was clearly the cause of my transmission failure and Ford was aware of the defect?

 

I wonder if Ford would help you with the cost, because they let your trans go knowing that it shouldn't have?

Might be worth checking into. Was this a Ford dealer doing the work?

 

You would think they would take care of it. Basically from what I understand is that they only took care of it with people that were under the warranty 3 years/ 36000 miles if they came in with the issue. They should have recalled it. Definitely could be dangerous. It is a Ford dealer doing the work.

 

When my brother's '91 Merc. Sable blew its tranny at 71K (what a surprise!) he wrote Ford a polite letter and said that he expected transmissions to last 100K miles. He asked that they pay 29/100 (the remaining life of the tranny by his model) of the repair cost ($1600 or so) and oddly, they sent him a check. You might consider negotiating nicely with the dealer to see if they won't throw you a bone.

 

The gas trucks have the diode. Mine had one. (ABOVE)

There is my diode at the bottom. These engines did come with the diodes in the transmission. My uncle has replaced several at his shop. He replaced mine and told me how it can lead to screwing up other parts in the transmission (pictured). I know nothing about transmissions so I know nothing further than many of these trucks have the diode.

He said Ford could not do anything about it. It cost me about $800 in parts to fix it. Along with a hefty tip for my uncle.

I have posted before this post, and I know I'm not the only one. I read it was a gas only thing but everyone on here says otherwise.