The comment above would be my advice as well. Although, you have received some other great points of advice and areas to check in order to resolve the hard shifts or identify why they are happening.

Installing the 6.0 cooler prior to the trip is a good idea too.

I recently replaced my U-joints on the drive shaft and although it is not a difficult job, I was missing a piece of the double cardan joint on the single piece drive shaft. Point being, double check your supplies before going ahead with a task. Especially one that will turn the truck into an 8,000 lbs paperweight while it is down for maintenance.

Lastly, if you have lost faith or don't trust the transmission, there is something to be said about that.

Travel safe and enjoy the journey as we live in a beautiful country.

 

Devil's advocate here.

Your original transmission MAY make it just fine and give you years of service afterward. A "new" transmission MAY also make it just fine and give you good service for years too. A lot of rebuilt/reman transmissions also die a painful crib death too. They are, after all, put together with human hands and with oftentimes aftermarket Chinesium hard parts.

If you do decide to get a new transmission installed, do it sooner than later because you'll want to put as many miles on it that you can before you leave on your journey. Typically, a transmission that lives a thousand miles after replacement will be fine. I would hate to see you put in a new one, drive it around the block, and then set off and have it fail in the middle of Idaho.

 

Sounds like your driveline needs attention worse than the transmission. I think Dorman offers complete replacement assemblies if the Ford dealer doesn't any longer. That way you could have that installed and then keep the old one to rebuild later.

 

An option i just ran across seems reasonable but have not researched to any extent:

Street Smart Transmission Quote - Vehicle: 2002 Ford F-250 Super Duty 7.3L VIN:#- Trans Type: 4R100 -- Wholesale Cost Shipped: 1875 - Remanufactured with 3 year, unlimited mile warranty. Call 813-235-0800 to order or use the below link - Secure Order Link: https://drivetraintech.wufoo.com/for...NW21F72EC21555

 

Lot's of good advice here so no need to echo it. I will put my .02 in, and that is worth what weight you give to some anonymous guy on the internet. If money were no object, the BTS hands down. Brian builds the best and has for a looooong time. I have wanted one of them for as long as I have been coming around here. I had my original stock transmission rebuilt fully once then had it gone through again, by a "reputable local shop" that couldn't get it right. I didn't have the money and time to do the BTS and so the third time, I went with the HD4R100 from Ford and had a shop install it and Schaeffers tranny fluid. It came with a 36 month, unlimited mileage, no commercial exemption warranty. My truck was my DD for a long time. I plowed, hauled horses, cars and my 9K+ pound travel trailer with it. That transmission has stood up to all of that before I got a divorce and the horses and TT went away. My truck doesn't get 5K miles a year put on it now, and I am in the middle of an engine swap that has been "one thing after another" but I added the Mishimoto cooler in the middle of the engine swap. That HD4R100 has been a tough cookie and well worth the money when I got it. That was about 8 years ago and it was $3600 back then if I recall correctly.

 

Yes great point Cody and actually something I meant to include in my response but forgot. Your version/explanation is much better than mine anyhow!

Another point I intended to make but forgot is about the cooler.
Absolutely the 6.0 cooler is awesome. A great mod. But I wouldn’t want to install just before a transmission issue. They don’t clean well so I wouldn’t want to reuse if the trans went out. Just a thought to consider.

 

Heres a video I took of my transmission shifting. Im new to the 7.3 game and this is the only one ive driven so I want to make sure everything checks out here before drive across country with a 7x14 trailer. BTW 99 7.3l bone stock, stock wheel size, no lift, no tune.

 

The biggest issue I see is you’re moving across the country. All the local shops doing the trans now…the warranty is worthless. Same if it’s any out of state that builds ships and if you have a issue you must send it back. The Jasper trans is your best bet from aftermarket. But $5200 just seems high. Is it a a heavy duty version or the same stock factory rebuild no upgrades? That or a factory Ford transmission maybe a 4R100HD that will come with a nationwide warranty also. Personally I would do that over a Jasper rebuild.

what problems are you having right now that makes you feel the trans won’t last. A 6x12 trailer isn’t exactly huge even loaded down. Have yiu maintained the transmission services?
i have two 7.3s. One is a 99 auto and the trans is original has 180,000 miles. Runs fine. But I change the filters and and fluids every 30,000 because I do tow with it. Not a lot but 30k is a good three years.

 

Well first off when i took it in to my local diesel shop for a fluid change they said that i will need a new transmission at some point but also told me to just drive it till it starts to slip. Im not sure if this was them trying to sell me a new tranny but from what ive ready on this forum, i might be just fine driving over the country. I was also a little worried because i would have a hard shift at times which i now realize was my driveline.

 

unless is slipping or the fluid smells really burned land looks like diesel oil in color. I would just drain the fluid, new filter and refill. The older TCs have a drain plug. You can also drain that to get more fluid out. I would install the 6.0 cooler and just drive it. Once in a while I have a hard shift on my 99 but it’s usually if I’m on and off the throttle and just the right speed etc.

saw the video of the shifting and that’s not slipping. If a trans slips the revs go up a lot and you lose speed. You weren’t losing speed. The 7.3s aren’t corvettes. Diesels also shift at different rpm and times so if you’re used to a gasser that could also be the issue.
i have a uncle who has been a ford trans guy for 40 years. He said he’s seen factory 4r100s with 300,000 plus miles still going strong. He said to simply maintain the fluid and filters. Unless you do the burn outs or spinning donut or truck tug or sled pulling the trans will last a long time. Most transmissions die due to negligence or abuse.

 

Thank you! Ive never owned a diesel so im sure thats part of the problem.

 

a diesel doesn’t rev as high as a gasser so the RPMs will seem like shifting too soon.

another thing to understand a lot of shops are unscrupulous. I’m not saying the shop you went to were unscrupulous and that you may not have trans issues down the road ……but unless there was something giving them the you need a new transmission argument like metal flakes in fluid or harsh shifting, burned coolant low
fluid or some indication like TC noise or physical damage witnessed like a cracked case your trans was going out ….a lot of shops use fear as a sales tool.

 

There is zero reason to install a different transmission cooler if the transmission never gets hot. It’s not likely to get hot if you’re not towing heavy - Ford did a pretty good job designing this system, in spite of what a lot of the internet likes to say. I do always install a new 6.0 cooler with rebuilt transmissions and will bypass the radiator cooler if the old transmission blew chunks.

I use a local shop for 4R100 builds and as of the beginning of this year, he says transmission parts are up 40%. So much that it currently makes more sense for him to install transmissions like Jasper and let them honor the warranty. He said the parts suppliers (Transtar, etc) are ‘trying to put him out of business’. That said he is charging about $3500 out the door for a rebuilt 4R100 installed.

Meanwhile, I agree with the others that 149k miles is low and if maintained would not be a high concern for me. Are you certain there is not a programmer, etc (aftermarket tuning) on the truck? Tunes from superchips, edge, bullydog, etc have terrible transmission strategies that often produce ‘hard shifts’. There are other issues as subtle as EBPS and even ICP sensor that can contribute to hard shifting. I would consider exploring some of these other options before potentially replacing a good transmission to end up having the same problem.

Several trucks have come to my little shop that had been told they ‘need a new engine’ and we found relatively minor problems. Some of these came from unscrupulous rip-off artists and some just ignorant ‘mechanics’.

Ive got to call my transmission guy this AM and see how they’re doing after the whole shop ended up with the chirus last week. I’ll ask who he recommends for a ‘nationwide warranty’ transmission.

on edit: he said NOT JASPER, they are junk since the original owner died and the company went public. Bean counters have turned it into a sweat shop cranking out the cheapest products they can get away with. He recommends American Transmission out of Jacksonville, FL. Consider getting a quote or having your shop get a quote from them if you choose to replace your transmission. It’s less $$ than the old price for a Ford HD reman. 8hrs labor is also a little crazy. I do R&R of a 4wd 4R100 in 1/2 that and I’m getting old and slow....

http://www.americantransmission.com/

Also added pics of a current project with fresh 4R100 in a 4wd conversion I’m doing.