(also posted in the "Clutch, Transmission, Differential, Axle & Transfer Case" forum, where there is much less visibility)

Hello All,

1999 F-53 (F-550 cutaway) under a Southwind motorhome. I've owned it for a few years and done some upgrades including suspension. Also did a transmission service a year ago. All this time I've never noticed the "REMANUFACTURED" on this tag on the transmission:


I've seen the tag, and just brushed it off as a typical build tag full of barcodes.

I have paperwork for this motorhome for the last 75% of its life, but not for the first owner's history. None of the history that I have mentions anything about the transmission.

Can someone here tell me more about this tag (remanufacturer, date, etc.)?

It looks factory-ish, perhaps is it a reman during the chassis warranty period?

Can we tell anything about how it was built (generic, for a diesel, for an F-250 5.4, etc) based on this tag?

The transmission is not giving any trouble, I'm just curious about the motorhome's past and maybe how long it's been in there.

Thanks in advance!

 

Take this image and your VIN to a Ford dealer and see if they can provide information.

 

Yes.

The bottom line is the part number, F81Z-7V000-TARM.

Breaking this down into chunks, we can begin from the end.

"RM" means Re-Manufactured.

"TA" means that this transmission was for a 1999 model year F-53 Motorhome stripped chassis 4x2 2WD with a 6.8L engine. It also means it was for a 1999 model year 4x2 2WD regular/standard cab pickup truck.

As an aside, the F-53 is not an F-550 "cutaway". The frames are entirely different, as are the springs, the steering, the driveline, the front axle, and depending on year and GVWR, the rear axle can also be different. So there is never a case where one can remove the Southwind box from an F-53 chassis, and mount a pickup cab on that chassis and have an F-550 again. The two vehicles do not share the same chassis. They do however, share some chassis components, like a common gasoline engine (6.8L), and the 4R100 transmission, albeit in slightly different iterations, as there is no common 4R100 transmission part number or engineering number that the F-53 shares with an F-550 for the 1999 model year.

"7V000" means basic service part number for a Ford transmission assembly.

"Z" - means a service part designation administered by FCSD (Ford Customer Service Division)

"1" - Frankly, I forgot what this means. At the turn of the century, this position switched to a 2 character platform designation, which in the case of the Super Duty, including the F-53, became "C3" beginning in 1999.

Examples, XC3Z means released for the 1999 Super Duty platform (typically "late" 1999). YC3Z means released for the 2000 model year Super Duty platform. 1C3Z means released for the 2001 Super Duty platform, 2C3Z means released for the 2002 Super Duty platform, etc.

"F8" means 1998, which is when parts for the early 1999 model year were originally released, as all early and half mid 1999 model year vehicles were manufactured in calendar year 1998.

If your transmission had not been replaced in service (signified by the "Z") with a re-manufactured (signified by the "RM") transmission assembly installed after the fact of original production (signified by the "7V000"), then your transmission might have otherwise had an OEM identification plate that showed the Ford ENGINEERING part number instead.

For a 1999 F-53 motorhome chassis, the two possible Engineering part numbers are as follows:

F81P-7000-TA
XC3P-7000-MA

Notice the absence of the "V" in the basic part number.

Notice also the "P" instead of the Z. The P is for the Engineering department at Ford who is responsible for designing the part. Powertrain.

Finally, notice the "TA" suffix, which signifies the specific iteration of 4R100. Since your service part number has the exact same "TA" suffix (in front of the "RM"), you can relax in the assurance that you have the correct replacement 4R100 iteration for your application.