Argh ... a new tranny and torque converter are NOT what I want to spend $$$$ on, but you don't wanna listen to me whine toooo much so ...

'91 F350 drw 2wd 460 and e4od ... drained fluid from tranny and torque converter ... fluid looked a little brownish but didn't smell burnt (I'm no expert on judging used tranny fluid tho'). Replaced with a total of 13 qts Chevron Mercon and 1 bottle Lubeguard red. I've put about 3K on since the change, about half towing a 19' rv trailer. I'm starting to get some shudder, usually immediately after a shift, but occasionally in 3rd or OD under a good load.

We plan to tow a boat to Baja and back this winter, so reliability is definately a big issue.

I'm guessing it's the torque converter slipping, no other symptoms are apparent, yet anyway.

Suggestions? Any clues I can look for to tell whether the thing is likely to completely crap out on me? I don't want to to $hell out $$$$ for a rebuilt tranny and torque converter, but I'll feel dern dumb if I go cheap and it craps out halfway to La Paz. I am very leery of the local tranny shops, but have a local all-round mechanic I believe is competent and honest.

I'd consider doing the work myself with good instructions.

If I try additional additive and the shudder goes away, am I likely to get at least another 10K miles out of it?

Any comments/suggestions/insight will be greatly appreciated!

 

What you are describing is most likely a torque converter shudder. If the shudder after shift is on the 2-3 and/or 3-4 shift, it is very likely to be the converter clutch. Also, if it shudders under heavy load in 3rd or 4th that too is a converter shudder and a converter shudder that starts after many miles is almost always a burnt converter clutch. You might be able to replace just the converter and be OK but on a '91 model truck I would think its due for an overhaul and you would just be throwing money away to replace only the converter.

You could try adding a bottle of Ford positraction addative to the transmission. This stuff is an excellent "shudder fix" and see if the problem goes away and for how long. If the shudder goes away, then returns in a few hundred miles, you know you're due.

What would have me worried is the "shudder under load". This means the converter clutch is slipping and the shudder fix will only cover it up. I would do the transmission especially considering the trip to baja. Imagine how costly it would be to loose the transmission on the road. In addition to being at the mercy of whatever local shop you could find, you will most likely loose a good portion of your vacation time waiting for the truck to be fixed.

If you don't trust any local shops you could always buy a quality re-man and install it yourself. There are plenty of reputable remanufacturers out there. Or you could have your mechanic install it.

Steve
'95 Clubwagon XLT

 

When I did the fluid change, I installed a drain plug in the pan ... so I just now drained about 6qts of the Mercon with 3K on it, figuring there was still some old stuff in the cooler and cooler lines. The fluid was definately not 'pristine', and I'm hoping this was from leftover fluid rather than continued burning of some sort. I'm thinking the tranny and tc will need to be rebuilt/replaced sooner or later, probably the former.

If it's going to fail catastrophically, I'd much rather it did so here in ranch country than halfway down the baja peninsula.

Decisions, decisions ...

Thanks for the reply