tranny help needed

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Apr 4, 2006 | 11:23 AM

prettygt2

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tranny help needed

I bought a 96 F350 PSD in December with 220,000 miles and starting in January we started getting a weird noise when driving at highway speeds. It happened very infrequently but we had a feeling that it was the torque converter. No one was able to diagnose it because it rarely happened. Well, Saturday night a new noise started in the tranny area and then we came to a stop sign and it decided it didn't want to move anymore. We checked the fluid and it was not on the dipstick (we had just checked it a few weeks before and it was fine). So we put fluid in it and it moves now but we hear grinding. So anyway, if I hear grinding, the tranny is definetely bad, right? Can a bad torque converter take out the tranny too? Should I just buy a new tranny or have the local tranny shop rebuild it? Does anyone have any brand preferences? What about converters? We have had a lot of crap break recently and so the money isn't real abundant. Any help/ advice would be greatly appreciated.

Apr 4, 2006 | 11:40 AM

Ron McCafferty

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Joined: Mar 2006

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usually E4ODs when they get to grinding are not rebuildable. factory E4ODs are junk. if you plan to do alot of towing you may want to check out a Tecumseh rebuilt trans. i know you said money is short but if you can afford to save for it they are worth the money. if not you can go online and find a used trans. check out LKQ you can have it delivered to a business and there is no core. if you get a used one you may want to get a new convertor and make sure the pan is opened up at a minimum.

Apr 4, 2006 | 11:55 AM

Parts Guy Wyatt

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Joined: Jan 2006

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From: Seattle

"factory E4ODs are junk" really! come on Ron. Now I have to get a different job.

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Apr 5, 2006 | 07:42 AM

Ron McCafferty

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Joined: Mar 2006

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yeah, i'd say they are. got 285,000 on my f350 ps and put 2 in it before 150,000. and i am not hard on my truck by any means. got one from tecumseh and haven't had a problem since. anyone who buys an f250 or 350 is going to use it for work and they should be built to last.

Apr 6, 2006 | 10:31 AM

prettygt2

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Thanks for the help, where can I get Tecumseh? I guess I'll just do a search. It just frustrates me that the truck lasted 230,000 for it's precious owner and then takes a dump on me in less than 3 months. I love the truck though so I guess I'll drop a couple grand into it and keep truckin'.

Apr 6, 2006 | 12:16 PM

Ron McCafferty

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Joined: Mar 2006

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your welcome. you can get one from a tecumseh dealer by searching online. i've got one in my truck. after two factory rebuilds in the 1st 150k i had to do something different. a few tips for driving w/ an e4od. if you are towing alot and by alot i mean on a wekkly basis, you should change your trans fluid btwn 15-30k miles faithfully. and don't drive around town in OD. the vibration in low end kills these trannys. a few things i did with mine was i added a trans temp gage if the trans fluid gets to above 240 degrees it is usually no good anymore. also make sure that the heat shields are in place on the turbo down pipe the trans cooler lines run right next to it and you don't need extra heat. you may want to use synthetic or mercon V trans fluid (better grade). well, good luck with your truck. hope everything goes well. and don't worry you made a good choice. i would buy anything else but a ford. if you take care of it it should last you at least another 2-3 hundred thousand.