New owner of a 1999 Ford F250 Powerstroke 7.3, I was wondering if anybody knows about torque converter problems, I was stopped the other day and asked what year my truck was and this guy said he had the same year as mine. He said there was a problem with torqu converter and had it replaced by a ford dealer. He also said that the 1999 has had problems with the TC but they did not put out a recall, just to call ford and try to get them to cover it. Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks

 

welcome to FTE crystalschyna.

to tell you the truth, the torque converters for any year 7.3 powerstroke just SUCK. they are only single disc, which means they slip like crazy, and are VERY inefficient at getting the power to the ground. it gives the feeling of a CVT "belt drive" when you hit the pedal, the RPM's stay the same, yet the truck still accelerates. this can be cured with lots of money ($1000-$1600), for a new, high performance torque converter. i do not think that there were any recurrent problems with any years torque converters, that were not in the original plan of design.

see ya around the boards.

 

Early 99's do have a problem with a noisy torque converter(rocks in a can sound) I don't know if it will cause your converter to fail early or not. I have read somewhere it is mostly just a noise problem. I have the noise in mine but so far have just ignored it. This is the TSB Ford came out with:

99-3-5 - Noisy T/C*

Problem - Some 1999 F-series with the 4R100 transmission may exhibit a rattle/scraping noise in the converter housing area of the transmission case.

Action - To diagnose, place gear selector in park and using a break out box, ground pin 54 (TCC). This will fully apply the torque converter clutch. Cycle the torque converter clutch on and off a few times by applying and removing the ground to pin 54. If the rattle/scraping noise is not present when the converter clutch is applied (pin 54 grounded), replace torque converter.

Affected Vehicles - 1999 F-Series Super Duty, 7.3 DIT, 4R100 and 1998-1999 E-Series built after 1/5/98. Some 1999 F-series 250HD/350/450/550 Super Duty and 1998/1999 Econoline Series (built after 1/5/98) and equipped with 7.3l diesel

Parts - Updated Converter: XL3Z-7902-DARM

 

A lot of Ford Powerstrokes equipped with the 4R100 have had torque converter problems, but 1999 trucks have more frequent issues with the factory converter.

If you are looking for a top-quality replacement converter, I would consider the Stallion Converter by Precision Industries, check it out here.

 

I would agree with this TC upgrade. I've got one in a box just waiting for the install. Only a couple more weeks to go!!

 

I smoked my original TC. Fortunately for me, my local dealer was able to get Ford to cover it under Warranty even though my warranty expired about 3-4 months prior. Unfortunately for me, the replacement unit is still weak (IMO).

 

I have a late 99, my converter blew apart at about 97,000 miles and took the rest of the transmission with it. Just as well though, cuz this is how I ended up with this super transmission I have now.

 

I think mine went at ~45K.