So I'm looking at a '95 F-350 7.3L 4x4 CrewCab - It's an automatic unfortunately.. Worse yet, it Obviously has problems. Heres the deal.

Speedo doesn't work - odometer doesn't even display anything. The Brake light is on all the time. I thought this was the parking brake indicator light. I found that the #9 (I think anyhow -- it was the one marked spedo/odo) fuse was blown but replacing it did nothing I could see and I belive it did not blow again) was blown. The O/D light flashes. And of course - the transmission shifts fairly erratically.

Is this tranny activity a classic electronic issue or could it be mulching itself? Shifts are very very solid - which seems to at least indicate the clutches and solenoids are working fine. first gear seems to work fine. While in "drive" I belive I can feel it going through 3 gears locking the TC on each one. In "drive" it will go through first and sit in second - if you let off the throttle it often does not lock the converter untill you rev it to nearly 2000ish. Shifting to 3rd required reving it to 2200 or so. Selecting "first" works fine, moving the shifter to second produces the second gear shift on command. It seems that most of the time moving the selector to drive will then produce the shift to third. I assume it's working on killing itself one way or the other - shifting as hard as it is. It appears to downshift readily. It will start going down through the gears early as you decelerate and not nearly as violently as going up through them.

I don't know that the brake light means anything because not only is the parking-brake broken (To what extent I don't know but it was on the floor when I got in and the spring does not return it - you have to lift it. It doesn't appear to be doing anything) And the brakes are obviosuly wrong. The pedal is soft but can be pumped to get some braking preformance - Seems like it might just need to be bled since its full of fluid and not leaking anywhere. If there are two separate brake lights (One for Hydraulic and one for Emergency) I did not notice which one was lit - I just assumed it was the E-Brake at the time.

Obviosuly the truck is pretty far gone. It was a trade in and it seems possible that if this electrical issue took out the transmission and the speedometer at the same time; that might be why it was traded in. I'm looking at getting it at a relatively low price so if we think it might be a good gamble that the tranny is an easy fix I might consider it.

 

Hey there, welcome to fte. The trans problem you described is very similar to my 95 F250. It just has fits like that occasionally. The speedo could have shorted out internally this is rare but i would definitly check out why it doesnt work. Check to see if the #9 circuit has power since you replaced the fuse and nothing changed. It is more than likely the cause for the trans to kick into fail safe mode which is why the trans shifts hard and od light blinks on and off. The master cylinder could be going bad on the brake problem. Good luck. Casey

 

Sounds to me like the variable speed sensor on the rear axle housing needs to be serviced or replaced. These are classic symptoms of the truck not knowing how fast it is going so it can not take care of itself so it goes into protective mode to get you home so you can fix it at home and not just be stuck on the side of the road. If the truck is cheap I would buy it before you tell the guy what is wrong with it. The sensor is on top of the differential housing on the front and has wires going to it. Take it all apart and clean everything and make sure it is making good contact at the plug. I'm quite sure you will solve the problem in that area.

 

for the trans i would check all the fuses. mine was doing the same thing and it was a fuse. can't remember which one but there are about 5 fuses that aid the trans in some way.

as for the brake light there is only one. pull the parking brake all the way up and see if the light goes out. and probably the rear brakes need to be adjusted and the pedal wil feel better.

 

Well anyhow - I bought it... Drove it off the lot and got a few blocks away to pull the fuse cover. Turns out I pulled the number 8 fuse to put into the other one that was blown. Both are apparently required for the speedo/odo to work. And now the truck drives fine.

Heres a question: the tranny is a little overfull hot. I think its just up to the End of the plastic - but still I'm sure this is bad. It doesn't smell like Type-F... I don't think. It's been so long since I've had an Auto I might just be being paranoid. Its kind of Tangy - I would almost say it smells like theres some diesel in it (For example only - I assume there is no diesel in it.) I'm not sure I've ever smelled brurned ATF - Would I recognize the smell? Either way I think I'm going to dump all the fluids out ASAP. Just woundering. All the shifts were so sharp in safe-mode I can't imagine anything is slipping ATM but it has obviously been used to haul. One way or the other I baby Auto's so I asume its fair to expect to be able to get a few thousand out of it?

What's the easiest way to get a quart or two of ATF out of the thing?

 

I had the same problem with my 96. It was the speed sensor on the rear like F350_Hauler said. I also had a short in the wires.

To answer you other question, you could get a small hand pump or you could loosen the return line from the cooler.

Welcome to FTE.

 

You don't want the oil overfull. It gets airated, not good on the internals. I usually run a bit low until I get a chance to get it good and hot for the final check. If you have a drain plug getting th fluid out is easy, if not I use a turkey baster. . Just don't tell the cook!

I don't know what type f tranny fluid smells like but burnt ATF smells like burnt cork with a little burnt oil thrown in. It's more the color than anything else...red. Dumping all the fluids is a good idea IMHO.

BTW: Our trucks don't use type f, Mercon V is a good choice or synthetic if you're going to beat the snot outta it.

 

I use synthetic in all my trucks. But I was told not to use Mercon V in an E4OD. So I use the III. Is the V ok?

 

You can take the top tranny coolant line off the radiator and slip a piece of rubber hose over it and hold the hose in a bucket while your buddy cranks and briefly starts the truck. The stuff does not come out too fast and you can tell him to turn it off when you get a couple of quarts out of it. Okay so tell us about your truck. We want all the details. And how much did you end up paying for it? I like big trucks, too.

 

Depending on how you look at it I paid 5k or 6k. I'll call it 5000 and say my trade in was 12K, I might feel better. The paperwork says $6K though. It does have some near Virgin rubber on it. The steering is hair loose... I think the tierods are tight - I hope its at the pitman arm. It doesn't appear to leak a drop of oil so far. Engine hasn't hit a single sour note. Body is so-so at best but I'm just going to tear it up at Moab anyhow. A/C will freeze you out going down the road but not so great at idle. Factory Keyless, and everything power seems to work... As long as it keeps running I won't have any regrets.

Quick question: I need a muffler (The rest of the exaust seems to be good but the muffler is shot.) What size inlet and outlet am I after? I'd like to get something put on for like $50 (Which means $25 muffler....) because I need to pass an emissions test very soon. Plus the thing will gas you at times... I hope its just the muffler doing that and not a leak at the downpipe - I assume you'd hear that. The cat is on it - I assume thats about all it takes to pass a diesel emmision test? I haven't really gotten on it... One time to get out of someones way and it blew a little smoke but nothing too bad - Diesel is just opacity isnt it?

 

Where are you located? A lot of us have changed out our exhausts and have beautiful 3 1/2" stainless steel exhaust systems laying in the back behind the shed because we can't bring ourselves to throw out a perfectly good stainless steel exhaust system. Did you do the muffler repair yet? New diesel mufflers are pricey. Let us know.