Hi all, Im new to this forum and to Ford diesels. I just picked up an f350 that the transmission stopped working on. The seller told me that the truck was running fine then one day just stopped going into gear. A friend took a look at it, did something and it worked for another 2 days then stopped again. I looked the thing over and did not find any glaring problems, at least to my eye. The fluid was low so I topped it off and still not going into gear. It seems like it must be something simple as the transmission did not go bad over time, hard shifting, grinding, etc... but just stopped engaging entirely. Any ideas on where I might start looking for problems that would give these kind of simptoms?? Thanks for any ideas you all might have.

Cheers,
Stephen

 

Welcome Stephen, to Ford Truck Enthusiasts.

What did the friend do that worked? Seems as though that would be a good place to start.

 

My thought exactly but the "friend" is no longer available and the person that is selling the truck does not know what they did. Kind of a bummer but I thought that the info that it worked again for a day or so was interesting and might be a clue. Any way, thanks for thinking on this problem.

Stephen

 

I would drop the pan and see if the filter body may have become disconnected from the transmission. Not a bad idea to put in a new filter and do an fluid change anyway.
This will give you an idea if anthing else may be wrong, (ie if there are lots of metal filings on the pan magnet, some one was B.S.ing you about it working fine, then just quiting), but start out with the filter and fluid thing before we go there.
Obvious, but worth mentioning, is the linkage all connected and adjusted properly? Fluid level checked when warm and running, if not it could still be too low!
Good luck

 

My '85 F350 was experiencing the same problems. Basically, sometimes it would drop into 1st gear, but more than likely it would never shift into second. And then, it finally wouldn't go into 1st. However, reverse still worked. Stopping on a hill was a real adventure for those behind me.

In my case I found out the PO had not done maintenance and the transmission was 2/3 low on fluid. So I filled it up hoping this might make the difference, but no joy.

We dropped the pan and man was it a mess.

When we cracked the box the clutches were fried! A local transmission shop is doing the rebuild. Not fun, but when it's done at least I know the transmission will be one less issue to worry about.

I hope yours turns out better than mine.

 

Could need an adjustment to the gear lever........shift arm to trans. The C6 is a kitchen table rebuild.......pretty simple.


Band adjust.......

Raise or shinney under the blocked vehicle.
Clean all the dirt from the band adjusting screw, remove and discard the lock nut.
Install a new locknut, tighten the adjusting screw to 10 ftlbs torque.
Back off the adjusting screw exactly 1 1/2 turns.
Hold the adjusting screw from turning and tighten the locknut to 35-40 ftlbs.
Lower or shinney out from under truck, remove blocks.


Automatic Transmission Shift Rod or Shift Cable Adjustment... C6 and E4OD

1 Raise vehicle on jack stands or hoist. (I'd block well and scramble under)

2 From inside the vehicle, place the select lever in D/C6 and OD/E4OD . Hang a three

pound weight on the selector lever ( six pack still full)

3 Remove shift cable from the transmission lever ball stud/shift rod.

4 Pull down the lock tab on the shift cable body.

5 Position transmission lever in drive position. This is three detents from the front-most

lever position with the first position counting as one.

6 Connect the cable and end fitting to the transmission lever ball stud/shift rod.

7 Push up on the lock tab to lock the cable in the correctly adjusted position or tighten nut

and bolt.

8 Remove jack stands and lower vehicle from hoist. Remove three pound weight from

column shift select lever.

9 After making adjustment, check for Park engagment. Check the transmission control lever

in all detent positions with the engine running to make sure correct detent/transmission

actions, readjust if necessary. Reset the PRNDL indicator as required.

CAUTION:
Under no circumstances will it be permissible to adjust the cable/shift rod in any position

other than D for C6 or OD for E4OD.

Now all should be ok if it is in PARK and everything works, remove blocks.

Road test...................(drink warm beer)

 

My truck did something like that when I first got it. It had sat around a lot. I took it for a drive and it shifted like new. Got back to work and shut it down. Got back in and it wouldn't move. I ended up replacing the trans, but when I tore the old one down it was fine inside. I'm guessing the valve body was stuck somewhere.

 

Thanks all for your insights. I will start with the easiest suggestions first and proceed from there. Ill let you know what happens.

One question for Spectramac, any ideas on how to check the valve body relatively easily?? Sounds like you were in the same position I am in and could easily be the same problem if you think that was definately the issue.

Thanks again everyone for all the great suggestions.

 

How is the vacuum system, put a guage on it at the vac manifold where the hoses hook up.

 

Can you give me a quick description for where the vac manifold is located. Also, what should the guage read if the vacuum pressure is OK??

 

Just wanted to get back to you all with the answer on this one. I had not noticed it befor but when I took off the oil pan there was this nice little ring in the bottom. Once I looked at it better I realized that it was exactly where the intake on the filter was. After looking at it for a while I could see that the pan had been lightly dented up, so much so that it was touching the rubber seal that had be placed on the filter. Not sure why a seal was there as my filter replacement kit did not come with one. Looks like some one tried replacing the filter and got a kit, added the seal to the bottom which made sure that the flow would be cut off. In any case, with a few well placed hammer shots and a new filter the thing runs like a dream. Sure am glad that I did not have to do that rebuild.

Stephen