The weekend before 8/9/08 I did an oil change on my 2001 F350 DRW 4x4 using the Shell Rotella and several days later I performed the famous Mark Kovalsky full transmission flush on the Ford's 4R100. I had done this previously to my 01 F250 V10 and I was very pleased with my results. I figured since I was not sure of the two PO's maintenance routines, that the trans need this. Of course, I also changed the filter while keeping the old gasket which was in pretty good shape. I wound up using about 20 quarts of Dex III (Sam's Club) doing the flush (yes, it was messy).

My wife, son and I left Las Vegas on 8/9/08 around 11:00 a.m. loaded to the gills with a 8,500 lb gooseneck horse trailer/living quarter which contained over 3,000 lbs of horses; at least 500 lbs of gear inside the LQ and over 500 lbs of horse feed, human food and water and camping supplies (incl. wood for a week). Add to that 570 lbs of humans and dog (Rhodesian Ridgeback) and we were pushing the max 22,000 lbs GVWR of the truck.

I felt pretty comfortable though since I had installed brand new A.R.T. frozen rotors all the way around. We headed north on U.S. 95 towards Beatty. There we headed southwest on Highway 374 which leads you right through Death Valley; we were headed towards Mammoth Lakes in Calif where we had camping reservations at Agnew Meadow in the Ansel Adams Wilderness area. Hwy 374 turns into Hwy 190 which turns into Hwy 136. So about 220 miles into the trip we start the hard part of the trip; an approximate 9 mile at least 6% non-stop grade where we had previously smoked the brakes on our F250 carrying only 9,000 lbs of gear and trailer.

Sorry to say, but the ART rotors could not do the job. They started fading but I know we were close to the max GVWR. We (my wife was driving - she's pretty good driver) switched to 4wd High, used 2nd gear, used 4wd Lo (getting desperate now) and even 1st gear just to get down the hill. We even made about 5 stops for 20-30 minutes to let the brakes cool down.

Well, we made it to Lone Pine, CA but no forward motion in gear (or reverse). I pulled the dipstick but the fluid did not look or smell burned. I thought it might be the transfer case because we abused the crap out of the four wheel drive mechanism (kept the 4wd lo to less than 15 mph but it was on dry pavement!). That did not make a lot of sense to me and so I figured we must have fried the trans.

I had made plans when I purchased the truck last year that last on my list of improvements was going to be either a John Wood trans or one by Brian at BTS but I certainly was not ready to do this right now.

We obtained a tow to Bishop, CA (it was now after dark); they towed the entire truck and trailer 15 miles (disconnected the driveshaft) and dropped us off around 11:00 p.m. on Saturday evening at the Tri-County Fairgrounds where we were able to stable our horses, thank goodness for that blessing. The tow was $500 (ouch!!!)

Well, woke up Sunday morning feeling pretty crappy. Hot as heck outside and here we were sitting at the fairgrounds not knowing what the heck was going to be the verdict. We had lots of provisions and the living quarters so we were okay.

Monday morning came and the shop (Mr. K in Bishop who I can recommend quite highly especially Vance, the shop foreman) towed the truck minus the trailer to their shop where the analysis was performed. Vance told me the trans was burned up and explained that the torque converter did not lock up when we were shifting to all the gears and the four wheel drive, hence the burn-up.

He quoted me $4,500 for a Ford remanufactured trans including the labor. Ouch!!!. Meanwhile, my mental gears were turning. I got to a Starbucks (yes, Bishop has one!) and logged onto the internet. Found John Woods Transmission shop and got his number. Called him the following day and he quoted me a price that was a bit higher than Mr. K's but it was for his Towmaster trans and a 6.0 trans cooler and he would have a mobile mechanic drive the trans up from LA and do the install. So for $400 more that was a no brainer decision!!!

John kept in constant contact with me during the build over the next three days and on Friday he was done. He had a fellow by the name of Mike get the trans from his shop; Mike drove 400 miles to Bishop getting there very late Friday night. Yes, we were stuck in Bishop this entire time. Mike got to where we were hanging out (the fairgrounds) around 7:30 Saturday morning and by 1:30 p.m. he was completely finished installing both the trans and the cooler (as well as removing the old trans). All I can say is WOW, what a guy. An extremely competent mechanic; I cannot say enough about this guy and John as well.

We loaded the truck and trailer back up and made it back to Vegas late Saturday night, one week later. Needless to say, our vacation was pretty much ruined BUT I HAVE GOT A BRAND NEW HEAVY DUTY TOWING TRANS that John says I can easily throw 100+ extra HP at. I told him I was getting a DP tuner, 4" MBRP exhaust and AFE Stage 2.

So Ladies and Gentlemen, I will never do a full trans flush again; I am sure that is what caused the early demise of my trans. I AM JUST KIDDING!!!!

I am happy I got my new trans; one more thing to check off my list of improvements for the truck. It ran flawlessly otherwise. I told my wife this was my next several X-mas and birthday gifts together. She is happy too; she is a total horsewoman who loves the truck and trailer. She is totally into the upgrades and improvements of the F350.

In closing, I cannot say how much I recommend John Wood for his transmissions especially if you live on the West Coast. The guy bent over backwards for me and took right good care of our situation. I am certainly in debt to him. I also credit this forum for me being able to make the decision to purchase a better trans than the piece of crap Ford which I probably would have done had I not been a regular visitor of this forum.

 

I forgot to add that had I had gauges installed I might have saved the trans because both Vance at Mr. K and Mike told me that it was the high heat in the trans that caused its ultimate failure. So very next up is the gauges. My wife was not so hot on this upgrade but she gets it now and is pushing me to buy this pretty soon; at least before we do another trip like this last one.

 

man I'm glad your happy! That woulda been a vacation killer for me!

 

Hmmmmmmmmm, I think I'll go work on that manual converter lockup/EBPV exhaust brake system I've been putting off right now......................

 

Man sorry your vacation was ruined. But seriously, you can tell us. You sabatoged it cause you wanted the JW all along. I wish I could make a plan come together like that.

 

I almost want to apologize for asking this no brainer of a question. But you do have trailer brakes I assume?

 

Man, what a trip that was! Sorry to hear about your troubles but glad that it worked out in the end. Thanks for the informative post!

 

not sure how it works in a 4r100, but in the international Box van I drive when you abuse the tranny to overheat the pcm starts a limp mode, and if you continue to abuse it the computer disables the tranny much like what you experienced. How do I know this?? Hmmmm.........

I would have been interested to see if the thing cooled down and resumed normal operations

 

Yes, of course and it is a fairly new trailer as well. Plus I have a Prodigy brake controller and the brakes were dialed in pretty strong. No matter on this grade. It is brutal with just no relief for about 9 miles. With the TC lock-up and an exhaust brake it would not have been a problem. Those items are also on the next-to-do list. Tomorrow I am ordering the DP tuner with the decel option (it's only an extra $45) so I will test how this works using just the EBPV and the TC lock-up.

Almost $5k out of my pocket hurts even this forum member but it was not a bad thought to intentionally burn up the trans just to get JWs!!!

 

I was going to ask this same question......you blame the new brakes you got for failure, but never mentioned anything about TRAILER brakes not working. Any type of brake, under that sort of conditions will be stressed to the limit. Extremely LONG-winded post......I need a nap

 

I was born and raised in California and have lived on both sides of the border in the Tahoe area so I am well aware of the grades you face there. I will not even take my 32k pound motor home there. I feel your pain buddy.

 

When I made the decision to go with JW and I knew the trans was on its way, I went to Mr. K to get my truck. I told him to tow it back to the fairgrounds and Vance said, heck just drive it over. I got in and I could drive it (very slowly and painfully) back the 1/2 mile it was from the fairgrounds. This was after it sat for about four days so obviously it had cooled downed. It was slipping horribly and I could only maintain about 10 mph max on the way back. Don't know a lot about auto trannys but this baby was fried.

Thanks for the comments people and the sympathies; I just thought I would relay a trans story and hope others get some value out of my experience as I have obtained from all of your experiences.

 

What a bummer.

Before you order a DP-Tuner talk to Jody about custom TC lock up tunes.

Also, is Dexron III a suitable atf fluid for a 4R100? I don't know. Edit: Never mind I found my answer already. LINK

 

How many miles was on the tranny and how many miles was it since the last flush? Just curious.

 

I apologize about the length of the post, however, I probably was unclear about the ART rotors. I am not blaming them at all. I'm not sure that any braking system could have handled the situation. I am taking all the blame for not having an exhaust brake and/or TC lock-up and/or a heavier duty cooler. The ART rotors are really very good and I have sung their praises before on this forum. The trailer brakes worked as well as they could but I think the conditions (ie, the grade and the overall weight) is what caused the problem. I am seriously looking into retro-fitting the trailer with disk brakes but then again I am not sure this also would have prevented what ultimately happened.,