5 Trans in 1 vehicle?
 

I bought a 1997 E350 V10 4x4 Sportsmobile in November 2002. The previous owner put four transmissions in it, three under warranty and one on his own nickel. I realize that Ford just rebuilds them to the minimum specifications and puts them back in. The fourth one was a Ford quick rebuild, too.

Three months after we bought it, the front seal started leaking like a sieve. Took it to a highly-recommended transmission shop and he said that we needed to have the whole transmission rebuilt. He put an update kit in it and said he had to put two different year transmission kits into it in order to make it work, 96 & 97. He said that it would be bulletproof. He also said that I should leave the overdrive off unless I was on really flat terrain. To make a long story short, I've been left by the side of the road waiting for the transmission to cool down four or five times in the last four years. This is becoming more and more common now--the transmission light was blinking and it was shifting rough. I've mentioned this on this forum earlier under "Flashing Sensor Light". My question is: Is the PCM screwing up and causing this transmission to go out early? Is there a test to see if the PCM works correctly? If so, what is that test? Also, on the first long trip we took after the transmission was repaired we discovered that the repairman had left the transmission two quarts low on transmission fluid. Could this have caused the transmission to fail prematurely?

Thank you for your input.
Jeff

Just had my transmission rebuilt in a 1997 Ford SuperDuty. It's an E4OD tranny which I would assume yours is too. It cost over $2000.00 in parts alone. They put in several aftermarket parts that are not found in a Ford rebuild such as a better quality torque converter that cost $800.00 verses the $200.00 one from Ford. You are right that Ford rebuilds them to original specs which would work if you're not pushing it hard. Leaving it a couple of quarts low after the last rebuild I'm sure didn't do it any favors. Heat is the #1 killer to a transmission. Don't have an answer about the PCM, sorry. I do know if you go through the aggrivation of dropping the transmission, you will be money ahead if you just rebuild it properly not to mention a lot less headaches. Does it have an external transmission cooler? See what your tranny guy says about using synthetic transmission fluid after you rebuild it. By the way, I was there as they were filling the transmission in my truck and I could see how easy it would be to not put the right amount of fluid in it. My truck at least has a goofy dipstick for the transmission. Some would argue the dipstick sits behind the wheel. Getting back to your truck, does the engine stall when you shift it into reverse after it is warmed up. If it does, see if it stalls when you shift it into manual 1st gear.

I wonder if the tranny cooler is clogged with debris from the previous failed transmissions. Try back flushing the tranny cooler in the radiator and the external one.