OT-tranny on 97 Ford F350, 7.3 diesel

I bought the truck used and it had 92,000 miles on it. I took it to my mechanic and had the tranny drained, flushed and new filters.

I've had this done every 25,000 miles since then.

Just wondering if it really is beneficial to have this done every 25,000 miles.

Thanks.

It's probably a little much , maybe 50K intervals , but it sure can't hurt...Does the owners manual suggest the frequency ?

It was likely never done before you got it. It is a wonder it has not died after servicing it. Those auto trannies seem to die after being serviced if they were not done regularly right from the start.
Maybe Ford has a lot better tranny ?

I have a 99 F250 with the 7.3 and it was bought with 40000 miles on it and the fluid and filter was changed every 25 to 30000 after that. When it had 260 sum on it without warning the trans died. Had the trans rebuilt and had it beefed up for pulling and I figure it will out last the truck.

Bob

I always recommend 50,000 intervals.

The truck has 230,000+ miles on it now.

If you are working it hard I would recommend every 25K to 30K miles between fluid changes like you are doing. Once you know it has new filters (I am assuming an inline filter on the cooler line and the internal "screen") I would go ahead and use flushes instead of dropping the pan. I beleive Ford recommends changing the fluid every 30K but never recommends that the internal screen be changed.

If you don't like flushes (they are expensive on that size of transmission) I'd buy the pan that has a drain plug and drain the pan and the torque converter (it has a drain plug you access through the punch out in the bell housing) and refill.

The pan with the drain plug is only $29.52:


http://www.carid.com/1996-ford-e-series-transmission-parts/dorman-transmission-oil-pan-16407672.html?gclid=CObbzKzYr8ICFSQLMgodq14AkA

nancy, admit I know zero about ford trannies ( except the 2 I blew up, but they were 5.4 gassers ) but just this morning I stopped at my mechanics with my dodge ( had since new ) 190 kilo's so about 115,000 miles asked him if fluid flush & filter would be appropriate
he replied ( and is one of the most honest people I know ) was that it would be a waste of money he pulled dipstick, smelled oil, sat in truck & shifted through gears
guess what I am saying is that you can never go wrong with too much maintenance , but should not just throw away cash ! would go with what ever ford recommends for your truck, seems to have worked so far
bob
bob

With the e4od that you have I highly recommend keep doing it. I would also add the biggest trans cooler you can fit. Heat is a major enemy in this trans.

I have an 02 F350 which I pull a 37 ft 5th wheel RV trailer with, besides the "normal" farm trailers. I believe the tranny in mine is the 4R100, supposedly an upgrade from the E4OD which I think your truck has. It has a drain plug in the tranny pan. The book says to use Mercon 4 as the tranny oil, and NOT to use Mercon 5. A few years ago the Mercon 5 was reformulated to work as an improved oil replacement for the Mercon 4, and the Ford dealer recommends it for my truck (and maybe yours too??). Mercon 5 has better high temp stability and that may be a good thing in your Texas summer heat.

Under no circumstances would I let some shop back flush the tranny and cooler lines. That process sounds good in theory, but statistically leads to a high level of tranny failures. I do use the OEM Ford tranny filters (screens). They do not cost too much and have been improved from the original ones. There is a donut shaped magnet in the bottom of the tranny pan to pull metalics out of the operating oil. And for that reason, I drop the tranny pan at the 100K mark and replace the filter and clean any particles from the magnet and bottom of the pan. Unlike older trannys, there are no bands that need adjustment, so the job is pretty simple.

Best Wishes!

Paul in MN

The only way I would switch from Mercon (what the E4OD was originally filled with) to Mercon V is with a complete drain of the pan and the torque converter.

Mercon is a standard mineral oil fluid while Mercon V is a synthetic fluid. Supposedly mixing the two is no big deal but I wouldn't do it considering how expensive an E4OD transmission is. As mentioned Mercon V is supposed to handle HEAT better. Ford (Motorcraft) nolonger produces original Mercon but several aftermarket manufacturers (like Castrol) produce Mercon/DextronIII fluid that is better than the original fill fluid.

Nancy, IT looks to me like it is working, 25K might be some close together I would have gone 50K instead of 25K. If that tranny is still acting right, not shifting goofy or has any quirks. My 97, F-150 had 355K and still works But Detent won't shift back into OD , unless I lift on the Accelerator and let it Breath and then it goes back to OD!
If it still works I would spread the maintenance to 50K instead of 25K.
I suspension, You thought a problem could exist or you wouldn't have gone to this maintenance Schedule, but you have added another 140K to the tranny s life by doing what you did!
(That is an old GM Tranny trick!)
You have Done Good Girl!
Later,
John A.
PS, a new Create tranny is $3K with 3 yr 100K mileage warranty from Ford!

25K on extreme service, 50K normal service.

Well that was not the toughest transmission ever built, but is a good one none the less if it is kept up like you are doing. The maintenance you are doing is not hurting one bit other than the cost. Every transmission out there is going to fail at some point no matter what we do. The wear parts can only wear so much before they stop working correctly. 25,000 may be a little too soon depending on how you use it, but the way I look at it is if it is working for you and not breaking the bank keep doing it. Honestly you are probably getting close to the life of it, but some people with really good driving habits and maintenance can make things go a long long way.

Greg

Sorry, should have included more info. The tranny is the E4OD. 99% of the driving is highway, no load. I drive it easy, no lead foot here.

Tranny has an auxiliary cooler. Original owner bought it for recreational use and it had the biggest camper they could put on it. Previous owners didn"t scrimp on setting the truck up for what they wanted.

My mechanic started off in a Ford dealership and then opened his own shop, so he should be very familiar with the truck and tranny.

I have also added Lucas for transmissions on the last two changes.

Since these trannies are very pricey to replace, just wanted to make sure I was doing what I could to keep it going as long as possible.

So far, no hints of trouble.

I have see my share of new ones under 10K need the fluid changed... When its in Lock up it stress the fluid and has the dreaded shutter while locking up... If it has a drain plug in the converter and pan its a EZ service. I am not sure I would go after the filter each time if the fluid looked good its your call...

I went on a trip to OHIO with a bud he did not like to drive thru Fancy Gap (mountain road) so he gave me the wheel. It was a 95 Ford E350 V10 Van/camper with 2K on it... It shutter so bad I did not think we were gonna shoot the gap... It was one of the first ones I had experienced this shutter a fluid change fixed it, it now has 150K on it I go after the fluid as you do. He told me yesterday he was having it painted and was gonna drive it till the wheels fell off...

keep doing just what you are doing. We put more transmissions in ford trucks than any other brand.

When I have the tranny serviced, I always tell them fluid and filters.

Its a bit pricey, about $200, but a new tranny is in the thousands easy.

Just a few points of information here.....
The dealer I worked for sent me to Ford training school on the E4OD when it was introduced. It was intended to be designed for MEDIUM DUTY trucks. Like in the F750 and F800 class.
The insides are basically borrowed from the C-6 with upgrades, and beefed up some with an overdrive setup added.

Now, having said that, the transmission that _should_ have performance and durability in the class of the Allison units, has let us down somewhat on that. A LOT of upgrades have come along since it was introduced.

Also, the crate transmissions that Ford dealers ell is an RMP - as in rebuilt. I have never seen a "new" transmission sold at a dealer. If they did, the cost would be somewhere in the $8000 to $10,000 range. There are a LOT of parts in them! And lot of expen$ive parts in them!