Truck stops one mile from the NF campground

[WaltAlpine]

I'll make this as short as possible...

 99 F-350 7.3. 248k.
 I purchased the vehicle with 92k in 2003.

 I have had very few problems with the truck. Nothing catastrophic, just routine things that you can expect from a truck as it ages. It has been a stellar truck for me.

 Recently the truck just quit. Towed it to the dealership and had the PCM and fuel Heater assembly parts installed and it ran great. There was an o/d light flashing that turned out to be solenoid body and trans harness. Service advisor said that I could use it on my hunting trip and fix it when I got back.

 So I am 30 miles in on the trip and the truck will not move. Engine runs but not action. I hop out and the trans is boiling oil onto the ground. I have it towed to the dealership again...

 Service tech says by the looks of things from the outside that it's fried on the inside. Very hot smelling. The clutches on the inside are likely gone.

 SO here is my question???
 Do I have him replace the parts that I knew needed to be replaced and see if it works, or do I just have a reman installed, as it has been this long anyway and based on the likelihood of it being fried anyway.

 Thanks for the help!

 Nick

 PS
 I should add that I used this truck for my construction business for years towing a tool trailer etc.
 For the last few years it has been mainly used for hunting, trips across the pass, runs to the dump, etc.
 It is not critical that I have the truck, but I just put new tires on it and have spent almost 3k on it recently and would hate to get rid of it at any rate.
It I way more truck than I need for my activities, but I do love it. It has served me well, and over served my most of the time.

[270Shooter]

Have it rebuilt by a good trans shop if you are gonna keep it. Put a reman in if you are gonna get rid of it.

[Huntboy]

I would go with the reman, it's hard to find a shop that's good at rebuilding those transmissions. Just my experience, pm coachcw. Ask him your questions.

[Mudman]

STOCK AND REMANS ARE TOTAL CRAP!  I went through several trans with my 7.3.  Aftermarket or custom rebuild and Torque converter.  Get a trans gauge if you don't have it already.  These things will boil themselves running around the woods up hill gravel roads.  When you put trans temp on it you will see it spike HOT!  Your trans is toast.  OD flash means you are done and shouldn't have been told to drive it imop.  Solenoid failure likely led to other issues.  4k$ should cover it.

[timberghost72]

Whatever route you go on repairs install an external transmission cooler with fan and a temp switch. B&M makes a good one and is not expensive and will greatly reduce trans temp.

Edit. Price has gone up since I purchased mine but still worth every penny. I'm sure there are cheaper ones out there.

https://www.amazon.com/70297-Hi-Tek-Transmission-Cooling-System/dp/B000CIIE1W

[kenzmad]

I had Brians Truck Shop in Arizona build me one many years ago. Bullet proof IMO. Trans temps never cross 165* now. Used to be consistantly in the low 200's. Not cheap, but worth it.

[syoungs]

It's toast, avoid another tow bill and put a new tranny in it.
Ford offers 2 rebuilds. A standard, and a heavy duty. The heavy duty has good reviews, the standard, not so much. I had mine done by a local guy here in the trio cities that build nothing but heavy duty transmissions for fords and dodges just about, 4500 total, got an upgraded converter, extra clutches, lots of valve body work, if I had to do it again, it be him or bts building one.

And yeah, tranny gauge, and a 6.0 tranny cooler are both good ideas to keep track of the health of the tranny while your working it.

[WaltAlpine]

Thanks for the help guys. I appreciate the input!
Ill keep doing my homework.

[Happy Gilmore]

Funny how everybody said the trannys such junk but, I'm at same mileage. Expect a $4k bill at anytime for a new one. Anything that goes 250k doing heavy work is the real deal.

[Mudman]

Funny how everybody said the trannys such junk but, I'm at same mileage. Expect a $4k bill at anytime for a new one. Anything that goes 250k doing heavy work is the real deal.

Some get lucky.  I know of many who agree-junk.  Especially if you give em more power of course.  My ol Trans builder showed me the internals of valve body.  What happens when steel slide in aluminum over and over?  Bad.  OD is plastic ring with steel roller bearings held in with dab of grease for install.  Clutches cant handle abuse/work well.  Will get overheated easy due to lack of cooling and TQ slip.  etc.  Junk, sorry.  Extension of the old gasser E4 in the 90's.

[Happy Gilmore]

I've got 245 on my 02 350. Well used. Never chipped or messed with it. Probably why it lasted. Just pulled a loaded three horse and pull a tractor around often. Shifts better than the duramax with pipes and chip. Not sure when it will blow up but, probably sometime soon.

[WaltAlpine]

Follow up...




Thank you all for your input! I really appreciate it.




So I looked into transmission shops in my area because I didn't want to have the guy fix it who gave me the BAD advise to go ahead and drive it while the OD light was flashing, and knew what the problem was.

I went with a local owner-operator kind of shop. He quoted me the same price for him to rebuild it as a reman would cost. Then he recommended some options, which is what many of you did on the site here.

He has a lot of years in the trans business, so I felt good about the choice.




In the end it got the full rebuild with a shift kit and a billet converter. I've been driving it for a few days now and the shifting is noticeably different, but not dramatic. At least I know that the guy who did the work is an individual who knows transmissions and who I can go back to any time.

[Mudman]

Smart move Buddy!