Question 95 F350 7.3 Dually transmission story

[lawtoolguy]

Hey there been awhile since Iv'e been on here but finally decided to get my truck going again. She Has sat for the last year or so. Ok here goes with the story I'll try to keep it short. Over a year ago I was using her to tow a 30 ft toy hauler to the race track around 90 miles round trip. Ran fine but after returning home noticed a small puddle of tranny fluid. I checked the level and she was down a little so I topped her off and looked for the leak. A drip from the bell housing pan which wasn't to bad. Continued to drive for next few weeks till I got tired of cleaning up fluid spots in the driveway. Read on here where it was probably the front seal. Went to a tranny shop a few miles away and asked the cost to just replace that seal and install tranny back in my truck. Quotted $400 which to me seemed realistic. After leaving the truck early on a friday I was told it would be ready that night and they would give me a call. 3 Hours later I received the call and was told that my transmission was in need of a complete rebuild for $1800 dollars. I told him it was working fine and that he agreed to replace the seal and that was it. After some words he agreed to replace the seal but not warranty that it would not leak again. I received no call by Saturday afternoon so I went down there to see what was up. Upon arriving I first went to my truck to see a 2ft by 2ft puddle under it and fluid now leaking pretty well. Went in to office and was told they replaced the seal and was handed a bill for 400 bucks. Words were exchanged, we flexed I came over the counter, he told me to get out of his shop. At which point I started her up and went to leave but she was now slipping in drive. When I dropped her down to 2 she took right off then I put her in drive once she got moving she rolled out to my barn. Thats were she sat for over a year only getting started up every month. Truck has 182,000 miles and Im not sure what the tranny has on it since Im not the original owner. Like I said she was shifting and driving fine when I brought her to the shop. Two months ago I did fire her up and top the tranny fluid off then drive around for 2 or 3 miles just to get the brake disks clean. When I parked her she wasn't leaking a bit, I mean nothing. She is still slipping though in drive only. If I take off in 1 or 2 then slide her into drive life is good. Did the same thing again 2 days ago check fluid level and she had'nt leaked at all over 2 months. This time I drove her for about 12 miles and came back to the barn. No leaks but she still doesn't like Drive. Have to get to around 1500 rpms to move , but takes off fine in 1 and 2. I tried to make it short but I like a good story. I have decided to tear her down this time and due the work myself since I have the time and would like some input before I get to far into it. This is a spare truck only and has a dump bed on it that I will probably be needing for a job I bid recently.
Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[DaveBen]

I hope you are good at trannies.

Dave

 

[JLDickmon]

Id've let him rebuild it for the $1800.
That's cheap for one of these..
I have abuddy who is a rebuilder and he quoted me $2400.

 

[trackspeeder]

Dig in and have fun. Rebuilding the E4OD is easy. To start, get your paws on an ATSG manual. Read it. You will need a couple of special tools. You will see in the manual. You can fab your own tools or look on fleabay.

After you see what you have inside the tranny. You can go parts shopping. Replace the planetary gears if they have aluminum carriers. Go with steel.
Replace the bushings in case and drums. You might want to use a kit that will increase the frictions. More is better.

Check out this guy for manuals,kits, parts, ect. Racer X Power

He will answer your questions if you have any.

 

[BJS]

the original problem was that you go the front seal too hot (and likely the rest of the transmission) and the front seal became rigid and did not seal well. When the trans shop went to change the seal they drained the fluid which is likely why they told you that it needed to be rebuilt. Why the new seal leaked or he would not guarantee it not to shows a shoddy shop unless there was a groove worn on the converter hub by the old seal the new one should have sealed up just fine.

The frictions were so loose that they needed the fine grit floating around in the fluid to grab and when you took that away they slip, not to mention the fact that new fluid will help clean out stuff that has been allowing rigid seals to act like they work. There are additional clutch packs engaged when you are in D vs manual 1 or 2 which is why it works in those gears.

I rebuilt mine and the most important ingredient to a successful trans rebuild is patients. It will be beneficial if you have all of the pieces/parts & tools ready and can do it in one shot or at least the internal parts. I bought some specialty tools that are just for trans work. I bought my pieces from Racer-X I skipped the website and sent him an email saying this is what I have and I want it to do this, and all I know is I want all of the internal upgrades available, send me a price so I can pay you. internal parts (no converter or valve body kit) was around 1k. I had recently purchased a new high performance converter and a transgo tugger HD2 kit so I was able to use those to keep the price down a bit. All in all I have a well built trans for about 2k + lots of time.

 

[uloadit]

I rebuild transmissions all the time I just took a two wheel drive unit and turend it in to a 4x4 ,made 30 upgrades , HD Torque Converter , new solenoid pack 2 new 6 pin steal planetary,, 3 clutch overdrive new one way up date sprage. HD center bearing and rear bushing.and the list goes on. cost $1,500 just in parts . It all depends on how far you want to go ,you can go nuts and spend 2500 just in parts

 

[lawtoolguy]

Thank for all the input. Im wishin now I had done this 2 months ago since I need the truck now.

Dig in and have fun. Rebuilding the E4OD is easy. To start, get your paws on an ATSG manual. Read it. You will need a couple of special tools. You will see in the manual. You can fab your own tools or look on fleabay.

This was my original plan trackspeeder but I found a place over close by called Propower transmissions in Brooksville. Does anyone have any experience with these guys? Normally Im a do it myself guy but if I can pull the transmission and swap core for a good rebuild and save time Im behind the eight ball. Just got a rather large job I bid and I need the truck for demolition. My only other choice is to run it and pray she doesn't die while doing the job. Longest haul is only 20miles round trip to construction dump. Then pullit when job is done and do the rebuild myself.

 

[trackspeeder]

Thank for all the input. Im wishin now I had done this 2 months ago since I need the truck now.



This was my original plan trackspeeder but I found a place over close by called Propower transmissions in Brooksville. Does anyone have any experience with these guys? Normally Im a do it myself guy but if I can pull the transmission and swap core for a good rebuild and save time Im behind the eight ball. Just got a rather large job I bid and I need the truck for demolition. My only other choice is to run it and pray she doesn't die while doing the job. Longest haul is only 20miles round trip to construction dump. Then pullit when job is done and do the rebuild myself.

Try to avoid totally killing the tranny if you can. It will make for more work and $$$.

 

[BJS]

if you're pressed for time then the closest well know trans shop is Suncoast in Ft. Walton Beach. They will ship you a trans & converter to your door and you (or a shop) can do the trans swap.

When you rebuild or install your new transmission make sure you upgrade the coolers your '95 came with inadequate cooling from the factory especially if you're towing heavy in urban driving conditions.