I seem to recall a discussion here or on another board about a particular model of Ford automatic transmission that was prone to early breakdowns… something about a rear bearing not receiving enough lubrication and breaking down around 80 to 100kmi. I can’t find it, so perhaps someone could educate me on this.
I’m going to help a friend look at a '95 F-150 tomorrow with an automatic. Now, I’ve owned two Ford cars… a '98 Escort and a '99 Taurus… both had to have new transmissions around the 80 kmi mark (before I owned them… they were former company vehicles), but I’m guessing that there would probably be a more heavy duty transmission in the F-150?
The trans you are referring to with that type of lubrication problem is the 4R100 (E4OD). That 95 could either have a 4R70W or the 4R100. When you go to look at the truck the way you can tell the difference in transmissions is that the 4R70W has 14 bolts holding the pan on and the 4R100 has 20 bolts.
transman
Thanks for the info! That’s just what I was looking for. These trannys typically or at least sometimes fail around 80 to 100kmi due that lubrication issue? Is there a number actually stamped somewhere on the transmission?
Counting the bolts is a good way.
Did you ever change the transmission fluid?
Neither the 98 Escort nor the 99 Taurus had a reputation for transmission failure.
Drove the Escort from 140 to 205kmi… never changed the fluid. Drove the Taurus from 102 to about 180kmi… changed the fluid mid-way somewhere because I was getting torque converter shudder. The fluid change fixed that.
Transmission fluid changes should be treated as maintenance, not a repair.
You’re absolutely right. I can’t be sure, but I bet that fluid changes were part of the maintenance record. For some reason, both of those cars had new units installed before I bought them. They were fleet vehicles and I had a friend who maintained them.
Anyway, I started this thread to find out more about the 4R100 transmission. Thanks for the info thus far.
Doesn’t seem like there was a significant rate of failure:
http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/Reliability.aspx?year=1995&make=Ford&model=F-150&trimid=7774
http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com/1990-to-1996-ford-f-150-250-pickup-2.htm
Only one reference to transmission issues on 95s, and that’s just a transmission range sensor, which is a pretty simple and cheap repair.