jherrer

Cool, i'm glad they finally got that fixed for ya. So how is it running now in comparison to before? i.e. is there still that small pause when changing gears? how's the acceleration now?

 

thehamstack

Another update. It took about a week for the problem to come back. Now I am finally taking this POS to a different dealer to give a different tranny guy a chance to check it out.

This is me really wishing I had got a toyota!

Johnny Mullet

That sucks man! I would just take it to a tranny shop and maybe have them drop a reman in it.

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00gtr1

Like I stated three months ago they need to take the transmisson out and repair the servo bores in the case, and replace the fluid control valve in the pump. I make so much money on these transmission its not even funny.

NCVinVT

Check out the April '07 annual auto issue of Consumer Reports - Reliability Ratings. Also available on line (may have to be a subscriber(?). Mountaineer and its cousin, Ford Explorer, consistently get the big solid black circles (means "much worse than average") for transmission, drive train for 2002-2004 model years. And a "do not buy used" recommendation.

Less critical is lousy body fit and trim - especially the rear panel applique, which Ford refuses to address, despite its obvious design defect and constant fracturing.

My 2002 Explorer XLT, despite being gently driven and meticulously maintaned, has had all 4 wheel bearings go and the rear end, too. It now has 100K on it and I'm wondering if it's time to unload fit or something Japanese and more reliable.

Johnny Mullet

2002-2004 Explorers are very unreliable. I know this since I work on them daily. I have yet to see one come into our dealer with 100,000 miles on the odometer.

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thehamstack

[quote=00gtr1]Like I stated three months ago they need to take the transmisson out and repair the servo bores in the case, and replace the fluid control valve in the pump. I make so much money on these transmission its not even funny.[/QUO

It's not that I don't believe you, 00gtr1. But Ford dealers don't like to be told what to fix on vehicles. I've tried two different dealer's 'tranny guys' now and got no results. My best two options are to spring for a reman out of my pocket or dump this this lump and get a toyota for the wife to drive instead. Until I got my 'yota in January I never had anything but a Ford but I can't believe how horrible their vehicles are nowadays and how unhelpful the techs at their dealers are. No wonder they are losing their asses.

thehamstack

P.S. - I apologize to any Ford techs who actually do care about what they do and can tell their head from their @ss. The guy from dealer #2 replaced the rear wheel bearings, the axle seals, found the ATF 2 qts low from the last dealers. Replaced filter because it didn't fit into the valve body properly. So far so good.