Well they sure copied the Sprinter, didn't they? On expediters online none of the owners fell for that one (same thing on US sprinters, except it was change once and never again)

The hardest thing is to find a dealer that will do a fluid exchange without freaking out about it. I'll post here the link when I find it. Sorry it doesn't help you out now. Is there no one you can reach out to at Ford?

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Funny thing is we have a MB sprinter! After we get done with this we may be getting a few more.

I have only spoken with the dealer at this point. I wanted them to diagnose the 2nd van before we did anything with the first <-- They thought this was a strange request. IF it turns out they both need new transmissions I will be working my way up the chain with Ford. I understand things break but 2 transmissions in what I consider average mileage for commercial vehicles, something is wrong here.

 

From reading your comments on these Transits, #1 must not have had anyone checking the transmission fluid as if it had regular maintenance, you would never let the fluid get that dark. I always had the fluid & screen changed every 50,000 miles on my 2000 Econoline with 5.4L engine and is has 314,000 miles and still going down the road with NO transmission problems.

From reading your comment about asking the dealer to do a fluid change at 100,000 mile and they gave excuses for NOT doing it tells me they want the BIG MONEY REBUILDS rather than doing maintenance service on it. I would have left out and NEVER USED THIS DEALER AGAIN! Maintenance is the life of any vehicle and if you have a Transit that you want to last a long time and give you good service, you need to maintain the entire vehicle, especially the driveline.

You can go to Ford Corporate with your complaint and they will ask you about your maintenance records for the Transits. I think Transit #1 missed out on getting the fluid and screen changed out at 100,000 miles and that is what put it out of service. You might get some help on Transit #2 with it having less than 100,000 miles on it. If you contact Ford, let us know what they tell you and the results you get from making contact with them.

 

From reading your comments on these Transits... If you contact Ford, let us know what they tell you and the results you get from making contact with them.

Thanks for the reply!

I like to think we do a pretty good job of keeping our vehicles maintained. However, I do think Ford designed these transmissions so they are hard to do any PM.

Checking the fluid: Requires going under the vehicle and removing the fill cap. It does not have a transmission dipstick.

Changing the fluid and filter: Requires dropping the K-member to remove the pan. This transmission is hard-lined so I'm told it cant be flushed like a typical transmission. The fluid is not suppose to be changed until 150K under "severe duty", not sure exactly what that means.

I have read they use the 6R80 transmission in the F250/350 superduty. Our vans our 3.7 V6, makes me wonder if it's a programming issue as we know it's not that the tranmission can handle punishment.

 

YIKES! not good! 5 year/60,000 warranty? My 2003 E350 ext is at 374,000.....the body is a POS!, but the engine and transmission is running like a champ...I hope this works out for you...That's a HUGE hit to take for a business.


I'm curious, would any extended warranties help in this matter? Engine/transmission? Commercial? I am seriously looking at pulling the trigger for a 2018....but I would expect a lot more miles than what you got! This has me concerned.

 

...We did request the transmission of transit 1 be flushed at the 100,000 mile mark but the dealer declined stating they the transmission was hard lined and could not be flushed without cutting the line. We were told the transmissions were "filled for life" and did not need to be flushed until 150K miles in severe duty applications.

That is interesting because this is straight out of the service manual for the Transit:

Transmission Fluid Exchange
Special Tool(s) / General Equipment
Fluid Exchanger
Materials
Name Specification
Motorcraft® MERCON® LV Automatic Transmission Fluid
XT10QLVC
MERCON® LV
WSSM2C938A
Flushing
NOTICE: Use transmission fluid specific for this transmission. Do not use any supplemental transmission fluid
additives or cleaning agents. The use of these products can cause internal transmission components to fail,
which will affect the operation of the transmission.
1. With the vehicle in NEUTRAL, position it on a hoist.
Refer to: Jacking and Lifting Overview
(10002
Jacking and Lifting, Description and Operation).
2. Connect the Fluid Exchanger to the transmission fluid cooler tube after the transmission fluid cooler on the return
tube. This helps remove any foreign material trapped in the transmission fluid coolers.
Use the General Equipment: Fluid Exchanger
3. Perform the transmission fluid exchange using the Fluid Exchanger.
Follow the manufacturer's instructions included with the machine .
Use the General Equipment: Fluid Exchanger
Material: Motorcraft® MERCON® LV Automatic Transmission Fluid / XT10QLVC
(MERCON® LV ) (WSSM2C938A)
4. Once the transmission fluid exchange is completed, disconnect the Fluid Exchanger. Reconnect any disconnected
transmission fluid cooler tubes .
Use the General Equipment: Fluid Exchanger
5. Check the transmission fluid level.
Refer to: Transmission Fluid Level Check (30701
Automatic Transmission, General Procedures).

 

Ok can't find the post where the receipt from the dealer was put up, but here's some chitchat and they get into the flushes

https://www.expeditersonline.com/forums/threads/check-engine-light-transit.68549/

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What axle ratio do you have on your MR Transits? It would be 3.73 or 4.10 ratio and those make the transmission work pretty hard in normal use. Checking the transmission is just like checking the rear axle. That should be one of the maintenance procedures done at least once a year or for my own Transit would be every 25,000 miles. One thing that happens to some Transits when checking the rear axle lube is knowing if you have the locking rear axle assembly and if needed using the correct friction modifier that is required. Just putting in the standard lube will cause problems in the locking mechanism and possible premature wear in the ring gear.

 

3.73 axles in both.

Interesting note on the transmission flushing.

I will keep everyone updated.

 

Update: So the 2nd van has the same issue, needs a new transmission as well.

Service advisor said the issue was the torque converter. Apparently they have failed and sent metal through the transmission. ~$15,000 to repair both.

Currently exploring options.

 

Take them to a regular transmission shop and let them look at it and see what they say. My local independent transmission shop was 40% cheaper than the Ford dealer on rebuilding transmissions. One thing you have to know is if the shop you take it to has the knowledge on how to work on those type transmissions. If they are a pretty big shop. they already have the equipment and technicians to do the job correctly.

I only used the Ford dealer while my Econoline was under warranty. After that, the independent shop did all my work. Every 50,000 miles, it went into the shop for fluid and filter change. They also serviced the rear axle assembly and I always had a bottle of the Ford rear axle additive with me so if they needed to add some, it was there. At 150,000 miles, they drained the complete carrier and put all new fluid in it. It started to have some grayish look to it and that could have been water moisture that got inside the carrier.

 

Just a thought, do you have any disgruntled employees? Or one with bad driving habits like riding the brakes, or holding the van on a steep hill using the throttle? If I wanted to do some damage I could cook a transmission pretty quickly by standing on the brakes and gas at the same time. No idea if this sort of behavior would be stored in the computer.

 

Here is a link from a Ford technician regarding the 6 r80 video
transmission.it says to change the fluid at the first 30,000 miles and then every 60k
transmissionhttps://youtu.be/RGnaaE1lwcI

 

Okay sorry that is not the link. But anyway Google Ford technician Mackaluco on YouTube.

 

Ford recommends fluid change at 150k, To remove pan and change fluid you need to lower the sub frame. Crazy. I had mine done at the dealer while they were doing a recall at 90k. Who knows if they really did it. But now at 150k my transmission is acting up. Fluid is dark, not burnt. What some people may not know there is a dip stick. You have to access it from underneith. It has a 19mm cover over it. Just really sucks they make iot so hard to change the filter.

 

my 2.5 frozen tundra cents from west mi,
Volvo, toyo, bmw all had lifetime fluids and then the failures started and they scaled it back. Any fluid in any system, especially trans needs to be changed.

My hondas - I drain and fill at the end of every summer when temps near freezing in sept. I am guessing I put in 15k to 24k miles on these.

As I have mentioned before I plan to suction out whatever fluid I can from the ford and replace it, same at the end of every summer, my van is parked all winter in storage.
total cost of fluid exchange will be around $15 (with syn trans fluid).

 

This isn't Huntington Ford in Rochester Hills is it?

Reman trans from Rock Auto is $2300 bucks with a core.
https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog...250,3.7l+v6,3307684,transmission-automatic,automatic+transmission+assembly,8556

Make the drivers replace them on the weekend.

Edit: Wait they already have reman'ed trans for sale?

 

The 6R80 transmission in the Transit and other Ford vehicles are made in Germany and are also sold to Chevy but have differences that require unique Rebuild kits. The Dealer does not know what they are talking about by saying that there are no rebuild kits available.

Ask around to see if you can find a Transmission shop in your area that other mechanics recommend. Not all Transmission shops do rebuilds so ask for a shop that can rebuilt the tranny. I know a great Tranny shop in Goleta, CA if your near my area. They rebuilt my E150 Tranny and is still running after 110,000 miles.

Here is a link to a Trany rebuild kit for the Transit:

https://www.carid.com/2015-ford-transit-transmission-repair-rebuild-kits/

 

The 6R80 was designed by ZF, a German company, but Ford builds them under license in Livonia Michigan
https://corporate.ford.com/company/plant-detail-pages/livonia-transmission-plant.html

Actually ZF has a large transmission plant in SC.

BTW the 6R80 is not the exact same in the different Transits- the 3.7 has fewer clutch plates than the 3.5 version.

 

Correct. But my link is for the 3.7 and there is also a rebuild kit for the 3.5 ECO boost as well.

 

Was there ever an update? What happened to the vans?

 

This Ford tech says to definitely change the fluids sooner then Ford co recommends
https://youtu.be/Nse_z9RmPcQ

 

I would hire a mechanic to install a somewhat old school engine and trannee in it , i would do it myself if i had a place to work on it.
I'm not that familiar with Ford's but I know for the Chevy I used to buy custom wiring harnesses were you could install a basic PCM , a few sensors and have a very simple setup , it was basically everything you needed to make it start and run like a champ but nothing you didn't need like emmissions etc.
I think them wiring harnesses were marketed to hot rodders like good guys , I'm pretty sure they have em for Fords too, maybe stick like a old 302 in it and some basic simple fuel injection. or a carb

 

I'm curious , are these low , med or high roof?

 

Had the torque converter issue on my newish Colorado a month ago that was under warranty. The warranty process by Chev. seems to be change/flush/replace fluid with new designation fluid. If that does not work then replace torque converter. If that doesn't work then then replace tranny. The change/flush/replace fluid procedure must be precisely followed for it to work. So far so good on the fluid change. Again it is a transmission like the transit that is a sealed unit with no dip stick.

 

The maintainence schedule is to keep the vehicle running for the "Life of the vehicle" What ford thinks the life of the vehicle is and what I think the life of the vehicle is are vastly different.

Ford is in the business of selling/financing/leasing vehicles. Period. They want to you junk your two Transits and buy two brand new ones.

An OEM idea of life of a vehicle is somewhere between 100 and 150k miles. Thats it. Junk the vehicle and buy a brand new one after that. If you follow the maintenance schedule, you will make it to the "life of the vehicle" (100k-->150k miles). Don't expect it to last much after that.

if you want the vehicle to last longer than that, then you will have to do better/more frequent maintenance.

Transmission fluid and filter (drop the pan) changes every 40K->50K miles, oil changes every 3-->5K miles (even with super duper boutique synthetic oil), frequent gear oil and other changes. That will cost you more money and time. Overall its cheaper to do frequent maintenance than not to.

good reference article:

http://www.agcoauto.com/content/news/p2_articleid/45

 

It was built to be a commercial work truck, Not a consumer vehicle. Companies buy a hundred or more of these at a time, Keep them 2 years and dump them.
It is what it is.

 

The torque converter went out on my 2016 250 diesel at about 40k

One of our other 2016 diesels just needed a new motor at 140k.

 

I have a 2015 transit 250 with 46,000 miles. Drive shaft broke, wiped out wiring harnesses and trashed the transmission. New transmission will be necessary according to dealer.
The flexible coupler was replaced at 30,000 by the dealer. It looks like by van will be out of service for weeks.