...UH OH! Am I losing OD?

[Petrograde]

I was driving at 60 mph. I noticed the green 'OD OFF' light was on. So I turned it on. ....I felt a shudder, back and forth, and only lasted a second or two.

This has never happened before, so I'm a bit concerned.

any ideas what it was?

Thanks!


BTW- I only have 26K miles on the clock.

[fastblackmerc]

I was driving at 60 mph. I noticed the green 'OD OFF' light was on. So I turned it on. ....I felt a shudder, back and forth, and only lasted a second or two.

This has never happened before, so I'm a bit concerned.

any ideas what it was?

Thanks!


BTW- I only have 26K miles on the clock.
I can feel mine shift when the OD is switched off and when you switch it back on. No shudder back & forth tho.... Try checking the tranny fluid.

[CRUZTAKER]

.......BTW- I only have 26K miles on the clock.
My OD band was toast at 16k. You drive like I do...I've seen you....:P

If indeed it is going. This is a great oportunity for a full flush, j-mod, better stronger gear bands, a tweak, pinch, poke.... and a nice stake in place of some snap ring that likes to fall off our '03 trannys.

Look at it this way, albeit expensive, it's a great oportunity to fix a few things.
Maybe add a new stall t/c....:rolleyes:

Shoot me now. I have already ducked.;)

[Petrograde]

I don't feel like warming her up right now, so I'll check the fluid level when I get to work in the morning.

Yeah Barry,.. I do drive like you. :burnout: :burn: :cuke:

If that's the very first symtom of my OD failing, I'm suprised it waited until 26K miles! :P

well,.. crap... I was thinking about getting some Kook's, but this is going have to take priority. :depress:

I guess I better do a search on the J-mod,... what should I expect to pay for the install?

[Bluerauder]

I was driving at 60 mph. I noticed the green 'OD OFF' light was on. So I turned it on. ....I felt a shudder, back and forth, and only lasted a second or two.

This has never happened before, so I'm a bit concerned.

any ideas what it was?

Thanks!


BTW- I only have 26K miles on the clock.
Tom,
Merc may be able to provide some insight into this. Some of these symptoms seem to match what he experienced before is OD went south about a year ago. :(

[marauder307]

[QUOTE=CRUZTAKER].... and a nice stake in place of some snap ring that likes to fall off our '03 trannys.

[QUOTE]


Where's this snap ring located in the transmission---what's it holding in place?

Thinking about trying to have my tranny looked at before the warranty runs out...and the diff.

[Mard]

[QUOTE=CRUZTAKER].... and a nice stake in place of some snap ring that likes to fall off our '03 trannys.

[QUOTE]


Where's this snap ring located in the transmission---what's it holding in place?

Thinking about trying to have my tranny looked at before the warranty runs out...and the diff.
I've noticed a few posts on this subject lately. Has anyone confronted a dealership to find out why, what appears to be design flaw, hasn't been addressed by a service bulletin.

Is this unique to Marauder transmissions?

[Petrograde]

I've noticed a few posts on this subject lately. Has anyone confronted a dealership to find out why, what appears to be design flaw, hasn't been addressed by a service bulletin.

Is this unique to Marauder transmissions?

The dealerships will usually fix whatever is wrong IF you are still under warranty. The problems with the Ford AOD transmissions go back for years. The Marauder is not the only vehicle that suffers from it.

The problems with them seem to arise once you start adding HP. ..or after 36 months has passed. :P

Recall? I highly doubt that. Why? If it breaks because we added HP, they could argue it's from the mods. If it breaks after 36 months, they don't care cause they don't have to pay (unless you spring for the extra coverage)

NOTE: the above remarks above are just my cynical view of the subject.

[David Morton]

In ten years at General Motors dealerships I never saw a recall that didn't have to do with safety or emissions.

Sometimes a "policy" repair is done, basically this means they admit a design flaw. Usually this is done for customers that make the specific complaint and most of the time it's not for a major repair, like replacing a tranny, but can be for fixing one if it's not too expensive, depending on the manufacturer. I did many a 4th clutch housing replacement (in the car) on FWD Buicks for double-bump shift feel, and none of the other GM divisions that had the very same tranny did them. Granted most of them were under warranty but a few were out of warranty, but I got paid a warranty time nonetheless!

Now you know why I'm retired! This business takes the best technicians and either makes shameless crooks out of them, or uses them up like so many paper cups. One reason I'm impressed with my friend Claude is that it seems he's not yet jaded by the system. He's still young though but perhaps he's found a dealership that hasn't succumbed to cult of the gravy-hog, what we call the slap-it-together, 80 flagged hours, 32 worked a week man that has more comebacks than anybody but always seems to be the "best man" to the service manager, only because of the money he generates. Few SMs realise what else he's generating, ill-will from customers that far outweighs the temporary profits by making the product look poor in their eyes and sends them to a different manufacturer come time to trade-in and buy a new car.

I'm so glad I could take the time to tell this story and it not ruin my day. I love cars and working on them and always have. The factory schools taught me well how to fix 'em right the first time, and then the dealerships taught me how and why that doesn't happen far too often. But I've heard the factories know about this problem, and are trying to change things. First with better assembly line QC, then with more reps "counting beans" and keeping an eye on CSI (customer satisfaction index). My belief is that it's indemic to the flat-rate pay system and until technicians get paid differently, it's going to continue to be a problem.

End of rant.

[metroplex]

You want to replace the snap ring with a spiral retaining ring to hold the Mechanical Diode / One-Way clutch.

[Mard]

You want to replace the snap ring with a spiral retaining ring to hold the Mechanical Diode / One-Way clutch.
If you simply pay for this repair (preventative maintenance) out of your own pocket...what should this cost approximately?

[Petrograde]

If you simply pay for this repair (preventative maintenance) out of your own pocket...what should this cost approximately?


Yup,.. ^^^THIS^^^ is what I need to know too.

..I checked my fluid level when I got home from work,.. It was right where it needed to be, and it wasn't burnt. I was kinda hoping it would be low,.. easier, cheaper fix. :o

[Petrograde]

........ :bump:


Yup,.. ^^^THIS^^^ is what I need to know too.

..I checked my fluid level when I got home from work,.. It was right where it needed to be, and it wasn't burnt. I was kinda hoping it would be low,.. easier, cheaper fix. :o

[N40GL]

The dealerships will usually fix whatever is wrong IF you are still under warranty.

Yeah, but a dealership will only fix it with the same part. They won't put that spiral ring in for you.

When this happened to me (I was either the first or second car to experience this unexpected, er, 'joy') I was at MVI and ran into the new owners of Art Carr. Shortening the story, I got the transmission rebuilt into a 'street/strip' version with all the upgrades mentioned here for about $900. However, my tranny was pretty much toast (burned toast at that) all the way through. If you have some salvageable parts, I bet your cost is less. The Art Carr guys learned about the 'Jerry Mod' in doing my transmission (and those for Dennis) as well as the tailshaft lube mod, and I hear they do it all the time now.

If you overnight the tranny to Art Carr on a Monday, he sends it back finished for you to have on a Thursday (they are right by the airport in Abilene) to arrive Friday. I think Dennis uses this system for his cars a lot, and I hear he's pleased with the results. I think you can do it as a private owner, but you might have to do it through Dennis because he is a dealer (i.e. Dennis sets it up, but you do the shipping and pay Dennis).

I have no earthly idea what it costs to ship stuff like this, or whether it saves any money (as opposed to getting it all done locally).

If you want more details, I can share them if you PM me with a 'real' email address (so I can send you a couple of files). I can also pass along the names/numbers of the folks at Art Carr who are always willing to talk about this.

I'll also share my files/data with anyone else who wants it.

Mark

[CRUZTAKER]

You want to replace the snap ring with a spiral retaining ring to hold the Mechanical Diode / One-Way clutch.
That's what I was trying to say in my PM....

I'm not much of a mechanic...but I know how to break things. :baaa:

[worksuxxx]

Petrograde, the fluid does not have to be burnt to feel a shudder. If the color is brown and not burnt will still cause same feeling. If the color of fluid is brown, hydraulics of fluid have broken down symtom usually felt is a shudder when torque convertor trys to lock in overdrive. I made it to 36k miles on my first fluid change, but with tune and gears and way I drive it now, will now change every 20k. Change fluid and filter, give it a try. Can almost bet that is all you need. Stay away from the flush though. Or opt not to use cleaner when they do.

[SergntMac]

If you simply pay for this repair (preventative maintenance) out of your own pocket...what should this cost approximately?It's all internal and the tranny will have to come out of the car for rebuild, so, if that's the plan, may as well get the Stage II kit from Dennis and do it right once.

[Petrograde]

I flushed the fluid at around 10K and again around 20K, around 30K I'll change the filter. When I checked it, the fluid was still red. :up:

A transmission cooler and temp gauge are on my list of 'stuff I need' I'll probably opt for the DR Level II kit sometime this summer.

[Smokie]

I flushed the fluid at around 10K and again around 20K, around 30K I'll change the filter. When I checked it, the fluid was still red. :up:

A transmission cooler and temp gauge are on my list of 'stuff I need' I'll probably opt for the DR Level II kit sometime this summer.
Tom, check this out....http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=18927

[SergntMac]

Nice moves, Javier. Somehow I feel you went on the hunt for this special and important 411 on Tom's behalf. Thank you, my friend, you are truely a great MM owner.

Tom, I have a .zip file of pics of broken 4R70W parts recovered from Zack's and my 4R70W trannies back in '03. They were once posted in our gallery, but lost in a crash. These pics include two deformed "C" clips, accumulator pumps, seals, springs, and burnt clutches. Drop me an e-mail at SergntMac@aol.com and I'll FWD this zip file to you. BTW, Reinhart's Stage II will replace all of these parts with the competition grade parts, as well as any other parts affected by other failures. The kit is so complete, you are sure to have parts left over.

[Petrograde]

Javier, Mac...

Thanks guys! :up: :up: This is what makes this site so great! :bows: