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Jeremy McQuown

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So I bought my 01 trac in April with 62K on it since then I have had to replace the shocks ($300) and transmission ($3K) and I have only put 3K miles on it. Should I get out before I lose my ass even more? The guy at Cottman said my torque converter was spitting out metal shavings and that there could have been caused play in my crankshaft (?). Am I done replacing sh!t for a while or is my engine next?



I got rid of my 02 BMW 3 series because of the maintenance cost and got this thing, I feel like an idiot.
 
Well if the tranny was rebuilt the converter should have been replaced with the tranny..

As far as it causing crank shaft damage, Highly UN likely...

You bought a first year production vehicle with over 60K on the clock, There are bound to be issues with that type of vehicle...

But the engine is a strong power plant in the st...

Todd Z
 
That would depend on who had it before you.



My 2001 is at 59K with no major issues.



However the shocks on all tracs needed to go at mile 1. Just search for shocks, it was a comfort issue really, I upgraded mine around 40K.



I don't play with my crankshaft very often, but I would imagine that crankshaft play would show up in other areas such as performance, misfires etc...



Some tranny's supposedly sucked on the trac. You should do a carfax.



Did you test drive it before buying? The tranny didn't feel like it was slipping or anything?
 
I am with the others on the theory that the Torq should have been replaced with a 3K tranny.



Shocks are pretty much junk from day one on Sport Tracs. If you do a search you will find hundreds of us that swapped them out even when the vehicle was new, (with after-market brands, not OEM).



As noted above you bought an early production model. You may have gotten some of the bugs of this specific vehicle as a result. But I seriously doubt you'll have further issues that come anywhere near the issues you have had.
 
Go to a couple of auto recycling yards that sell builders. Ask them for a couple of good shops that do mechanical work. They will give you some good info on good cheap work.



$3k does sound kind of high. I'm surprised they didn't do the torque convertor for that price. Did they do a rebuild or a replace?
 
my 2k1 has 59k on it also.... no issues to date. BUT, I drive it like a granny and take good care of it. You may also, BUT you dont know who owned it before and how THEY drove it.
 
I agree with most of the others. $3K for a new tranny and you didn't get a new torque converter. Also the likelyhood that the torque convererter would cause any play in you crankshaft it totally bogus. I would definitely look to a different transmission shop, you got ripped off and they are setting you up for another big payday for themselves. :wacko:



I suspect the shocks were bad when you bought the truck, so you can't blame that on anyone but yourself. Unless the shock were brand new or the previous owner had proof the shock had recently been replaced, you have to expect them not to last especially if they were factory replacements from Ford...Maybe even the original shocks.



You will probably have to look forward to brake jobs, cooling system flush and a few more problems that are typical of vehicles with 60K+ miles.



If you don't like to pay for vehicle maintenance, you need to learn to do it yourself, or don't buy any vehicles. All vehicles wear and require maintenance and repairs, and as you can see by your previous vehicle, even BMW's need repair and mainenance.



You bought a used vehicle. Why do you think the previous owner sold the truck? Did he know the transmission was going bad? You probably bought someone else's headache. People don't usually get rid of vehicles they like or are having no problems with.



...Rich



 
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He drove it like he stole it and pimped it off on you.

My educated guess...

Somewhere, there may be a guy posting on the 02bmw./03series/POS!.com

website, complaining about the exact same things you are posting about

on your "new" Trac!!!, 'cept only on a used BMW that he bought!!!

Somethin' to think about.

And any shop that would rebuild a transmission, and not replace the torque-

converter, is like a shop that would rebuild an engine, and not replace the oil

pump. WASTE OF TIME!

Jeremy, again, just trying to give you something to think about, and honestly

help you out.

Let us know what else happens out of this...:)
 
Torque converter is being replaced during the rebuild.



I test drove it before I bought it, it drove great, carfax was clean, it had just had the 60k trans service through the dealer. The transmission never really acted that bad before I took it in, about 300 miles ago it started to shift into 2nd a little rough so I thought it was just the valve body so I dropped it off to get fixed. Cottman tore it down and said there was a ton of metal shavings and I needed a complete rebuild, ~ $3150 with tc.



A good friend of mine knows the owner of the Cottman where my ST is so I got the price knocked down to $2400. I should have it back tomorrow or Friday.



The manager at Cottman said they see a ton of rear diff and transfer case problems as well with ST’s.





Rich – And you have it backwards, Cottman does not understand how my TC could have gotten that bad and they said I might have play in my crankshaft that would cause my TC to fall apart like it did, they also had to install some sort of spacer between the crankshaft and TC (I think, I may be wrong).



I have no problems getting my hands dirty and usually handle all of my own maintenance, I just don't mess with transmissions.

 
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Rear Diff. and transfer case problems are unhead of around here. Sure, there is once in a while person that has a rear differential go out, but there have more thermostat failures then differential failures.



The Ford 8.88" Differential is used in just about every Ford RWD platform. What would it be more common with the Trac then other vehicles? Some vehicles have V8's and weigh more then the Trac.





Tom
 
A lot of the converters with their slow lock up speed can slowly wear and send metal through the tranny, thats why a service is crucial. Maybe the dealer changed the fluid because the old fluid was trashed, and they put a band aid on a problem and just sold the truck..

As far as a spacer between the crank and converter, Never heard of that one. There are fly wheels and engine block to tranny bell housing spacers, that the tranny shop may have damaged removing the tranny, or simply wanted to make more and changed more parts than needed.....

Buying any thing used is buyer beware.. Unless you get warranty's you can taken for a ride.

Just because the truck is shiny and has no scratches on it and low miles doesn't mean it was babied and well maintained....

Todd Z

 
That is good advice. That is why I leased my 2001 Trac first so I could drop it if there were any issues.



No issues though, ended up buying it.
 
I didn't count the ST as a first run due to the fact that all it is just an explorer with a bed.



Oh well, got it back today, $2637 completely rebuilt trans with a new TC and upgraded valves, much better than the original $3425.
 
Jeremy, even though the Trac looks like an Explorer with a bed, it never was really that. The chassis is more like a Ranger than an Explorer [explains why V8's won't fit]. The Trac is a combination of several vehicles, so to speak; but, much of the detail design is unique to the Trac and that is where the first-run problems occur.
 
Jeremy,

If the Dealer did not give you a warranty, then I suspect the 60K mile check was nothing more than a quick going over to eliminate the obvious. Perhaps only a quick fluid change/flush to help coverup the transmission problems long enough to sell the vehicle.



Carfax will only show insurance damage like a big wreck. It will not tell you if the previous owner had transmission problems and took it to an independent shop, and then decided to unload it to avoid the pending repairs.



But that's always the chances you take when you buy a used vehicle with 60K miles and without any warranty.



...Rich
 
I am one that had a transfer case prob, it started to self destruct early on. Warranty covered it. I have not heard of any one else on this site needing a new one. My other ST did not have any transfer case probs. (neither one had tranny probs, never had rear diff probs either)



Olaf
 

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