BLown OD repair update - 92 4x4 with automatic

Got my 92 back from the tranny shop. Right at $1400 for the rebuild
with 2yr/24K warranty. Asked them to save the exciting parts for me
to look at.

The part that caused the failure was a VERY thin radial roller bearing
that appears to act as a thrust bearing for the OD planetary parts.
Once it went it allowed the other parts to shift back an eighth of an
inch and start rubbing on each other.

I guess 127K miles isn't bad but it sure looked like Ford could have
made the transmission an extra 1/8 inch longer and put a heavier
bearing in there or something.

Having seen what failed it's now very easy to understand why they said
DO NOT TOW IN OD for these things - It clearly is not a heavy duty
design as far as OD loading.

a dealer told me once to never tow in OD. however, others have said no
problem with doing this.

thanks for shedding some light on this. a bad mark for Ford though.
"Ashton Crusher" > wrote in message
...
Got my 92 back from the tranny shop. Right at $1400 for the rebuild
with 2yr/24K warranty. Asked them to save the exciting parts for me
to look at.

The part that caused the failure was a VERY thin radial roller bearing
that appears to act as a thrust bearing for the OD planetary parts.
Once it went it allowed the other parts to shift back an eighth of an
inch and start rubbing on each other.

I guess 127K miles isn't bad but it sure looked like Ford could have
made the transmission an extra 1/8 inch longer and put a heavier
bearing in there or something.

Having seen what failed it's now very easy to understand why they said
DO NOT TOW IN OD for these things - It clearly is not a heavy duty
design as far as OD loading.

How could this be a bad mark for Ford? Dig back through this NG and you will
see many old, old, old posts from a Ford tech telling people to cancel OD in
situations where OD is inappropriate.....

But, they all knew better....

On Mon, 15 Jan 2007 10:13:11 -0600, "oklaman" > wrote:

>a dealer told me once to never tow in OD. however, others have said no
>problem with doing this.
>

It depends on the transmission. The ones in the early explorers
definitely were a "don't tow with OD" version. I have heard there are
other models where supposedly it's not an issue. Jim Warman may know.


>thanks for shedding some light on this. a bad mark for Ford though.
>"Ashton Crusher" > wrote in message
.. .
>Got my 92 back from the tranny shop. Right at $1400 for the rebuild
>with 2yr/24K warranty. Asked them to save the exciting parts for me
>to look at.
>
>The part that caused the failure was a VERY thin radial roller bearing
>that appears to act as a thrust bearing for the OD planetary parts.
>Once it went it allowed the other parts to shift back an eighth of an
>inch and start rubbing on each other.
>
>I guess 127K miles isn't bad but it sure looked like Ford could have
>made the transmission an extra 1/8 inch longer and put a heavier
>bearing in there or something.
>
>Having seen what failed it's now very easy to understand why they said
>DO NOT TOW IN OD for these things - It clearly is not a heavy duty
>design as far as OD loading.
>

well, my 2000 2WD owners manual says cancel OD when towing up/down steep
hills, or towing heavy loads. it doesn't say cancel OD when towing
anything.

but I agree that it should be cancelled when towing anything.

couldn't Ford have made the very thin bearing a little thicker to prevent
some catastrophic failures?
"Jim Warman" > wrote in message
news:2PWqh.152206$YV4.83236@edtnps89...
How could this be a bad mark for Ford? Dig back through this NG and you will
see many old, old, old posts from a Ford tech telling people to cancel OD in
situations where OD is inappropriate.....

But, they all knew better....

Ashton Crusher wrote:
> On Mon, 15 Jan 2007 10:13:11 -0600, "oklaman" > wrote:
>
> >a dealer told me once to never tow in OD. however, others have said no
> >problem with doing this.
> >
>
> It depends on the transmission. The ones in the early explorers
> definitely were a "don't tow with OD" version. I have heard there are
> other models where supposedly it's not an issue. Jim Warman may know.
>

They say the Explorer with the V8 has a strong tranny.

But I think this calls for some common sense. If you're towing a
utility trailer with 500 lb gross weight on flat ground, that's one
thing. ( I recently used mine to bring home an 8' sliding glass door,
total weight under 500 lb- overdrive was not an issue.)

If you're towing a big, heavy boat in hot weather, in rolling
terrain... that's quite another.
-Paul