HACKS!!!! and i dont mean the computer kind.

[LEOL]

keeping this simple and unrelated to my plethora of other issues with the vehicle...

i was under the Expedition (06') checking into exhaust related fun's, and i happen to notice...

whats wrong with this picture....?



The rear transmission support mount bolts are missing....



To be honest, this doesnt even rank in the top 10 absolutely stupid things ive seen... BUT it is definitely some pretty quality HACKmanship right here. guessing this happened at the same time every bolt in the exhaust system didnt get tightened at all.

So heres the question. Other than maybe possible extra long term wear... What,... if any, symptoms or problems could or would the trans not being strapped in on the tail cause??? Has anyone ever seen a broken or unbolted rear mount cause anything short term or noticeable as far as driveability??

 

[USMCBuckWild]

Short term as well as long term: excessive vibration/premature failure of driveline components. Odd "humming" sound from passenger compartment,especially under load, thumping sound when shifting from drive to reverse.

That trans mount not being bolted in means the engine mounts are receiving all the strain. The engine torque can cause the entire driveline to shift side to side as well as up and down.

The engine and trans/tcase are basically a lever and the engine mounts and driveshafts are the only thing keeping it from moving around.


Toss a couple bolts in there!

 

[Snag]

USMC gave you a good response. I have found the same, even a couple years later on my 85 F-250 after doing a clutch replacement. So I would recommend some lock-tight on the bolts. Mine were tight (job was done before 60 and memory loss) so they vibrated loose. At least that's my story I am sticking to.

 

[LEOL]

yeah,.. along with wear,... vibration, and clunks were in the back of my mind as obvious possibilities that i didnt exclude... what i was more meaning was possible things like relating to driveability...

basically i was pondering and inquiring whether things like torque might be affected.... such as take off or passing torque that feels like power loss for instance.

on one hand, if the whole driveline is twisting during engine torque... it seems logical that torque would be reduced... then again... there are some questionable vibrations, but i havent been really getting any noticeable clunks or noises, and if it was twisting the driveline enough to be causing my theoretical torque loss... i would think there would probably be some pretty evident noise or even damage consistently present??? i dunno. what you guys think??

anyway, i suppose theres enough room between the hole ant the cross member that they could have vibrated out, i just find the circumstances pretty coincidental.

oh well, its irrelevant either way i guess... gotta go get some bolts for it. By the way... alldata doesnt list the bolt specs... and since theyre gone i dont know what size or length they were.... any recommendations on where to find those bolt specs???

 

[LEOL]

i dunno. what you guys think??

 

[1955moose]

This is going to sound redundant, order them from the dealer, as long as the price isn't to the moon. Dealer usually has size specs. Maybe you can hit your transmission shop, they might know,or have a Expedition, or f150 on their rack. Same goes for service at dealership. Talk nice to service manager, they'll probably have one your year apart in their service bay. Fourth option drive SUV to hardware store, bring different bolts outside till you get one that fits.


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[LEOL]

Yeah, i got the bolts covered... i meant what do you think about.....

on one hand, if the whole driveline is twisting during engine torque... it seems logical that torque would be reduced... then again... there are some questionable vibrations, but i havent been really getting any noticeable clunks or noises, and if it was twisting the driveline enough to be causing my theoretical torque loss... i would think there would probably be some pretty evident noise or even damage consistently present???

 

[1955moose]

Buck wild pretty much covered it. Sorry, but the end of the last post centered around the bolts, and where to find them. With the transmission and engine moving side to side, who knows if anything bad happened. I'd probably replace both engine and the transmission mounts. With only the driveshaft and no crossmember, a lot of twisting was going on. The u joints and if any bearings on driveshaft, should also be replaced. I may be overly cautious, but those items got stressed with no support. Hate to see you get towed home. Money wise your only talking a few hundred in parts, if you change mounts/ u joints yourself. Better to be overly cautious now than later. Especially this cold time of year.


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[LEOL]

im definetly going to be at the very least inspecting all the mentioned parts, but the question im trying to get at here... is the power loss. i understand the possibility of mild to serious wear on the driveline and mounts. i was trying to get your thoughts on whether this specific circumstance might cause noticeable driveability torque/power loss.

 

[USMCBuckWild]

It will cause a dip in torque and possibly driveability. To be honest, probably not enough to be noticeable.

Have you done the basic fluid changes yet? Filter fluid in trans, t/case and differentials? Old,broken down, dirty trans fluid horribly affects the transmission. Pretty easy fix and relatively cheap to do yourself. Don't get sold on a dealer "flush", just do filter and fluid change.