Leak repair on 4R75w transmission

[AWAR]

I purchased a 2006 Eddie Bauer Expedition as a possible parts rig for my wrecked 06 Navigator. The Expedition has 220k miles but had never been hit hard, the transmission had been out three times trying to stop a front pump area leak. The previous owner had had enough and gave up. $600 and I drove it on the trailer and brought it home. I added fluid and took it for a drive to see if the transmission worked properly. It had four gears and marked its territory nicely. I parked it and ended up building a 2003 Navigator to replace my 06.

Finally got back to the Expedition. The previous owner had replaced the front pump seal three times with no success. The transmission had been recently rebuilt. I removed the transmission and inspected the leak. Torque converters have been known to leak due to cracks. The seal looked good but there was a steady stream of oil out the inspection hole while running. I disassembled the entire transmission and inspected everything. The torque converter was a recent rebuilt unit. The transmission had two stripped front pump bolt holes in the case. They had just siliconed the stripped holes nd pushed the bolts in.

I pressure checked the converter and could not get it to leak. I helicoiled the stripped holes in the case and discussed the issue with my close friend that rebuilds transmissions. He said that the stripped holes were most likely the leak issue. I put it all together and found one more pump bolt that would not torque to the 20 ft/lb required. One more helicoil and they all pulled torque. I installed the transmission enough to fire it up and leak check the transmission. It looked good for about two minutes then started to very slow drip out the inspection hole.

I need to change some parts, I searched for a core transmission. This is a 5 year run 2004-2008, so they are pretty rare. I also discovered after buying a 2006 core that they used these with the V6 also and they have a different case. I pulled the transmission and swapped the front pump and converter out of the core and the leak is no more.
The transfer case is back in and I will finish this and finally do a thorough test drive tomorrow=next year.

Happy New Year!

 

[SafariGoneWrong]

Wow. So, you have a wrecked 06 Navigator and a 06 Expedition contributing to a 03 Navigator rejuvenation? Or is the 06 Expedition now in a condition it’s a usable vehicle and no longer a donor? I’m impressed with everything you have done.

 

[AWAR]

The Expedition passed the road test, 31 miles and only a couple items that are in-op. A/C is not cold, speed control does not work and there is a tire pressure sensor fault. Other than that it is a nice driving rig.

03 and 04 are very different than the 05 and 06. The early cars are throttle cable and have EGR, the later cars are drive by wire and variable cam timing. Chassis and bodies are very similar but the electronics are a different generation.

 

[whtbronco]

Nice write up, thank you. There is so much to learn from some you guys with experience.

I had no idea the 2005/6 models were drive by wire.

 

[AWAR]

Chains are noisy on startup, so I have ordered parts and know what I will be doing in January.

 

[SafariGoneWrong]

Fun job…I’ve been there a few times. Of course, it’s a great opportunity to do roller followers and lash adjusters if it’s in the scope of budget and future plans for the car. And if you do the oil pump, I’d avoid the Melling HV variant. My story with that thing was posted long ago and absolutely love the good old M340.

 

[Avian]

Fun job…I’ve been there a few times. Of course, it’s a great opportunity to do roller followers and lash adjusters if it’s in the scope of budget and future plans for the car. And if you do the oil pump, I’d avoid the Melling HV variant. My story with that thing was posted long ago and absolutely love the good old M340.

M340??

 

[Avian]

I purchased a 2006 Eddie Bauer Expedition as a possible parts rig for my wrecked 06 Navigator. The Expedition has 220k miles but had never been hit hard, the transmission had been out three times trying to stop a front pump area leak. The previous owner had had enough and gave up. $600 and I drove it on the trailer and brought it home. I added fluid and took it for a drive to see if the transmission worked properly. It had four gears and marked its territory nicely. I parked it and ended up building a 2003 Navigator to replace my 06.

Finally got back to the Expedition. The previous owner had replaced the front pump seal three times with no success. The transmission had been recently rebuilt. I removed the transmission and inspected the leak. Torque converters have been known to leak due to cracks. The seal looked good but there was a steady stream of oil out the inspection hole while running. I disassembled the entire transmission and inspected everything. The torque converter was a recent rebuilt unit. The transmission had two stripped front pump bolt holes in the case. They had just siliconed the stripped holes nd pushed the bolts in. View attachment 86410

I pressure checked the converter and could not get it to leak. I helicoiled the stripped holes in the case and discussed the issue with my close friend that rebuilds transmissions. He said that the stripped holes were most likely the leak issue. I put it all together and found one more pump bolt that would not torque to the 20 ft/lb required. One more helicoil and they all pulled torque. I installed the transmission enough to fire it up and leak check the transmission. It looked good for about two minutes then started to very slow drip out the inspection hole.

I need to change some parts, I searched for a core transmission. This is a 5 year run 2004-2008, so they are pretty rare. I also discovered after buying a 2006 core that they used these with the V6 also and they have a different case. I pulled the transmission and swapped the front pump and converter out of the core and the leak is no more.
The transfer case is back in and I will finish this and finally do a thorough test drive tomorrow=next year.

Happy New Year!

Good story!

 

[AWAR]

Chains, guides, crank sprocket and tensioners are installed. The long guide on the driver’s side was broken in half, the tensioners were almost all the way out. Both of the tensioners gaskets had pouched out and were leaking oil. Going back together now.

 

[whtbronco]

Dang, any thoughts on what caused the chain guide to break on the 3V? My 2V had almost 300k when I replaced the timing components and just a little wear, but certainly not broken.

 

[AWAR]

I suspect that this engine has missed some scheduled maintenance over the years. I also suspect someone has ran too thick of oil in it. Both tensioners have lost gasket integrity and would have leaked oil and been loose on startup. Tensioners need to remain full of oil or they slap the guide when oil pressure builds. They were almost all the way extended and the chains had some slack when I took it apart. That means the chains were at their wear limit.

 

[whtbronco]

What are your thoughts on oil viscosity for these engines? I know Ford calls for 5w-20, though the 2V prior to 2003 called for 5w-30 and I believe it's the same engine from 97-04. Many here suggest switching to 5w-30 as the reason Ford changed to 5w-20 was fuel economy?

I know this is a loaded question so to speak, but each of us has our opinion. Your opinion has experience behind it though.

 

[AWAR]

Ford wants 5-20 in the engines with variable cam timing. My 4 cam 5.4 also says 5-20 and Premium fuel. My 06 Navigator went 240k miles on 5-20 and premium fuel before it got t-boned last July. Ford said that the 5-20 was because of the tiny passages inside the variable cam timing actuator. The 3.0L Escape engine is where I first ran into that oil spec from Ford. I am now retired but I have been a fleet mechanic and mechanic foreman all my life. 50+ years as a mechanic. The new pushrod Ford V8 engine requires 5-30 not 5-20.

5-30 is probably fine except at cold temps in these engines. I just resealed a 4 cam 5.4 for my new to me 03 Navigator. It still had cross hatch on the cylinders and perfect bearings. The cams and cylinder heads were also perfect, only replaced the valve seals and all the timing components. This engine has 200k miles on it, and will live the rest of my life.

We did run 5-30 in the V10 powered F550 trucks at work instead of the 5-20 Ford wanted. These trucks weighed 19k pounds and the guys ******* about both the horsepower and the fuel mileage. I just laughed because we paid them to drive them and bought the fuel. Never lost a gas engine over the life of a truck.

Now the Ford Diesels are a different subject. 7.3 was wonderful, the 6.0 had some problems, the 6.4 made the 6.0 look great. The 6.7 has it’s own set of issues as they wear out. Difficult to keep oil inside the engine once they get 10k hours on them. Unfortunately we kept them until 15k hours and 200+k miles.

 

[whtbronco]

Thank you for the information. Congrats on the retirement, obviously you are still working just not paid now being your own vehicles .

I had no idea the new gas 7.3 Godzilla called for 5w-30, interesting.

0w-16 just blows me away. I guess next we'll just run distilled water for engine lubrication, haha.