No Reverse...Rebuild Needed?

[TheFlyingFord]

Howdy,
Welp, our luck finally ran out on ol' M.O.E. and it lost reverse last week. When I try to engage it, it sounds like a can of nails being rolled down a street.

From what I've read, it *sounds* like the reverse servo band went out on it (but I could be mistaken of course). So here's the question; is it worth replacing the tranny completely with a used one, or should I rebuild it? If the latter, is it even possible to rebuild myself? I priced out rebuild kits on RockAuto being about $100.

The truck itself has 310,000 miles on it, so we're also trying to figure if it's even worth fixing at this point...

Thanks for the responses!



Oh and one more crazy question; is it possible to drop in a manual transmission instead of the automatic? I've heard rumors of folks using adapter kits and such, but just curious if anyone's done it? I'm not a fan of automatics lol.

 

[stamp11127]

Your skills, tools and shop will depend on whether you should attempt a rebuild. You can drop a manual in from an F-150 of the same year. It has been done on here a few years ago. Hit the search function.

 

[BlackCoffee]

I lost overdrive and did a rebuild of my 4R70W at 253K. Depending on your skill, it is not that bad. You did need a lift, it makes life easy. Also, there are a few other parts they would recommend be changed, like the transmission oil cooler in front of the radiator. It could be the reverse band and that is easy. However, if you are going to the trouble of pulling the transmission, you should just rebuild the whole thing, put in a new Torque Converter. The hardest thing I had to deal with were the driveshaft bolts on both the front and rear differential. The second pain in the butt was exhaust cross over pipe, i finally realize you need to break it at the exhaust manifold and the muffler and forget about the connection in the cross over. To do this you need to play with the transmission mount attachment to the exhaust pipe.

As for the worth fixing it. If you have a strong engine and good body, I would say yes. However, get it up on a lift, see if the front radiator support is rusted out, check the cross member under the floor for rust, look for mushrooming of the panel just before the rear bumper for rusting, and check the rocker panels. The drive train will survive a lot longer than the body, and body work is expensive.