2001 F-150 Transmission problems

[BigMac]

I apologize for the bad picture but that is what I got right now. This was my dad's truck, he passed away earlier this year. My mom has been driving it ever since. The truck has an automatic transmission. She drives from her house across town to come visit with me and my brother at our house. The last time she drove it a few weeks ago it acted funny on her, she didn't know how to explain it so I test drove it around the block. I tell you guys I didn't know if I was gonna make it back to my house. Reverse won't work most of the time, motor just spins. When I was driving it would shudder bad. I believe it sounded like metal scraping too but I can't remember 100% cause it has been a few weeks now. So I got back to the house and checked the transmission fluid and it smells nice and burnt. I looked up online and it seems like this is a common problem with these F-150's around this year. So I believe the transmission needs to be replaced. Has been sitting in the driveway ever since.

My problem is I don't have much money so I'm trying to figure out what the smartest thing to do is. I will list my options as I see them below.

1. Sell truck and buy another vehicle that is running

2. Replace transmission myself with a cheap junkyard transmission

3. Pull transmission and have it rebuilt by a shop then install it myself

I've already tested the waters on number 1. I put the truck on my local craigslist and got a ton of emails. Everyone seems like they want the truck. My highest offer is $1500 which I think is low. If I fix the truck I should be able to sell it for at least $4,000 or more I think. The problem with number 2 is these transmissions are prone to failure so would this last even long enough to sell it? Number 3 I'm weary of because I've heard horror stories with transmission shops, and it is probably too expensive for me anyways. I'm not sure what to do.

So I just thought I would see what everyone has to say and to be honest I feel better just talking about my problems!

[ocnblu]

I would go to a salvage vendor that sells parts with a 90-day warranty and get a transmission with the lowest mileage they have to install yourself. Drive it for a week or so then re-list it for sale. If possible. Good luck.

[G. David Felt]

Depending on the desire/need. If your mom wants to keep the truck and likes driving it and the sitting position and the rest of the truck is solid, then researching a local transmission shop to rebuild it and then you reinstall it yourself is worth the money. A good shop will build it stronger than an OEM or a rebuilt OEM tranny.

I know as the local transmission shop I have used does outstanding work and their transmissions have always lasted well for me.

I am hesitant to have you get a low mileage tranny from the junk yard as I have had nothing but horror stories with them. Rather invest in rebuilding the one I have over that option. Yet if your mother does not care about the truck and would rather go to a high mileage commuter car, then this is a cheap option to do and get it listed and sold.

[Drew Dowdell]

How many miles on the truck?

[BigMac]

Thanks for reminding me Drew, I planned on mentioning the miles but I guess I forgot. It has around 110,000 miles on it. I am not sure exactly how many it had on it when my dad bought it. I'm pretty sure since it has been in the family we have only put about 10,000 miles on it.

[G. David Felt]

young truck if the maintenance has been done.

[Drew Dowdell]

With that sort of mileage, assuming it has been taken care of, it is probably worth having the transmission replaced/rebuilt. Even if you don't keep it, you could still sell it for more than a few grand.

[G. David Felt]

Based on what info you have given us here and the picture, I plugged in the info into Kelly Blue Book and it came back with a low end of $7729 to a high end of $9204.

I would say it is more than worth fixing the tranny and selling it yourself.

[BigMac]

Yeah dfelt I agree. It kind of upset me when I saw multiple emails with the offer of $500. I mean I can understand people wanting something they can make a profit on but that is just ridiculous. I agree the best bet is to fix it. I'm going to have a talk with my mom and see what she wants to do. I don't think she cares about keeping it. Looks like I'm going to have some greasy hands soon.

[Drew Dowdell]

Alternative to number 3. Find a cheap tow and drag it to the transmission shop for a rebuild or replacement with rebuild.

[G. David Felt]

Good Luck BigMac, Keep us updated on how the project goes.

[BigMac]

Hey guys, I just wanted to check in with a little update. The truck is still sitting in my driveway. I have not been able to do anything with it yet. The good news is this, me and my brother have been saving our money up and we got enough to start seriously looking at used cars and trucks. I'm not sure exactly what I want but I have a pretty good idea. I'm looking for something like a Ranger, S-10, Civic, etc. Something that has a manual transmission and a 4 cylinder engine. Hopefully I will be able to get really good gas mileage. There has been a lot of good looking used cars for sale lately in my area. If I can find something that has the A/C working on it too I'll be in heaven! The idea is to pick up a good used truck and then we can start going to our local U-Pull-It junkyard. Once we find a good transmission from a wrecked car in the junkyard we will have the F-150 with a big fat for sale sign. When we find a car I'll be sure to post pictures.