Need some good stories about 4r100's

[makey98]

Trying to find my first diesel. I always like the 2nd gen dodges (98-2002) but they are have some issues with lift pump, dowel pin, and 47RE tranny that kind of worry me. I went and looked at a couple and they seemed kind of poorly made. So I moved to Ford and was trying to make a good decision. My uncle has had a 93 F-350 7.3 idi forever and that truck is so smooth. I need a super cab or crew now though with a kid and all.

So I am looking for a 99-2002 F250/350. Any suggestions for ones to avoid?
I can't' find a manual to save my life so I am trying to justify buying a truck for 15k with 130k and who knows what kind of transmission life left. My feeling is that I will have to put on some gauges first and then maybe a tranny cooler just to be safe. The thing that I don't like is that if the transmission craps out and I want to put in a better one, my only options are auto's and it looks like 2500 bucks plus labor. Ouch. If I could do a manual swap or something with a nice tranny if it busted then I would have more excitement about it. Plus, I have never driven a stick diesel and think it would be different with the lower rpm range.

Any suggestions? Any stories about the LONGEVITY of your 4r100?? Seems on the internet all you ever read are the bad stories. No one seems to tell the story about how their auto ran for 200k with no issues?

One other small note? Is a supercab long bed the same overall length as a crew cab short bed in those years? I can't find this information. Thanks all.

[Stroked02F350]

Supercab long bed is 2 or 3 inches longer than a CC SB. My 4R100 is at 163,000 and is holding up okay. With my TW on extreme it will slip though. They tend to hold up well if you keep them cool and don't abuse them. If you search the forum for auto to manual swap there is alot of info on it. My plan is to blow this tranny up and get a BTS and be done with it.

[symbols]

Mine went at 170k. Never had a problem with it before then and had been running a tuner for over 100k

[makey98]

10 hours and 2 stories? Maybe I will keep looking for Zf6.

[layson]

5k or so for a built BTS trans and you won't ever have to mess with it again...

[INTERNATIONAL7.3]

yea, but if you change your fluid, and keep the temps down then the 4r100 is fine for stock power levels.

- ask the guy alot of questions about the truck before you buy it... did you tow a 5th wheel? if his response is "no i only get groceries on sundays." or "i do burnouts with a loaded excavator" then you can make your own dicision.

[ZachBoyer]

Last Saturday I was doing burnouts with a excavator on the truck......


As of this morning Truck is in the Tranny Shop will be done tomorrow. I just got some minor upgrades. Suncoast. Interested to see how they hold up

[INTERNATIONAL7.3]

monkey see monkey do

[makey98]

I think I have psyched myself out with this whole manual versus auto thing. It seems all you read are horror stories on here. Doing some research on the zf6 it has its issues as well.

I do like driving a stick though, never done it with diesel though.

Is this the solution that everyone comes to. Try to find a truck with auto that hasn't been abused, change the fluid often, and save up 5k for ats or bts when it dies?

[2005F250]

82K on my unit. About 40K miles of towing and feels fine. 170K on another truck and still going, 160K on one that busted a pump seal backing a trailer up a driveway with edge on 3, and 51K on F450 that tows 95% of time. Shifts smooth.