Looking For A Solid Answer

jro909 · November 25, 2009

i have asked time and time again at the dealer, and all i get is its common...my 2004 1500 5.3, i've had to replace both rear output transmissions seals plus front pump seal now and i have just 98k on the truck...rear seals were at 70k and front was 95kish..whats the deal? is the transmission telling me it wants to die?

minibike132 · November 25, 2009

It's common, if you want to hear that you need a new trans I'll tell you that but the reality is that those repairs are common.

Nytemare · November 25, 2009

^^^^Not only for the 4L60E...but for all slush boxes.

jro909 · November 25, 2009

what causes it? the tranny seems to shift fine

minibike132 · November 25, 2009

Those are seals that keep fluid from getting out of the trans. They don't really have anything to do with the internal workings of it other then they keep the necessary fluid inside the trans. Them leaking in no way indicates internal failure. If there were output bearings bad it could cause rear seal failure but it would repeat almost immediatly.

Nytemare · November 25, 2009

Yeah man...stop your worrying...when your trans bites it,....you'll know.

Just keep an eye on your AFT level and color of the fluid. Change the filter every 25K and I like to do a flush every 50K or so...but that's just me...some people never do a flush and get 200K on the stock trans. I'm big on preventative maintenance. Its way easier to do than corrective.

jro909 · November 25, 2009

yeah the fluid is nice, it was flushed at 50k and i had the filter and fluid changed at 95k and will do it again a little over 100k..yeah i know i'm a worry wart, i've just read horror storys of the el60 dieing very fast so i baby it alot..

Nytemare · November 25, 2009

Its a 4L60E man...and those horror stories,...how many have you heard? probably what...50

This is one of the most widely used transmissions in the auto industry. Have you ever heard of a vette auto transmission blowing up...that's a 4L60E...Shut up sparkey...I know you've heard of em.

I don't baby mine at all...I keep the fluids changed, etc...but I do some harder than usual takeoffs from lights, I haul with the box pretty loaded, I do the occasional Brake stand to show off...Its not as bad a trans as you seem to think man. There's like a billion of them out there. Of course your going to hear of a lot of failures..there are so many of them...even if you hear about 10%...that's a whole lot of transmissions. But think...they've been in almost every auto V8 truck and car and a lot of V6's too since what...93 up.

They're by no means a strong trans...don't get me wrong....but they're no A4OD Ford POS...