# when to rebuild 5R110W trans?



## rv4jesus (Jan 18, 2011)

I have a 2008 F250 6.4L diesel with a 5R110W trans and I went to check the trans fluid before the season and the dipstick came out gritty. I have not noticed any problems with the trans slipping, shifting bad or getting hot.

I thought it was just junk in the dipstick tube but the trans shop I took it to said the level was low and showed me the clutch shavings in the pan and a thick layer of gray metal gunk on the magnet. I don't want to have to do a trans rebuild in the middle of the winter. 

Does anyone have experience with dirty trans fluid leading to immediate problems or have you been able to change the fluid and filter and plow for another season or more. What would a normal temp on the trans be while plowing? 

I have an H&S tuner on the truck but don't beat on it other than some occasional hard plowing. Thanks for your advice.


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## Too Stroked (Jan 1, 2010)

All that gunk in your pan used to be clutch pack friction material. So it's no longer available to wear. That's one problem. Pumping all that gunk through your transmission causes other stuff to wear. So the short answer is that yes, your transmission is on the way out the door. How long do you have? No way of knowing. 

Look at it this way. If you rebuild it now, you may be able to avoid additional parts on your rebuild bill that will get added when it completely lets go. Better yet, if you do it now, you won't be loosing money during plowing season while you're sitting on the sidelines.


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## dfd9 (Aug 18, 2010)

Make sure you get the Trans-Go (I think) shift kit and upgraded snap ring when you do rebuild it. Makes a world of difference.

Mine does a hard shift into reverse every 1 out of 50 shifts. Feels like the tranny fell out. It is getting worse, but has been doing it since new. Have to get a BTS for when I destroke my truck.


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## wewille (Jan 20, 2009)

How many miles to you have? Unless the friction material is excessive and there are chunks i wouldnt worry much. Clutch packs are like brake pads, as they wear they lose material. Every single pan I've dropped has had the grey gunk on the pan. These transmissions hold up very good, and usually I dont see them with minor problems. They seem to be blown up or just fine...

With that said your tranny shop should give you the best advice, they saw the material in the pan, so I would take their recommendation...


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## dieseltimmy (Aug 29, 2011)

the torqshift trans is a good trans with very few issues...i'm a diesel tech at a Ford dealer and hardly ever see one come through the door with a problem. you should just do a trans service(replace filter and fluid) and drive it....and make sure you put the right fluid in it....should take mercon sp..other fluids can cause damage.


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## rv4jesus (Jan 18, 2011)

Thanks for the advice everyone. I will see how the tranny holds up for a while and if I have to have it rebuilt have it done with the heavy duty clutches and shift kit. So far this transmission has been fine so if it works...don't fix it, at least not till I make some money with it.


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## SalNazzaro (Jan 17, 2011)

In one issue of diesel power they had a spartan or innovative tuned 6.4 and took the trans apart after a year of abuse to check it out and everything was still fine, there was some wear but it held up to more than double the Hp of a stock 6.4. The 5r110s really hold up good. I've got 70k on mine and just get a trans flush after every plow season. You should be good for a while


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## trickynicky17 (Feb 12, 2009)

See if you can find a good shop in your area that uses BG products. If they do go get the complete trans system flush it runs around $250 but well worth it they flush the entire system converter and all and put in 2 BG additives. I do it to my 6.0 every year its amazing, defiantly worth it. Oh and i work for a municipality here in CT and every highway dept. plow truck gets this treatment and not one has failed yet.


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## rob_cook2001 (Nov 15, 2008)

I have killed 4 5r110 transmissions, 2 of them were built transmissions.. don't get me wrong, they are the best 
Stock transmission out there. From my experiences I would change the fluid/filter and run her, might have a lot of life left in it.
Robert.


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## Mark13 (Dec 3, 2006)

rob_cook2001;1370865 said:


> I have killed 4 5r110 transmissions, 2 of them were built transmissions.. don't get me wrong, they are the best
> Stock transmission out there. From my experiences I would change the fluid/filter and run her, might have a lot of life left in it.
> Robert.


Well most of us don't play on your level. 

Couple friends of mine have 6.4's with the 5R110 behind them. After 160k (40k behind tuned at double the stock hp, has dyno'd 634rwhp with it) a friend of mine decided to put a full suncoast kit in his. Prior to that he had a suncoast converter and a trans module from Spartan. It was run hard quite often and never missed a beat. His overdrive clutch pack showed wear but the rest looked fine, if tuned back down towards stock power level it probably had 100k+ left in the trans.


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## rv4jesus (Jan 18, 2011)

*thanks again for the advice*

All seems good with the new trans fluid and filter and I pray it will continue that way for a while. They did need to replace the pan because of a leaking drain plug fitting.


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