I know now that this was a design defect in the unit. I had the choice of a Ford Re-Man or an AAMCO Ford Leftover New unit. Unfortunately, I chose the OEM Ford leftover at about 76,000 with a 36,000 mile warranty. I should mention the unit went while towing. Upon leaving a rest stop going downhill, a bump was heard after it shifted and it was stuck in high gear. My wife and son decided to attempt to make the 200+ mile trip home while I plotted dealers on their path. Upon driving in the driveway and stopping, the transmission failed completely and would not move.

The technician at AAMCO said it looked like a bomb had gone off inside the case and my wife and son were lucky it didn't catch on fire it must have been so hot on their ride home. So this new leftover 4R100 unit was installed. It's obvious why Ford sold them to AAMCO - they had a major design defect. I will report our second transmission incident in my next complaint, but it also went after approximately 50,000 miles while driving through the Black Hills of South Dakota and we could have been killed. Somehow we made it to Kansas City where the temp gauge went off the scale. Ironically the Excursion was built there and after a 3-day weekend we had a REMAN unit installed by Ford. I could tell immediately it was a different transmission, it is even geared differently. I'll detail this second incident in more detail in my next complaint.

After original 4R100 transmission overheated and failed in 2005 at 75,000, a leftover new 4R100 was installed. I also had a brand new radiator installed just to be safe. I should have gotten the Ford Re-manufactured unit (IF I had realized they had a design defect).

My family and I took a trip to Wyoming and the Backcountry in 2008 after prepping the vehicle, including flush and new ATF. I also had an aftermarket transmission temp gauge installed in 2005 to watch while towing. We were not towing on the Wyoming trip. On our way back we were driving through the Black Hills in SD and I noticed the transmission was feeling different and hesitating. This was some pretty treacherous mountain driving and I was worried it was going to fail, but didn't. But driving into Kansas City I felt it start to act up and the temperature started to go way up beyond the boiling point. I was able to find an exit and limp to the side where it just stopped and would not move. Apparently the vehicle was built in KC. This was a Friday afternoon. We towed to the Ford dealer who agreed to have a Re-manufactured unit ready for us on Monday.

We have been running on the Re-manufactured unit since that weekend which was at about 125,000 and things have been smooth as silk with this unit now at 205,000. This is the longest a transmission has been able to survive in our vehicle but it's important to note that a LOT of heavy trailering has been behind it during this time but most importantly it is geared completely differently than the first two 4R100s and it even gets a lot better gas mileage. It does not get nearly as hot, even while trailering and on hot summer days going up hills.

It's a crime that Ford was not required to recall the 4R100 units.

The V-10 Excursion (aside from the junk transmission it came with) has been a major work horse and I wish it was still made if it didn't cost so much new.

I bought this 2001 vehicle in 2005 with 60,000 miles on it for about $10,000 and, even after paying for two transmissions, it has been a reliable towing vehicle with a huge payload. I also used it to haul scouts around to campouts, but mostly used it converted as a covered 4x8 pick up.

The view and seat make for a comfortable ride on highway driving with little fatigue.

BUT THE RIDE ITSELF STINKS with the 4WD front leaf springs. YOU FEEL EVERY LITTLE BUMP ON THE ROAD.