I have a 2003 Ford F150 pickup, V6, 5-speed manual transmission. My warranty expired at 36,000 miles and my clutch slave cylinder failed at 37,000 miles. After contacting the dealership and telling them about the problem and asking them if they would cover the part since it had failed prematurely, and they answered "no". I took it to a private shop and had the slave cylinder replaced. The day after I got it back I periodically heard strange noises coming from the transmission. I took it back into the shop that replaced my slave cylinder. Upon observation they found nothing. After driving it for two more days the problem was extremely evident by the noises that were constant whenever I shifted as well as in neutral. I took it to a reputable transmission shop and told the shop that I wanted to be there when the transmission was opened up. I was present when they opened up the transmission. As they pulled the transmission apart, they found mangled thin metal debris, some pieces as large as my thumbnail. After taking the entire transmission apart and inspecting all bearings and all other parts, they found that the pieces were a foreign material to the transmission. They did not come from any part of the transmission. One of these pieces found its way between the gears on the counter shaft and broke one of the teeth, explaining the noise. So, in short, we are currently having the transmission rebuilt at a cost of $1800 on a vehicle with only 37,000 miles on it.

- Glendale, AZ, USA