$103.49 for a grommet replacement

thewood

Registered User
I got a big surprise today when my AOD started slipping bad. The problem occurred totally out of the blue with no warning.

On my way to work today my transmission started slipping between overdrive and 3rd gear and mildly slipping between 1st and 2nd. Being that I just got the car three weeks ago I was totally pissed when this stated happening. I popped the hood and inspected everything and found nothing wrong. Therefore I ended up taking the SC to my mechanic who suggested a fluid change. So I agreed and everyone went on their merry way. When the job was completed the AOD still slipped. I got her home and went in the house and had a beer to think about things. Dam was this going to cost me a new or rebuilt AOD?

So I went back out to the garage and opened the hood. I farted around with hoses and fluids for about 5 minutes and accidentally bumped into the accelerator linkage by the intake where the accelerator cable and step down cable attach. It's a good thing I bumped it because when I bumped it the step down cable moved below the linkage and was totally unattached. I hadn't noticed it before but the grommet that attaches the step down cable had cracked and fell out. I didn’t notice it because the attachment point was up snug against the bracket when the engine was at idle. I didn’t have a replacement grommet so I used a cable tie to temporally attach it back and voila, the tranny shifts normally now.

So lessons learned here.
1. Plastic parts are crap. Ford sold me a replacement Nylon grommet that they said is used now because of the exact problem.
2. Do a more through inspection of all tranny attachment points before taking it to the garage.
3. The guys at the local Garage are as clueless as I am.

Total cost of a job that should have cost me $1.84 cost me $103.49.

Incase anybody needs to know the part number is FMC E0AZ7F330A
 
I have to add some more bad news then to your day. The replacement grommet will more than likely fail. Please go back to Ford and ask for p/n F3SZ-7H03-B It. It is a brass bushing and clip to replace the grommet that broke. Even the nylon bushing you just purchased will age over time from the under hood temps and fail. If your dealer has trouble getting you one, drop me a line and I will get it for you.

Paul
 
Go Brass!

Ford had a TSB out on this a while back. Replacement grommets were brass with a nice stainless steel clip. Don't know if the part is still available, but that part number is F3SZ-7H303-B.
 
The brass grommet kit is still readily available out of Ford under that part number ... $1.79 retail price in Canuckistan dollars, so likely $1.25 or less down there. :)



cheers
Ed Nicholson
SCCoO
 
thewood said:
I didn’t have a replacement grommet so I used a cable tie to temporally attach it back and voila, the tranny shifts normally now.
:D I still have a cable tie on mine. Only thing I don't like about it is there can be some ever so slight slip of the cable position in the throttle linkage. Having said that, sometimes my tranny will hunt between OD and D at cruising speeds. I wonder if its due to that.
Incase anybody needs to know the part number is FMC E0AZ7F330A
Thanks. Yes, I do need it.
 
Rick, shame on you for not buying a $2 part. :)

I like the brass grommet and steel pin. That's what was on my BBK 75mm TB.

Jerry
 
I have a BBK 70mm TB and the brass grommet I got from Ford wouldn't fit. So I stilll have the old plastic piece of junk. Maybe I should just drill the hole bigger.

Is there also a metal replacement for the plastic part that clips into the grommet (the part that holds the cable)? That's the part that looks like it would snap.
 
Rob, I haven't heard of or seen any broken pieces you were refering to. As for the grommet not fitting, you are running a different TB than the SC model arent you? I would go ahead and drill the hole out, I had to clearance the hole on my BBK to use the brass bushing.

Paul
 
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