E350 Won't Shift out of Drive

[DocMike]

Betty,

I had hoped this problem was fixed. I was one who had this problem with my early model 2016 Vegas 24.1, forutunately found out prior to melt thru. If you have time read all 180 of the comments here this thread.

Glad you were not injured.

Doc

[vkb]

Originally Posted by Chance

Considering so many E-Series-based motorhomes are built with wheelbase longer than Ford offers, I think it's time Ford step up and produce at least two more longer frames for both the Cutaway and Stripped chassis. The idea of cutting a brand new chassis in two and stretching it is almost absurd when so many of them go through the process.

Chance ... well said ... Ron sez if Ford was asked, by the industry as a whole, to build a chassis X # of feet long...surely, it would be more cost efficient for all concerned, than cutting a frame, extending it, etc. Another area for failure.

Ron just went under our Axis to check out the transmission cable..
found a heat shield over the exhaust in that area and the wiring & cables in that area wrapped with aluminum insulation. He sez it appears all is well.
In addition he looked at the frame...there is a U piece of steel covering the frame where the extension was made. Appears strong and in good repair, so far.

Perhaps, our build was not on a Monday, Friday or holiday !!

Keeping our fingers crossed !!

K

[rlewis]

Just checked my 2015 Axis 24.1 and the cable is routed over the exhaust manifold, and it is melted. Called Ford and they are going to look for a dealer that can work on it. Any words of advise to convince them to fix it under warranty?

[saerdna]

We are between two trips, and I just saw this thread. I looked underneath, and sure enough, the outer cable is completely melted, and wires are showing through. We were very close to a failure. Now we just have to figure out how to get it fixed. This is on a 2015 Vegas 24.1.

It brings up the harder question: how can you trust this vehicle if they make design choices liked this - and there is no recall on what is obviously a serious design flaw - one that had the potential to cause an accident.

Andy

[DocMike]

Saerdna,

Looks like this thread still has some "Life" in it. If you read all the inputs you will see that it is a crap shoot as to which units have the problem.

Thanks to this Forum I brought this concern to Moryde and Thor's attention...they found several of the stripped units in their production lot with the "transmission cable routing" problem (somewhere I even have the VIN's for those units).

My advice is to check out your unit, do it today.

Doc

[mcr1010]

Originally Posted by rlewis

Just checked my 2015 Axis 24.1 and the cable is routed over the exhaust manifold, and it is melted. Called Ford and they are going to look for a dealer that can work on it. Any words of advise to convince them to fix it under warranty?

I had one Ford service guy locally give me some doubts that Ford would cover it and Thor or I could be responsible for the charge. I called another dealer in different town down the road, who was very accommodating, took the vin #, said he would order the cable and to bring it in as it was covered under warranty.
So, you should have no trouble getting it covered under Ford warranty. Just make sure that is understood up front and that the service mgr. you are dealing with makes that clear.

[Mo_Mike]

I crawled up and looked at our 2016 VEGAS , on a E450, and couldn't see anything wrong.

[mcr1010]

Originally Posted by Mo_Mike

I crawled up and looked at our 2016 VEGAS , on a E450, and couldn't see anything wrong.

This could have been corrected on the 2016. Other 2016 owners may want to comment on this.

[JamieGeek]

Originally Posted by mcr1010

This could have been corrected on the 2016. Other 2016 owners may want to comment on this.

The switch to the E450 frame may also have had some corrective action associated with it.

[Chance]

I'd bet on it being a coincidence.

The E-350 and E-450 stripped chassis used identical engines and transmissions so their cable issues were most likely identical.

However, the Ford 2016 Model year chassis switched to the 6R140 6-speed transmission which seems to not have the cable problem.

Thor switch to E-450s for Axis/Vegas about the same time, so I'd bet the connection is more about which transmission you have rather than whether it's an E-350 or E-450.

I could be wrong though.

[Larry]

I have the E-350 chassis and 5 speed transmission and the shift cable isn't near the exhaust manifold on mine so it wasn't routed incorrectly on all the earlier designs.

[Chance]

That is correct. No one has claimed a 100% defect rate for any model/equipment combination.

The question I'd ask is if anyone with the 6-speed 6R140 has had the problem. Even that could happen because nothing is 100% perfect. Having said that, I don't recall any reports of the new transmission having a cable problem.

[Mo_Mike]

Thanks for all the feedback....

I was just trying to head off any major issues beforehand if I can..

I appreciate all the information you guys put out on the forum..

[Kev]

Got nervous after reading all the posts on the transmission cable touching the exhaust and decided to check my 2016 Vegas 25.2. You can see from the picture it is held away from the exhaust by a plastic clip. I decided to add two stainless steel straps as a added precaution.

[DocMike]

Kev,

No picture. But a plastic clip over a hot heat source...what could go wrong??? Someone did not think that one thru very well.

Glad you checked it out.

Doc

[Kev]

Doc

Sorry about the pic I think the file was too large. But what I used as a backup to the plastic clip was a couple of steel wire ties.

Kev

[vkb]

Originally Posted by Chance

I'd bet on it being a coincidence.

The E-350 and E-450 stripped chassis used identical engines and transmissions so their cable issues were most likely identical.

However, the Ford 2016 Model year chassis switched to the 6R140 6-speed transmission which seems to not have the cable problem.

Thor switch to E-450s for Axis/Vegas about the same time, so I'd bet the connection is more about which transmission you have rather than whether it's an E-350 or E-450.

I could be wrong though.

Chance ! to give you one vote on the E450 6 spd. 2016 Chassis...
Ron inpected the undercarriage .. there is a heat shield on the pipe and all cables near and around that area are covered with aluminum insulation.

[Mo_Mike]

Originally Posted by Kev

Got nervous after reading all the posts on the transmission cable touching the exhaust and decided to check my 2016 Vegas 25.2. You can see from the picture it is held away from the exhaust by a plastic clip. I decided to add two stainless steel straps as a added precaution.

Kev

Does your 2016 25.2 have the E450 chassis or the 6 speed tranny?

Our 2016 25,2 looks to have a good heat shield, and I cannot see any cables "close" to the exhaust

[Kev]

Originally Posted by Mo_Mike

Kev

Does your 2016 25.2 have the E450 chassis or the 6 speed tranny?

Our 2016 25,2 looks to have a good heat shield, and I cannot see any cables "close" to the exhaust

Mo

Yes mine is a late 2016 with the E450 chassis and 6 speed transmission. It is not close to the exhaust at all and is secured to the frame with a clip. I opted to add a couple of steel band as a precautionary measure while I was under there.

Kev

[srolfe]

Thanks to this forum, when I took my RV to be serviced I asked them to check the shift cable, sure enough the cable was resting on the exhaust. The shop fixed this and serviced my unit prior to our 3-week trek to Olympia, WA and the Oregon coast.

I cannot praise Southwest RV in Glendale, AZ enough, They have been very good to deal with the two service appointments and the minor repairs I have had them do.