Hey y'all, I was wondering if I could get some help on my 2000 f250 7.3 4x4 with a 4r100 tranny. I was towing my boat home and noticed the temperature rising from roughly 140 all the way to 160 over a short distance. As soon as I pulled up to the house I noticed I was dumping my transmission fluid. Went to a mechanic and he fixed the leaking on the transmission by replacing some seals and changed out my rear main seal while the tranny was out. I also went ahead and replaced the torque converter so I would not have to do it in the future. went to pick up my truck and noticed that on the way home the temperature was still rising. On a normal day here in Texas my tranny temperature was about 125 While towing it would creep up to about 143. Now, just getting home it got up to 180. does anyone have any suggestions or an idea of what could be causing the temp to run this high and keep climbing? Thanks

 

could the trans cooler have a blockage?

 

I guess that could be an option.do you think I would have to replace the cooler and the lines or could I get away with just the cooler itself?

 

The condition of them would decide that. I would clean them well if reusing them.

 

I will try that out and see if any improvement happens. I appreciate your input.

 

Check the big electrical connector on the passenger side of the trans. If it's loose it can wreak all kinds of havoc....

 

If you do, lot's have converted to the 6.0 cooler as it's far more efficient.

 

180??? Are you kidding? That's nothing to worry about. Save worrying until it hits 230+.

Most likely, your OLD readings were bad.

 

180?!?! I missed that. That's perfectly normal operating temperature. Yeah don't worry until about 230 or more.

 

Thanks Cleveland, that's an easy check I can try out. Appreciate that info.

 

Where is your temp sensor located? It seems that your past readings were way low. According to Mark K. (former FORD trans engineer who designed the 4R100) and is a member on this site states that the ideal operating temp range for this trans is around 180. If your temp was located in the return line after the cooler and you were reading 180, then your temps could have been as high as 240, danger zone depending on how long you operated there. (thats based on an assumed 60* temp difference of your cooler if you were operating 180 but reading 125 and the temp sensor was in the return line.) But these are all assumptions. Head on down to the 7.3 forum and present this and location of your temp probe and your likely to get answers more suited to your specific truck. I recently installed a 6.0 cooler and my summertime temps dropped from 180-190 to a constant 150 unloaded, and up to 170 when loaded and towing. You might be in need of one if you havent done any serious damage already.

 

Thanks, I'll be sure to look into that ProjectSHO89

 

Well I purchased this truck about a year ago. I installed an edge tuner for the 7.3 and from then on that has been the reading it's given (125). When I was driving it back from the mechanic, the temp went up to 180 and the OD light on my shifter was blinking on and off. I thought that meant it was overheating?

 

You did it? Or you had a shop do it? Generally speaking the the "cookie cutter" tuners/chips (Edge, banks, bully dog, etc) are frowned upon around here by those in the 7.3 forum, or at the least, not as passionate a following as the many custom tuners there are out there. If you installed it, where did you put the temp probe? In the test port on the trans is the most common, but those temps you stated (125-140) seem awfully low unless winter time and in siberia. Or is it reading the temp from the onboard computer? The blinking light could mean a couple things, most likely it means there is a wire chafe in the steering column that is problematic with these model trucks.

 

I installed it. Instructions stated to put the probe at the bottom end of the manifold but that was to read the EGTs.