I was plowing snow with my 99 7.3 4x4 4 door long box pickup and I noticed fluid on the ground. I had been plowing snow for about 3 hours and the fluid must have got hot and it looked like the fluid ran out the hole in the bell housing. This morning I filled it up with fluid and it seem to work just fine and doesn't leak. Is it possible it just got hot and puked out the fluid or do I need a new tranny?

 

The torque converter hub seal doesn't like a lot of heat. When it gets too hot it gets soft and leaks. Once it cools it's fine again. It can do this cycle several times, but it will eventually fail if you keep overheating it.

You probably need more cooling. The stock '99 cooling system wasn't very good. Either a trans cooler from a 6.0L truck, or a radiator with a trans cooler will help a lot.

 

With the addition of the largest transmission cooler you can find...you should really get a trans temp gauge.

 

for long sno plowing , install a LARGE trns cooler and get a small fan or two to mount on it. i would put the fns on a switch. no need to run them when you arent plowing. the fans will let you mount the cooler most anyplace under the truk. dont worry about the trans running to cool. autos love the cold.

 

You might want to think about changing your fluid if it got hot enough to boil. I also agree on needing more cooling and a good temperature gauge.
Joe

 

Had this same problem on my 2002 F250 7.3L while plowing earlier this month. Did Ford use the same cooler in 02? I was plowing 5" of heavy wet snow in a small area so not alot of driving to get cool air to the radiator. Took it in to have someone look at it they changed fluid and just told me what i had thought was the problem, front seal needs replacing. Well hasnt done that since that night, maybe once when i had to plow a drive with old hard snow in it after plowing for a few hours. But nothin since.

HOw much would another cooler be? Should I also get another trans temp guage? Considering i dont think the one in the dash really shows much.
Thanks
Matt