When hauling a lot of firewood with my truck, ive noticed I get some ATF leaking on the driveway when I get home. Not a lot, but its coming from somewhere.

I take it this is a sign of overheating? It doesnt do it when the truck is unloaded or not loaded so heavily ( I sometimes haul upto 8,000 lbs of wood with it). Truck is a 95 F250 HD 4x4, with a 351. 93k miles on truck

Im sure its never had a trans service, would this possibly help with cooling if maybe the filter is a little clogged?

 

nobody in 171 views?

 

I am going to say that working it hard it's either pushing fluid out the vent from foaming and hotter trans temps, or working it harder is pushing fluid out the pump seal.
Get under the truck and see if it's comming out from the bellhousing or from the top of trans.

Either way you should do a filter change and fluid flush.
If you have overheated the fluid it's bad now and is more prone to damage the trans later.
If you're only getting a little drip or leak then when you're refilling the trans after filter and flush, put a bottle of lucus trans conditioner and stop drip fluid in there.
If it still leaks out the pump seal after a few hundred miles then you need to yank trans and get the seal replaced.

 

Where is it leaking from?

My son had a similar problem, 93 F-150, 351, E4OD, his leaked from the front seal, and only leaked when hot.

We replaced the front seal and hasn't had a problem since.

Servicing the transmission would probably be a good idea, may not help the leak but it would be good for the trans.

About all I could suggest you do at this point is clean the trans good, get it hot and look for the leak, or narrow down to an area and post what you find.

Hope this helps

 

Ok heres a little update.

Looks like its comming from the bottom of the bell housing, pictures here



I was going to do the trans service soon as I bought some more ATF, but now you guys ssay I gotta pull trans to fix leak?

Is it pretty safe to say the trans is overheating? It doesnt shift or operate any differently. What really kills it is the last couple of hills I gotta pull the load up near my house. Trucks workin hard at it

 

its time to pull the trans and replace the front seal.get the updated viton seal.NAPA or online.
then you should really get yourself a trans temp gauge,and aux cooler to keep temps down.
you should know the trans fluid should be flushed every 15-20k miles working her like that,with high trans temps.
normal flush intervals is 30k.you can go longer if you monitor and keep temps close to perfect at 170-180ish @ the test port.
ATF,gauges,aux coolers are not cheap..........but an E40D rebuild is much more.

 

Ok thanks for the info. Is there any cooler you suggest? Should I just replace the one that came stock on the truck with the new unit?

Im looking at something like this..B&M SUPERCOOLER 13,000 BTU TRANSMISSION TRANS SUPER COOLER, LOW PRESSURE DROP | eBay

Or could I get away with something less extensive?

 

That's a stacked plate type cooler and will work well, . Stay away from the tube and fin type coolers as they do little to cool the oil.

I recommend putting the temp gauge on it as well and mount the sensor in the pan because the temperature of the fluid leaving the trans fluctuates so much under changing loads. You want to monitor the fluid going into transmission, from the pan. This will allow you to see how well the transmission cooling system is working as the return fluid gets sent through the radiator, then the air to liquid cooler and finally to the pan.

 

All good points mentioned. Also, I'm assuming you're turning off the OD when pulling/hauling. That is a must with these transmissions in order to keep them alive.

 

I turn off the OD on occasion and within reason... if its over 2k RPM in 3rd gear I will hit the button to allow it to go into OD.

Also, as far as putting the temp probe into the actual trans pan, I guess I have to drill and tap a hole in the pan for it or are there already provisions?

 

You'll have to punch a hole in it. Most aftermarket aluminum pans will hold an extra quart or two and they're thick enough to where you can run a tap in it to install the sensor.

 

Total myth.
As long as the transmission isn't hunting for the correct gear all the time, overdrive can be used with any load. I've had 16k plus behind my 460 and it only was locked out of overdrive on the hilly sections.
My 351 e4od combo also stays in OD pulling my camper.

This is always a heated topic but as long as trans temps stay safe and trans doesn't hunt, leave it in OD. I'd hate to make any longer distance trip without it.

 

The test port is the easist place to put the temp sender. Remove the plug, install sender. Done. The pump picks up the fluid from the pan then into the tranny which includes the test port. If you do install it in the pan I'd have the bung welded to the pan so it won't leak.

 

Where is the test port located on the E4od?


Matt