2000 Excursion 4x4 v10 auto.
Pulling the boat last weekend up the driveway fromt the lake and the truck started smoking under the hood at the top of the drive. Jump out and saw a fire under the pass floorboard. Go the hose and put it out in 30 sec. Thought i blew a trans line and it sprayed on the cat. Took it to the shop and he said lines are good it's not leaking. He said it is possible that the trans over heated and built up pressure and blew it out past the front seal.? Any thoughts on what happened or how to prevent it from happening again? Thanks for any and all info. Ros

 

It didn't build up pressure and blow out past the seal. He was just showing that he doesn't know how a transmission works.

It overheated the seal and blew fluid out. Most of the time when this happens once the seal cools off it works fine again. It can do this overheating/cooling off several times before the seal fails for good.

The way to prevent this from happening is to use 4x4 low in that situation. The GREATLY reduces the strain on the torque converter, and that GREATLY reduces the heat it generates.

 

Mark, Thank you for your info. I will put it in low 4wd going up the driveway. Whats your thoughts on me putting a larger cooler on it? I have read where people are putting a 6.0 31 row cooler on them. They seem to be about 250-350 on ebay for a cooler but there are also aftermarket coolers for 125 that they say are good. Ive owned this truck since 2001 and have never had any problems towing before. Thanks again Mark, Ros

 

For my money I would stay away from the aftermarket coolers, I have the 6.0 cooler and love it. it mounts in the factory location and works perfect. I used the factory 6.0 lines and adapted them to my factory lines.

 

Ordered 6.0 cooler this morning and temp gauge. I have spent 4 hours read posts (including 448 posts by Mark K....back to 12/31/13 trying to trouble shoot my problem.
Today i filled the trans back to full with mer V, cleaned/wiped the trans. Let it warm up for about 20 mins in the drive with no leaks and took it for a 5 mile drive hilly drive. (i'm in the mnts) Got back and all looked good underneath. Hooked the boat up,(still warm from the drive) loaded the wife/kids and we were off to the lake. Got and 2 miles all flat/down hill driving and stop a service station to just take a look to make sure all is good....... There i was with trans fluid dripping on the exhaust with heavy smoke pouring out. So i laid down with two fire extinguishers knowing that it's about to catch on fire again! After cooling it with water i drove it home with no problems shifting without the boat. Took my 7 lug ford pickup down and picked the boat up.
Question:
What is the first things i need to do to figure out whats going on?
Fluid smelled and look good.
Is it boiling the fluid making pressure or is it pressure caused by a blockage in the trans? Give me a lead and i will follow on this subject! Thanks again for the help!

 

Find where the fluid is leaking out and we can go from there. Most likely the torque converter hub seal has failed.

The fluid is not boiling and the pressure is not too high. The cooler could be restricted or blocked.

 

We should be discouraging you from thinking this is something that can be peer amrchair mechanic repaired. Trainsmissions tend to degenerate pretty quickly once they start to show trouble. Even the most fundamental DIY analisys would not result in "put into service" prognosis....for example...pull the pan and see if the screens are clogged with trans plates material ...so if it is...fix is not to clean the screen and keep driving...needs to go into shop for rebuild.

 

Mark & Fritz Thanks for the input!
First off the area i'm in i have two friends that own repair shops both in bizz over 15years in the area and they both said "they don't know of a trans shop they would trust" in a hour plus drive. So i went on criaglist just to see and found a add stating
("Rebuilt ford 4r100 all new clutches, seals, gaskets, bushings, filter and solenoid pack. Built for a customer but never came and picked up, it's the smaller bellhousing design, does not fit the diesels, comes with 1yr unlimited mile warranty, does not include converter. Stock converter is 175 w/core hd multi clutch converter is 250.")
Call him and he said before you going putting a trans in what is it doing? I told him and he stated that it most likely the torque converter and leaking out the relief vavle (i think thats what he called it) on the side of the trans black round. He said if it shifts out fine with it to the floor going thru the gears it most likely the converter and it doesn't need to be built. He said you could save some money and put in converter, pump gasket, filters and take a good look at the internals. He said 150 fluids, about 240 converter and parts, 300 for the nieghboring shop to remove and install trans... he would do that for 850 total and warranty parts and labor for a year unlimited miles. If he had to build mine then it would be just under 1100.00. He said i just bench build trannys for repair shops and i do not remove or install. He is located in a industial park with many automotive repair shops so it's not someone that does this at home. He's been in bizz for 9 years. He would have the truck back in 3 days or sooner. He has the shops pull them at the end of day and he works until 8-10pm so they can install first thing in the am.
This sounds to good. I am a very lucky person in life in general. Could this be my luck or? Seemed to be very nice and well spoken. Not in a rush to get me off the phone ect..

Mark with all the fluid everywhere the first time i did see a drip coming from that black round vavle thing in the side of the trans. Looks like it has a slit in the middle of it. But also saw fluid at the front of the bellhousing. I will get under it tonight when i get home.

Fritz, I hear you preaching..... and you are most likely correct that it's time for the shop. Truck has never been to the shop other than this. I have owned this Excursion since 2001 with 28k (off ebay) and now 210k miles with the only repairs being 4 coils, alternator at 181k and of course rotors/breaks. Other than that NOTHING!!!! I drive it 90% Atla city traffic like a sports car. Ask anyone who rides with me It is a tuff truck and $70,000.00 later in fuel i'm glad i bought it.

 

There is no relief valve on the transmission. I do not know what you mean by the black round valve thing on the side of the trans. Which side? Where on the trans?

It most likely is leaking from the torque converter hub seal. Replacing the torque converter MIGHT be necessary, or it might not be. The only way to know is to take the trans out, remove the converter, and inspect the hub where the seal rides. If the hub has any damage then the converter needs to be replaced. If the hub looks new then the converter does not need to be replaced. I've seen them come out both ways. There is no way to know ahead of time.

 

If you want a piece of mind with your transmission Look into BTS transmissions or A motorcraft HD4R100. The motorcraft unit is slightly more expensive but you can't beat the year unlimited mileage warranty.

 

Mark trying to load pic of the leak. Guess I can't load from iPhone to this forum. ? I will TRY post pics tonight from pc

 

which, by the way, will do nothing toward solving his problem if the cooler lines are restricted.

Mark has outlined a very systematic approach. following that is your best bet.

 

Well i was able to see what my problem was. The builder let me watch the complete rebuild. It ended up being the intermediate support i believe that what it was called. When he put it in his hands and looked at it he said he believe this was the problem. He took a dead blow, tap the shaft and pulled it apart saying it should have taken a little more to get this apart. He then showed me a gasket that is now installed (was no gasket from factory) that he said would fix it. Took about 3 hours for the rebuild including about an hour is the washer. Will install it in the morning after lines are flushed and new 6.0 cooler is installed. Thanks again for all the help on this forum. S

 

Thanks for following up with us!