We took a family trip down to the Oregon dunes last week with the X. This was our longest trip towing the toy hauler with the X so far. It towed it well, and we made it down there just fine.
While my kids were off riding the dunes, I decided to take the X out to the dunes and the beach to play around a bit. I got stuck, got unstuck, and then stuck again the next day. While trying to get unstuck going over a sand berm heading back from the beach, I tried to rock the X to get it loose. My wife was ground guiding me, and started yelling to shut it down, as she saw a bunch of smoke coming from underneath.
I tuned it off and got out to inspect... Trans fluid spraying out from the bell housing onto the stock y-pipe. Crap. I figured I'd blown the pump seal, and would have to get a tow, not only out of the dunes, but likely all the way back home (read- expensive).
I checked the fluid level after starting the X again, and saw that it was on the full mark, so I decided to give it one more shot at getting unstuck, and at least try to get back to camp to further inspect the damages.
My wife hooked up her quad and gave me a good yank, which was enough to dislodge the X from the soft sand, and give me some running space to make another run up the berm. I made it over and took the most direct route back to camp (which took me through a deceptively deep stream). I figured I was probably leaking fluid the whole way, and didn't want to run low, so the quicker I got back to camp, the less fluid I would lose.
I made it back to camp in record time, and checked the fluid level again before shutting her down. Again, much to my surprise, still full. There was some dripping from the bello housing, but not puking like it had been.
After my wife caught up to me, we drove into town to try and find a trans shop or mechanic to check it out, and see if indeed the seal was toast, but it was Saturday afternoon, and no one was open. We stopped to pick up some Lucas trans fluid to add if the fluid level dropped, and kept checking the level each time we stopped. Still full.
I was a little perplexed, but came to the conclusion that rocking the truck in the deep sand must have over heated the trans fluid, causing it to boil over in some way, and that the seal was at least mostly in tact, if not leaking slightly. We had to leave on Sunday, so we crossed ourselves, loaded up the toy hauler, and set out back home. We figured that if we made it to Eugene without incident, we'd probably make it home just fine. The road from Florence to Eugene is fairly hilly and windy, and took us about an hour and a half.
We pulled over once to Eugene to check the fluid level and look for leaks. Still full, and by then, the rain and miles had washed the underside of the trans, and I didn't even see a trace of the leak!
We made it home several hours later, still taking it easy and checking the fluid at every stop. Still no signs of a leak, and the X did great. Lower gears may be in the near future if I can swing it, though, as the trans rarely was able to get into OD, and a larger trans cooler may be on the horizon as well.
The moral of the story? Don't take the X into the dunes. It is way too heavy!

 

I have read other threads here with similar results.....mostly reverse on an incline causing trans to puke.....then nothing. Maybe someone with the experience will contribute. Glad yours seems ok!

 

Sorry, that's not quite the correct moral.





Just air down the tires and Excursions will handle sand dunes without a problem.

Stewart

 

046

These guys use Ex's to go through the dunes at OBX, Stock except 17lbs. of air in the tires. (and the roof cut of haha)

 

I actually run right at 24 lbs in my tires on the beach; that way I know I still have a bit of a cushion and can let more out if I really need to. If you are careful, you can still drive on pavement without airing up again. This is what we do when we go to Cape Hatteras for a week. So far, so good. I was apprehensive initially, but it's a tank so long as you keep it slow.

BTW, I initially thought deflating to 36 lbs would work, as I normally run 60. Nope. Cuts like a knife, and you will get stuck.

 

If you're having to back a trailer up an incline like that, it's best to use 4-low as it takes the strain off the rest of the drivetrain.

 

The gas engines can also upgrade to the 6L trans cooler which does a much better job of cooling too..

Lots of threads about the mod

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