Well, after reading about others problems with their transmissions, it's my turn. I have a '99 F250, w/ V10 and 4.30 rear gears, 58k miles. I'm towing a 30' fifth wheel, and my GCVW is 16,300 (weighed on a CAT scale), so I'm safely below max.

After a long climb on a hot day, I got onto a final 12% grade up to a campground in Ruidoso NM, and my tranny overheated and pushed fluid out the front seal (maybe a quart?). I went to the Ford dealership in Ruidoso, and got the "never, ever, Ever, EVER tow in Overdrive" speech. I had been out of OD for the last 50 miles, and was in 2nd when the tranny dumped, but OK. Dealer also said that there was no way to tell if the seal would re-seal or not, or if the tranny was damged, so just drive it and see. I got back to Texas alright (600 miles, downhill!), but tranny always seemed to smell "hot". Couldn't say if it was the smell of the previously dumped fluid, and couldn't really tell if it was continuing to leak.

Questions:

I am still under a Ford Extended Service Plan (till 75k), so what can I expect from my local dealer; or, what should I "demand"? I don't want to wait until my next mountain tow (could be months) to figure out if it will happen again, or have it shell out after the warranty expires.

I have read of a TSB to add a radiator with a water/oil cooler to supplement the air/oil (only) cooler on the 1999. Does anyone have the specifc info on this TSB so that I can discuss with my dealer? Is it a good idea?

I will be adding a transmission temp gauge ASAP. Any other thoughts?

Thanks,

Mark McC