Two days ago, I was driving on a North GA steep, windy, mountain road in my 2002 v6 4.0 Ranger. All of a sudden, i started revving real high (about 4000rpms) and getting no power (20mph). I pulled over immediately and transmission fluid was pouring, by the quart, out of my truck. I didnt get to look exactly where it was coming from, since i backed away once i saw a small flame coming from the leak. i then called a tow truck (assuming it was a seal or a hose break) and had it towed to my house.

I started investigating the possible problems and didn't really see anything noticeable under the truck (not that I was expecting to). So what I did was put three quarts of transmission fluid in the dipstick hole and put in gear to see if I could spot a leak. nothing. then I drove it around the block to get it warmed up and put a little pressure on the transmission by driving up a semi-steep hill to see if that would spark the leak again. still no sign of the a leak.

And finally, when I went to go check the dipstick after my test drive, it read to be above the cross hatched area, hence being overfull.

Any ideas on what my next step should be?
Thanks

 

First check your schedule maintenance, the Automatic transmission gets a fluid, filter change at 150,000 miles.


Then make sure the level is between the holes on the dipstick when cold, on the hatched area when at operating temperature.


Don't overfill, don't under fill.

 

check and make sure there is no trans fluid in radiator,,, unless it is one of those that use a small finned cooler,,, should be hoses from trans to cooler of some kind,,, check and wiggle around,,,if it leak that much it will show up...

 

Welcome to FTE.
Lets think about this some more. After the event, just adding 3 qts of tranny fluid & going for a drive to test for leaks, makes me want to ask, Before the steep mountain road drive cycle, was the tranny fluid level Properly checked per your owner manual? With the tranny fluid at the specified operating temp/10 mile out & back drive, vehicle on level ground, engine at warm idle speed, after shifting into All gears/including "R", ending in "N" or "P"????
Did you then, or do you now have a lit or flashing OD light???? If so, use your ELM scantool to scan the tranny computer for trouble code clues & post All code Numbers, as they can help focus your trouble shoot.
Seeing as how the rpm's got high & you lost ???? amount of fluid, the clutches & fluid could have been over heated & that can make varnish, gum, sludge & other putrids that can muck up the valve body workings, clutch linings, torque converter, ect, so I agree that a pan drop, filter change & full tranny fluid pump out with a licensed Mercon-V fluid should be Seriously considered. If you like turning your own wrenches, there is a easy to follow procedure for doing this at the bottom of the "Tech Info" thread that's located atop this forms index page.
Seems to me, since you can't find any leaks, if the engine was overheating, or the tranny fluid level was too high, or too low Before the steep mountain road drive, the fluid could have been whipped into a frothy, aerated, or over heated milkshake & was spewing out of the tranny vent.
More thoughts for consideration, let us know how it goes.

 

This is what I was thinking, pawpaw.

As noted, Mercon V is the only fluid that should be used in the transmission. "Dual-rated" tranny fluids are not recommended. I like to use the Castrol Mercon V brand which is certified by Ford.

The OP might consider adding a separate ("auxiliary") transmission cooler, if not so equipped.

 

Thanks for all yall's help!
I just took the truck for another test drive and once again didnt spot any leaks. After getting the engine nice and warm, I shifted through all the gears (starting and ending on park) and then checked the transmission fluid (on a flat surface). Still reads to be about 3/4 of an inch above the crosshatched area.
Should i drain some of it? whats th best way to do that on these trucks?

 

Ok, good feedback on properly checking the tranny fluid level. Good idea to fix the overfill condition.
Use a hand pump with tubing attached that's longer than the tranny dipstick in case it comes loose it won't drop into the pan. Attach one end of the tubing to the hand pump syphon tube & thread the loose end down the tranny dipstick/fill tubing & pump away, to remove what you need too. I cleaned up a hand soap pump & it works ok, takes a while to remove say a qt, but smaller amounts come out fast enough. If you want it to come out faster, use a marine lower unit lube hand pump, its piston is larger so will remove more volume with each stroke, but will cost $6-$10 at places like WalMart, ect.
EDIT: You did the tranny fluid level check with the engine running at warm idle....right????