I have few F250s. The current issue is on a 2010 5.4. I'm having difficulty finding the trans type which is the first problem I'd like to address. From what I can find it seems most likely to have a 5r110 in it. Truck is a 2wd with 130k on it.

Two days ago I was hauling a cat 257b on an equipment trailer. I was using the t/h function on hills around philly. I was about an hour into my trip at 50mph steady when I noticed a ton of smoke coming out of the back. Initially I though it was tire smoke but underneath there was fluid dripping off of the exhaust pipe. I have a trans temp gauge and it was always straight up and down in the middle. I let it cool and waited for somebody to come grab the trailer from me. I couldn't see anywhere that appeared to have fluid coming out of it except on the exhaust and it was definitely red/pink fluid. Since it took 4 hours for somebody to come finish the haul for me I drove the truck about an hour back home. It didnt leak on the driveway at all. I drove about 20 miles yesterday to see if I couldn't get it to actually provide a leak and now the bottom of the trans is covered in fluid but I can't actively see it draining. It looks like maybe from the top of the bell housing.

I had the exact same situation happen in another one of my 250's at the same milage and it turned out to be the pump seal and it was $1800 for a new one with a high performance torque converter installed.

I guess the points I would like to address are:

What trans do I most likely have?
What would be the most likely cause of the leak?
Would it be worth replacing seals on my own if it is a pump seal?

I've been searching this site, YouTube, and google for a good 6 hours now and I haven't found much. The only thing I found similar was somebody with the exact same situation and everybody said the trans was probably just over filled.

 

Are you sure it's not puking out of the dipstick tube? Had a friend that trans would overheat and puke fluid out of the dipstick tube. His factory trans temp gauge never stirred above mid scale.

Fix for him was an aftermarket temp gauge and an oversized aftermarket trans cooler.

 

I saw that the o ring could go on the dipstick tube also. I'll look into an aftermarket temp gauge. It's an xl work truck that 90% of the time has some type of trailer on it. I'd like to keep it looking stock if I can. I'll also look into the cooler as well. I hate chasing leaks it's such a pain in the ***. I have a warranty on the power train for another 10k miles but it only covers internals so I doubt it covers my issue.

Thanks for the reply.

 

I've had this situation develop twice with our '09 F-250. Both times it was when I was towing. The fluid seemed to have been running down from the top of the transmission onto the exhaust. I've been told here and elsewhere it was a fluid overfill situation and it appears that is a correct analysis. The transmission temp acted differently in that it never got anywhere near the overheating point but it wouldn't cool down like it normally does after I stopped and the truck was idling. I've also been told that is a symptom of an overfill condition by the resident transmission expert/engineer and I believe in what he says explicitly.

I would suggest getting a ScanGuage II or something similar to monitor transmission temp accurately and in real time. The factory in dash transmission fluid temperature gauge is nothing more than an idiot light. It reads the same through a huge range of temperatures. By the time the gauge reacts to an overheating situation it's usually too late.

One thing is for sure, when this happens it will get your attention very quickly and it'll put a knot in your stomach in a heartbeat!

 

I just started looking into the scan gauge, great recommendation. I was thinking I would need pillar gauges and all. If I can find one that has a temp gauge in it then that's what I'll be buying.
I go surf fishing quite a lot and every year atleast 1 truck burns down on the beach from over heating a trans. Not something I want to mess around with. If they put these transmissions in diesels I can't imagine my 5.4 would do anything that would be over abusive. I'm usually hauling around 3k pounds worth of mowers. Just so happens I had to haul a skid loader against my better judgement.

I'll stop rambling but I'm going to clean off the bottom of the transmission and check the fluid level and report back any additional findings.

 

The time was, when you could say "I blew a tranny", without being scorned.

 

Most likely it's a 5R110 since that was the only automatic available. If it has a clutch pedal it's a ZF6.
Overfilling.

Not knowing your skill level I don't know how to answer this. I would if it were mine, and I determined the pump seal needed replacement I would replace the pump seal, the bushing, and the pump o-ring. I'd also replace the converter if the polished end had any damage on it.

The factory gauge will stay right in the middle of the range when the trans is warmer than 50°F and colder than 230°F. 230°F is NOT so hot that it's too late. 230°F won't hurt the trans or the fluid.

Good plan.

 

I didn't have any time at all last week to mess with this leak. We had a little snow storm coming and took 3 days to get my plows and spreaders up and running.
This morning the trans was dry, but still had fluid on it. I turned it on and let it warm up. After about 5 minutes it already had a stream of fluid making its way to the bottom of the pan. There was also fluid on the outside of the drives side, I'm assuming resignator, maybe its the cat, on the exhaust. I let it cool off and sprayed degreaser all over the trans. I'm letting it soak and then I'll spray it off again. The fluid is mostly on the drivers side. The leak looks like its coming from the top of the trans. Is it possible there is a line or something up there that's cracked? I may just take it to a local shop.

 

I just pulled the dipstick again and it has fluid all the way up to the part where the measurement goes to back to the metal dipstick. Definitely too much fluid one way or the other, assuming its all transmission fluid in there and not contaminated with another fluid.

 

this happened to my aunts 4runner whenever she pulled her small lawn mower trailer. there is a vent tube on top of her transmission and when the trans was working hard or it got a little hot it would 'burp' and trans fluid would run down the side of the trans on to the exhaust.
i am going to assume same thing here more than likely a vent tube on top of the trans and overfilled fluid is 'burping' from the vent on top of the trans

 

Im going to take it into the shop. I put 16k miles on it since I bought it in March and I would say it's had a trailer on the back for probably 14k miles. If it were an over filled problem i think it may have shown prior. I don't want to be towing something up the highway and get stuck. Most jobs I tackle myself but this one I'm going to pass on. I'll report back anyway for any body following along. Thanks

 

MMMMGas, any updates? I'm having a very similar prob on my v10 4r100.
thanks

 

Yeah I cleaned off the trans with degreaser and rode it around light duty for a few days. It didn’t leak any more. The mechanic I use told me to do that rather than bring it in. He said it was most likely just overheated and spilled out. Which seems to be the case. Been about a year of hard towing and haven’t had the problem since.

 

What exactly is happening with your 4R100?
What temps are you seeing? Unloaded and towing?
What year truck? Does it still have the factory trans cooler and does it have the in radiator cooling loop also?
Where is the fluid leaking? The input shaft seal on these trans has been known to leak when overheated.
Did this happen while driving or reversing?

 

Question! does going in reverse and then noticing the spewing transmission fluid from the top of the trans by the rear main seal is? Putting it reverse after towing heavy equipment and a trailer with two pallets of bricks and a pallet of 50 bags of cement also a 24’ cement pole 15” in circumference. Heavy…. I let it cool down and refilled the transmission. Seems ok now. Is this something I should have checked by a shop???