Transmission keeps overheating
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Transmission keeps overheating
I have a 2000 F350 crewcab 4x4 with 36 inch tires with 3.73 gears i have a 125hp flip chip and tymar intake with 4 inch exaust. Anyway the trans has overheated 2 times in the past month both times it blows fluid out the torque convertor cover and the fluid gets burnt, but ive not let it get over 210 degrees on the gauge, it does it in stop and go traffic. today when it overheated i just drove it home and as soon as i got on the highway temp dropped from 210 to 180 and stayed there. there is no debris in the pan and it shifts great.i know the big tires with stock gaers arent easy on the trans but i still think somethings wrong. the trans was put in under warrrant 30,000 miles ago but it shifts great and doesnt seem to slip. Could the torque convertor be slipping and burning the fluid? Should i upgrade the convertor or save for a whole new trans?
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From: Middle Geogia
What color is the fluid? Are you running synthetic or dyno? If the oil is not red, but rather brownish and smells burnt your oil is bad.
When ever you over heat anything on Dyno you severly hamper its ability to lubricate and to control temperatures. For every five minutes of operation "overheated" I think it reduces the lubricity of the oil by 10-15% depending on how high you go.
If you are not running synthetic you need to change the oil now. You probably really overheated dyno oil once and now the oil is trashed and cannot react to the temperature and so the "overheat" point has been lowered. Go with a "real" synthetic trans fluid and the tranny will not only run cooler, but will be able to take the higher temperatures.
Whatever you do, get the trashed dyno tranny fluid out as soon as possible.
When ever you over heat anything on Dyno you severly hamper its ability to lubricate and to control temperatures. For every five minutes of operation "overheated" I think it reduces the lubricity of the oil by 10-15% depending on how high you go.
If you are not running synthetic you need to change the oil now. You probably really overheated dyno oil once and now the oil is trashed and cannot react to the temperature and so the "overheat" point has been lowered. Go with a "real" synthetic trans fluid and the tranny will not only run cooler, but will be able to take the higher temperatures.
Whatever you do, get the trashed dyno tranny fluid out as soon as possible.
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last time it overheated i changed the fluid right away i didnt drive anywhere. yesterday i drove home probably 15 miles and then changed the fluid it is not synthetic in it now should i change it to synthetic? what brand? the fluid isnt brown it is just darker than new fluid.
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From: Machais/Snohomish, WA
Sounds like your Torq-converter isn't locking up in stop and go.. and the slippage causes a great amount of Friction = Heat.
I would definately have it looked at....when you pull the pan and look at the magnetic strip in the bottom. see if there's a sea-urchin looking clump of clutch dust or metal there.. if it's just a little strip.. then that's normal... but if it is of any size.... like as thick as a pencil or bigger you may want to consider a rebuild or new all-together.
Best of luck..
YMMV
Your Resident Foneguy
I would definately have it looked at....when you pull the pan and look at the magnetic strip in the bottom. see if there's a sea-urchin looking clump of clutch dust or metal there.. if it's just a little strip.. then that's normal... but if it is of any size.... like as thick as a pencil or bigger you may want to consider a rebuild or new all-together.
Best of luck..
YMMV
Your Resident Foneguy
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From: Machais/Snohomish, WA
Also.. if your gonna pull the pan and your already down there... if your Tranny has a ruber seal.. becareful and save it... cause it's most likely one of the re-useable type.. if it's cork... Toss it and get a new one.. and do't forget to swap in a new Filter.
Foneguy
Foneguy
Tuned
Joined: Sep 2003
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I agree with everyone else that you should be running synthetic. If you haven't done so already bring your truck to a trans shop you trust and have the trans and T/C completely purged of the old fluid. You need to get it all out.
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From: Middle Geogia
There are some great directions as far as swapping out all of the Trans fluid here on this site. The Synthetic will run cooler and be mroe resilient to temperatures.
As far as a brand I won't recommend a brand (for fear of hate mail from Bob Ayers) but I will tell you to make sure that it is a synthetic that starts with synthetic base stock. The three I know of are Amsoil, Redline, and Mobil 1. There probably are a few more.
As far as a brand I won't recommend a brand (for fear of hate mail from Bob Ayers) but I will tell you to make sure that it is a synthetic that starts with synthetic base stock. The three I know of are Amsoil, Redline, and Mobil 1. There probably are a few more.
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i took it out and ran it again with the chip turned all the way up and i can get to 210 degrees very quickly and it started blowing out fluid again. so i think i need to do more than switch to synthetic fluid. i just dont know if i should spend money on a torque convertor if i am going to end up replacing the whole transmission.
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From: Romulus, Michigan
I went through 4 trannys before I upgraded to a bts we tried transgo and used an aftermarket cooler combined with the stock one 2 coolers still no good there just isn't enough clutch surface with stock parts and the converter can't handle the combination of bigger tires and all the extra power that you have ats makes a great trans and converter too,banks converter is in the same ball park hope this helps.
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can anyone tell me what happens when a torque convertor goes out? something is slipping more when i take off the engine revs higher, also the truck will roll backwards when on a slight incline in drive, the temps goes up real fast when idling at a stoplight in drive holding the brake, or in stop and go traffic. when i get on the highway the temps drop from 200-210 to 170-180.
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Joined: Aug 2003
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From: Prineville, OR
Maybe your tranny fluid isn't circulating at a sufficient pressure or volume. I had an old Pontiac that leaked fluid. When the fluid was low, it needed high RPMs to move the vehicle. Adding fluid cured it everytime. maybe you have a bad pump or a clog. It does sound like your converter is slipping, whether due to a bad converter or lack of line pressure.
I would expect temps to cool on the highway as more air would be blowing through the trans cooler.
Keep us informed!
I would expect temps to cool on the highway as more air would be blowing through the trans cooler.
Keep us informed!
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