tranny belching fluid

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Nov 30, 2006 | 08:50 PM

sporteeone

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tranny belching fluid

I have a 2000 F250 7.3 w/4R100 that I tow a 5th wheel trailer with. I have 85,000 mi. on the clock, with about 30,000 mi. hitched to the trailer. Tranny operates normal 99% of the time. The other 1% it will belch 1 to 2 quarts of fluid out of the front seal. This occurs after reaching normal operating temps 165 degrees, followed by hard pulling raising the temps to 200 degrees, followed by parking the rig at the elevated temp which results in the fluid drain. It makes no difference if I idle in place or shutdown, both procedures dump fluid. My tranny guy says the front seal is the culprit and seal replacement is fruitless as he has had no success with it. Tranny has a MagTech pan and fluid is cherry red and odorless. I know with the heavy duty the tranny will fail someday, just thought this problem would be preventable. Any ideas?
Jon

Nov 30, 2006 | 09:11 PM

Fat Diesel

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From: Morgan Hill, CA

Were you backing up when it happens? That is pretty much normal for a stock trans to blurp some fluid when warm/hot and backing slowly. I've been watching the forums for years and that seems to be the consensus. There are options for putting better trans coolers on that should solve your problem. Someone with a 6.0 or TrueCool will no doubt chime in.

Welcome to the forum. You'll learn a ton on this site.

Nov 30, 2006 | 09:19 PM

sporteeone

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Thanks for your reply. No I wasn't backing up, however the last 1 mile to my destination has uphill grades which require 1st. and 2nd. gear for prolonged periods.
I've been lurking and soaking up info for years on this site and found it helpful. Plan to add a V10 or 6.0 OEM cooler swap if my temp is the problem. Temp sensor is tapped into the tranny pan.

Dec 1, 2006 | 06:06 AM

Poohbear

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From: Bethlehem Ga.

Sporteeone, Just thought I would chime in. Ive got a 02 F550 with same tranny that I pull a #15000 5th wheel and I was also pulling a steep grade when I noticed smoke from under truck I looked at stock gauge and it was peged and suddenly it quit pulling. It had blown a lot of fluid out and it was coming off of bell housing area. I first thought it was a seal. I had it towed and was thinking of a new tranny. but a few days later I filled it back up with 14 quarts of fluid and it works fine. Ive pulled my trailer with no problems. The only thing I can figure is I dont have yet, a add on cooler and it run hot and burped fluid out the vent on top of tranny above the bellhousing area. Goodluck hope this helps.

Dec 1, 2006 | 06:46 AM

Orezona

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I've had mine to 198 from hard uphill pulls and it never belched fluid. Somebody on here will have some good suggestions.

Dec 1, 2006 | 07:17 AM

Casey

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Does your truck have a trans cooler in the radiator? Ford added that mid year in 2000. Without the radiator cooler the front seal would overheat backing up or in low speed, high load conditions. When the seal overheats it relaxes and loses it's sealing capability.

If you don't have a radiator cooler, change the radiator for one that does. That is the best way to keep it cool. A better air to oil will help, but only with a big electric fan blowing on it. The stock fan doesn't draw enough through the trans cooler to help a whole lot.

Dec 1, 2006 | 07:20 AM

white Buffalo

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From: Sioux Falls, SD

Sporteeone,

If you decide to add a bigger cooler I would suggest also adding an inline filter. If something does blow in your tranny the filter will at least save your cooler. Were do you live? Faubion Motorsports rebuilt my tranny and many other 4R100's that blast up & down the track in Noble, OK. He's a great tranny guru outside Oklahoma City. Send me a PM and I can zap you his contact info if you like.