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Old Oct 3, 2008 | 06:27 AM
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Question Trans temp high

On my way to work today my tranny temp wet up to 190. Outside air temp was 47. I just installed a BTS 6.0 cooler last month and the tranny temps have been nice and low since the install 120-130(until today) So do the lines get clogged? Is there any fix I can look at, or does it need a trnny flush? I just dont have the time to do it in the next week and have to take it to get done if that is the problem. I also am going on a trip next week towing a 12k camper and need the tranny to stay nice and cool. thts why i did the upgrade in the first place. Any suggestions? thanks jeff
 
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Old Oct 3, 2008 | 06:32 AM
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was this a new cooler??
 
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Old Oct 3, 2008 | 06:56 AM
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yes it was, I ordered the "kit" from BTS and they said it was new. thanks
 
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Old Oct 3, 2008 | 07:26 AM
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I just talked to a transmission shop nearby and they said if the fluid looks pink it has water in it. does this sound right? Jeff
 
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Old Oct 3, 2008 | 07:31 AM
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120/130 is to cold.
I like to see 180*f at the pressure port.

Bill
 
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Old Oct 3, 2008 | 07:44 AM
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Double check you gauge wiring to make sure it's accurate so you are not chasing your tail. Pink fluid = water in it??? Not sure about that one. I though pink fluid was the normal color. Do you have any extra tranny fluid to compare the color to? I would assume that tranny oil and water won't mix so the water would bead instead of turning the fluid pink. I'll let the tranny gurus take over from here. Good luck.
 
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Old Oct 3, 2008 | 07:52 AM
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i just checked the fluid colr and level and it is a nice pick color on the stick. I thought that was the normal color. I was thinking of just changing the entire fluid out and refilling with fresh. One more thing is my tranny guage seems to be working correctly except one of the backlight bulbd seems loose because i have to twist it or tap it a little to get it to come back on. I didnt think that would have anything to do with it though. When i changed out to the big cooler (6.0) i just added to the fluid I have. Maybe the 2 types dont mix? i used the ford dextron 3 and the ford dextron 5 dealer said they were ok to mix. I plan on calling BTS after they open today and picking their brain also on this.. Thanks jeff
 
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Old Oct 3, 2008 | 08:26 AM
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hhmmm... Not sure on the mixing of Mercon & Mercon V (which is what you meant).

But I am pretty sure that the "pink" they're talking about is the almost Pepto Bismol non-clear color that it will get with water in it, not the cherry-red color it's supposed to be. I wouldn't call fresh ATF "pink", but that's my (not-so?) humble opinion...
 
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Old Oct 3, 2008 | 08:42 AM
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I talked with Brian of BTS a few mins go. He said that on cold mornings the fluid will not circulate throught the cooler and tht there is a blow off valve between the cooler and the tranny. He recommended for me to blow out the cooler w air and replace the fluid that i have in there w dextron 3. He said i shouldnt use the ford merc 5 becuse its is semi synth. so i will go that route first. I think the tranny shop i tlked to this am really wasnt sure what was going on and he wanted to replace my radiatior. He thinks its leaking into the tranny fluid, but i never heard of that one, and my fluid is still clear but its like a nice pink. So ill follow BTS advice i guess and see. BTS says that because i was on the interstate it was pushing more fluid and the cooler may be a little clogged up with gunk. You guys think it should have a tranny flush anyways and that would fix it too? jeff
 
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Old Oct 3, 2008 | 09:08 AM
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Here is the best procedure for removing all the old fluid and debris from the system.

Changing ATF Fluid in a E4OD and 4R100 transmission .: Articles
 
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Old Oct 3, 2008 | 09:10 AM
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How the heck did water get in THERE ???
 
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Old Oct 3, 2008 | 10:50 AM
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i dont think there is any water in it like the tranny shop guy told me. I never heard of that one before anyway. I think i will change ou the tranny fluid, what do you guys buy here? All i can get at the dealer is mercon 5. it is semi synth, and the dealer tells me its ok to mix w the merc 3 i have in it now. So i did mix them when i installed the new 6.0 cooler. I dont know if that had anything to do with the temp issue today or not. Maybe it just didnt reach the req temp to open up the cooler to cool the fluid down etc. I just dont want a problem towning my camper next week. thanks jeff
 
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Old Oct 3, 2008 | 11:39 AM
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You should be running the merc V. You can get water from an internal leak between coolant and atf inside the rad. I would do the flush procedure that ggirten suggested and replace all of the fluid.
 
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Old Oct 3, 2008 | 12:50 PM
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ok, i went out at 12:30 today to go to lunch, tranny temp went right to 130 when started. (outside air is 60)So I went 5 miles and it went to 160 then back to 140. I suspect the guage is faulty. I called Diesel Manor and talked to him about it and he said the amplifier is bad and they will send a entire new unit. So I think this morning my guage actually started at 130 and went to 190 a 60 degree difference, which puts the tranny right where it usually is on a normal drive to work (130) But I just picked up a case and 4 qts of new ATF fluid and plan on changing it all out anyways. Now I just really wont know the actual temp of the tranny when pulling the trailer next week, I will have to reduce what I see by 60 for a close estimate. thanks for all the help here guys, Jeff
 
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Old Oct 3, 2008 | 01:07 PM
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I've never heard of ANYBODY refer to Mercon V as "semi-synthetic" That's a new one for me.......
 
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