Can someone explain this ?

I was towing my 8500 lb camper with my Excursion 7.3L diesel automatic in western maryland, losts of hills 5-10% grades up and down. We were on the road about 6 hours. I was fine until I got home. While backing the camper into my driveway the one front tire hits the curb everytime, everytime I put it in 4WD to get it over the curb. If I don't use the 4WD the one rear tires just spins. I have tried to get it in there without hitting the curb and I can't unless the neighbors car isn't home. Shortly after I put it in 4WD and popped over the curb it let 2 puddles of red tranny fluid out on the ground. I think total of a quart came out. The stock tranny temp gauge stayed in the middle.

I crawled under it an looked around but didn't see anything or where it came from. I checked the fluid level and it was full but it was also still warm/hot. I only had the chance to look around for a few minutes then it poored down rain and has ever since.

Could it have just got so hot some came out the vent tube ? If so why was the stock tranny guage reading in the middle ?

What kind of fluid does the t-case use ? Could it have come out of the T-case ? I looked there but again didn't see anything.

 

edit: it was red fluid I am only assuming it was tranny fluid. It came out of the passenger side, so I don't think it was power steering fluid. I can't think of what else it could have been.

 

I think the P.S. fluid is ATF.

 

Sounds like it was overfilled or too hot. PS uses same fluid.

 

The tranny fluid can quicky become overheated in a backing situation. Don't reply too much on the stock gauge.

One way to help prevent it in the future would be to use 4LO whenever backing your trailer up. If there are turns and such you can get manual hubs for the front so that you can use 4LO without having to lock in the front axle. The increased RPM will help cool the fluid via the fan.

 

It is true; the quickest way to heat a 4R100 is in reverse.

 

I agree with Monsta. I also have a 2001 F350 4wd 7.3 PS dully and it will over heat pretty fast in reverse especially if you are having trouble backing and keep going from forward to reverse. Monsta is also right 4LO everytime backing. Install a REAL gauge. It's easy to do. One other thing, if you have time when you have been pulling the trailer, let the truck run for about 20 min. to let the trans. fluid cool down before backing up a grade OR before shutting off the truck. Once you have overheated the fluid I would really think about changing it out. The more you push the temp limits it breaks down causing damage. If you have the extra $$$ go with a synthetic tranny fluid, it can stand more heat.

 

now that it stopped raining and I got the animals on the ark. I finally had the chance to check the transmission. It was sitting cold and the fluid is over filled. I had the fluid flushed a little while ago but had not towed since then. I guess they over filled it. So I guess I don't have to much to worry about. Either way this scarred me pretty good and I think I am going to change the fluid maybe snythetic and add a deep sump pan and real temp gauge.

 

I did the same thing with my EX. Backing a over loaded trailer into a step drive way. It puked fluid out of the front seal. Pulled the trany out and took it over to friends trany shop. He Tore it down right in front of me. It had blown off the OD snap ring (I think that what he said). This happens when the trany is over worked and builds higher pressure. Also common if you have a programmer to firm up the shifts (makes line pressure higher). He said I was lucky because it was still in one piece. Most of the time it gets chewed up and kills the trany. The rebuild kit comes with a spiral snap ring to keep it from happening again. Not saying this is your issue but the situation leading up to it happening is the same as mine.

 

Looks like that snap ring is a weak link. They all seem to have one somewhere.

 

Ken beat me to it once more.....

If you tow often, you may want to consider a 6.0 trans cooler. It's a bolt on mod and the best and last trans cooler you'll ever need for your truck. I've had all three coolers (7.3, V10, and 6.0) and the 6.0 wins hands down due to it's cooling capacity.

Driving back and forth to San Antonio in triple digit weather can really heat your trans up especially when you have to sit in traffic. Where my trans would've gotten hot and started shifting hard, it's run ever so cool and hasn't complained once. Check out your local Ford dealer and you should be able to pick one up for $250, $300, maybe less depending on how cool your parts guy is.

 

A bit of a relief to read this post. I too had an almost identical experience with my 97 E-350 motor home. After a 30 minute climb up a steep grade in 85+ degree heat, I backed the vehicle up some very steep ramps to level the rig in the campground. An hour or so later I noticed a puddle under the front end of the transmission. Probably less than 1/2 a quart. I have about 100,000 miles on the vehicle. The next day I drove it back down the grade checking for leaks every few miles at first. There was no sign of any additional leak or any abnormal shifting. The trip home was about 80 miles and totally without any problem.

I did check the fluid level several times throughout the whole ordeal. But, as has been my experience with checking the fluid level on automatic transmissions, I cannot tell what the level is. If I had to make a call, I would say that it was overfilled because the white piece on the end of the dip stick was always totally covered with fluid after I wiped it off. I too had the fluid changed somewhat recently and this was clearly the hardest the transmission has been worked since then.

Should I expect any other problems with the transmission?