Running a 1995MY Class A RV with a Ford chassis, 7.5 V8 and E4OD, I think. Recently, when backing up a steep-ish hill into a campsite, the rig lost power, as though the clutch was slipping. When we got out to check, the trans was puking fluid on the ground. We had to get a tow into our parking spot (turns out, a Dodge Ram 1500 can tow a 17,000-lb RV...if the RV is helping a little!).

The rig will still move back and forth under its own power, but I don't want to try to get it up to road speed until I've done some troubleshooting. Crawling underneath after refilling the trans, I didn't see any leaks (engine off), but noticed that something seems to be missing:

<a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v219/emmymau/?action=view&current=bigpine2004.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/emmymau/bigpine2004.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

I looked on the ground to see if we'd blown out a plug or a screen somewhere, but didn't see anything. Is this hole supposed to have something in it, and could this be the source of our sudden, catastrophic leak? Any insight is appreciated.

 

That hole is just the acess hole to remove the torque converter drain bung. There should be a dust cover on it. Nothing to worry about but you can replace it in the future.
Also there are no signs of transmission fluid there so I would think the leak did not come from the front seal.
Check the fluid with the trans in Park and engine running and do not overfill.
I am no expert but I would think no damage was done.

 

Backing up a steep hill, especially if it is long and slow is one of the best ways to heat up the tranny.

When backing up, there is little or no airflow thru the coolers, usually you are going slow so fluid circulation is slow thru the cooler and tranny. And usually you are backing up because you just pulled off the highway after a long hot drive where the tranny has picked up a lot of heat. The tranny is able to keep cool while on the highway due to airflow and fluid pumping speed. But when you slow down or stop, all the heat in the metal parts of the tranny dumps into the fluid and you get big temperature spikes.

I have seen my fluid temp spike at least 30 degrees after a long drive when I slowly backed up my maybe 600 foot driveway with a slight slope.

When the fluid gets too hot it usually drips or even squirts out of the seals or the dipstick tube. When the tranny gets cool, the leak usually fixes itself. You don't want to do this too often or the seals get hard and then the leak is permanent. Smell the fluid, should smell chemically not burned. Also should be red, not pink and especially not brown or black.

Whenever you stop say for gas or to park, let the engine run for say five mintues in park or neutral so that the fluid has a chance to cool down thru the coolers. If you do a lot of slow driving(say rock crawling) or backingup, you might consider a cooler with an electric fan and thermostat.

Good Luck,

Jim Henderson

 

Jim & Lazy K: Many thanks. It sounds like the gearbox just got hot and puked its fluid, no lasting harm done. That's what I was hoping to hear! Nobody wants to have to do transmission work on his house, after all.

 

It looks like there is some fluid coming from this area, it is caused by hot fluid, high line pressure and a worn front pump bushing and front seal not able to seal. Stick your finger up inside the bell housing to make sure.

The fix would be to remove the transmission and reseal the front pump (front seal, oring, bushing, bolt washers). Inspect the converter hub for wear also, replace if needed.

 

Thanks. What am I feeling for inside the bellhousing? More fluid?

 

jk080 is a trans expert and noticed what I didn`t, that the fluid around the bellhousing looks red in your pic. So just check to see if the fluid there is indeed red transmission fluid which would confirm what he said.