Transmission Problem - PLEASE HELP!
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Transmission Problem - PLEASE HELP!
Hey Everyone,
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Need some assistance with something a bit sticky.
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I have a 1995 Ford F250, 460, with 87K miles. Nice Thorley exhaust and Banks TransCommand.
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I’ve been having problems towing my 25’ toy hauler with this truck, but it’s been getting progressively worse. I took the truck and trailer to my trans mechanic back in June and he drove it. Went up a freeway on-ramp that was aggressive and said “yeah…seems like your truck is not getting enough fuel.” I had JUST taken it to Ford and the pressure was checked, catalytic converter checked etc. Said the truck was stout! Ford said, “should have NO problem pulling that trailer.”
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So, I took the truck by itself to my trans shop back in December to have the fluid changed and AGAIN checked for lock-up etc. I HAD to pull my trailer to my mom’s trailer park 40miles away on flat ground, but wanted reassurance the truck was fine. They checked it out and said it was great. The owner test drove it and said everything was great. Fluid looked clean and no metal.
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Took my trailer about 20mins of flat towing before I heard what sounded like fluid hitting something hot….like an exhaust manifold. Then, the overdrive light started blinking (something Banks said would do if the Command malfunctioned). Sure enough the trans was leaking from the overflow. Unfortunately I HAD to get my moms as she was going in for surgery the next morning. I called the trans place and told them of my situation. He said, well, “pull over.” I did at the next exit and it was smoking bad!
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He said “if you let it sit, those transmissions hold 17 quarts and depending how much you lose, you should be able to make it the next 8miles. Let it sit and start it and see how it goes.” I let it sit for an hour, got back in and started it – no blinking light and no leaks! Got about ½ mile down the flat road and again saw the smoke and decided to pull over and have everything towed. Unfortunately, the trans fluid caught fire and was dripping fire! Long story short I got the fire out with two extinguishers and a <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" /><st1lace w:st="on">LOT</st1lace> of dirt. No fire damage thank God as it only dripped downward and I got it out!
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My question is this: Shouldn’t the trans shop be responsible for the trans failing? Shouldn’t they have been able to figure out why it couldn’t pull my trailer….slippage….something? He said later it must have been something internal they can’t see or test. Even if he would have told me “hey there MIGHT be a problem” I would have NEVER towed it! He said it was GREAT!!
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Now I have a fried trans and don’t know whether to replace with rebuilt, have it rebuilt, or just sell the truck and start over somehow.
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Thoughts? Suggestions?
Thank you in advance for your experience and wisdom J
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com
fficeffice" /><o></o>Need some assistance with something a bit sticky.
<o
></o>I have a 1995 Ford F250, 460, with 87K miles. Nice Thorley exhaust and Banks TransCommand.
<o
></o>I’ve been having problems towing my 25’ toy hauler with this truck, but it’s been getting progressively worse. I took the truck and trailer to my trans mechanic back in June and he drove it. Went up a freeway on-ramp that was aggressive and said “yeah…seems like your truck is not getting enough fuel.” I had JUST taken it to Ford and the pressure was checked, catalytic converter checked etc. Said the truck was stout! Ford said, “should have NO problem pulling that trailer.”
<o
></o>So, I took the truck by itself to my trans shop back in December to have the fluid changed and AGAIN checked for lock-up etc. I HAD to pull my trailer to my mom’s trailer park 40miles away on flat ground, but wanted reassurance the truck was fine. They checked it out and said it was great. The owner test drove it and said everything was great. Fluid looked clean and no metal.
<o
></o>Took my trailer about 20mins of flat towing before I heard what sounded like fluid hitting something hot….like an exhaust manifold. Then, the overdrive light started blinking (something Banks said would do if the Command malfunctioned). Sure enough the trans was leaking from the overflow. Unfortunately I HAD to get my moms as she was going in for surgery the next morning. I called the trans place and told them of my situation. He said, well, “pull over.” I did at the next exit and it was smoking bad!
<o
></o>He said “if you let it sit, those transmissions hold 17 quarts and depending how much you lose, you should be able to make it the next 8miles. Let it sit and start it and see how it goes.” I let it sit for an hour, got back in and started it – no blinking light and no leaks! Got about ½ mile down the flat road and again saw the smoke and decided to pull over and have everything towed. Unfortunately, the trans fluid caught fire and was dripping fire! Long story short I got the fire out with two extinguishers and a <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com
ffice:smarttags" /><st1lace w:st="on">LOT</st1lace> of dirt. No fire damage thank God as it only dripped downward and I got it out!<o
></o>My question is this: Shouldn’t the trans shop be responsible for the trans failing? Shouldn’t they have been able to figure out why it couldn’t pull my trailer….slippage….something? He said later it must have been something internal they can’t see or test. Even if he would have told me “hey there MIGHT be a problem” I would have NEVER towed it! He said it was GREAT!!
<o
></o>Now I have a fried trans and don’t know whether to replace with rebuilt, have it rebuilt, or just sell the truck and start over somehow.
<o
></o>Thoughts? Suggestions?
Thank you in advance for your experience and wisdom J
Posting Guru
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 2,244
Likes: 1
as much as i agree with everything u just said i would rebuild that one with high a quality rebuild kit and a shift kit....
the junkyard route would be ok to get it to work and sell
but if u plan on keeping it i would rebuild it.....
the junkyard route would be ok to get it to work and sell
but if u plan on keeping it i would rebuild it.....
Senior User
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 234
Likes: 0
A shop can not diagnose a problem that does not exist when they inspect it. It makes it extremely difficult finding a problem that only occurs now and then under certain conditions. If shops had days to drive and test the vehicle it could possibly act up on them but would you want to pay them their hourly rate for days of them driving your truck?
I agree it is and can be frustrating but I feel you can not hold a shop liable for something like this.
I agree it is and can be frustrating but I feel you can not hold a shop liable for something like this.
