Cattflight
SDD Junior Member
Howdy all! New to these forums and to Diesel ownership. I'll try to keep this short but in need of advice;
I bought my '02 F350 7.3L used from the original owner about 8 months ago with 195k mile. Very clean. Runs like a top! It has an aftermarket Garret 38 turbo, Banks Intercooler, aux tranny cooler and 4" turbo back exhaust. It also has an Edge Programmer. I run it in Tow Mode (Program 1)
I bought this specifically to tow my Voltage 40' 5th wheel (about 13k lbs). We've made a number of long trips already and it tows great. Transmission temps rarely get above 190F in the dead of summer, uphill. They mostly float between 150-165. 10+ trips and all consistent readings. Very happy.....until 2 days ago.
I was hauling here in Denver, about 5 miles of gentle hillside (same roads I always travel) and my tranny temps starting running north of 200F. At 10 miles, they were at 235F and then at about 15 miles, they rose to 273F and the Check Gage light came on and the OD light stating blinking. I pulled off into a parking lot, unhitched, and drove straight to a Grease Monkey in that parking lot. They discovered a slight leak in the cooler line, and some sludge on the underside of the tranny cover. But still plenty of tranny fluid and not burnt. They recommended a tranny shop.
So I brought it to a shop and they pulled the P1783 overtemp code (no surprise) and a PO732 2nd Ratio code. They are recommending a complete rebuild include a TC replacement. Ugh. But here's the thing...
After diagnosis, I still needed to get my trailer to a safe place, so I brought the F350 back there, hitched up and planned for a long, slow drive with a few stops to cool down. To my surprise, the temps never got about 155F. This trip was also about 12-15 miles of highway and stop and go surface roads, the same distance as the previous day's drive where the temps slammed. Roughly same outside air temperature (about 35F).
So now I am hesitant to spend $3500+ on a rebuild when all seems normal. Over the months, I have noticed some hard shifts from 2nd to 3rd, but nothing consistent enough to concern me.
Again, new to Diesels. Looking for your thoughts and qualifying questions. Thanks!!
I bought my '02 F350 7.3L used from the original owner about 8 months ago with 195k mile. Very clean. Runs like a top! It has an aftermarket Garret 38 turbo, Banks Intercooler, aux tranny cooler and 4" turbo back exhaust. It also has an Edge Programmer. I run it in Tow Mode (Program 1)
I bought this specifically to tow my Voltage 40' 5th wheel (about 13k lbs). We've made a number of long trips already and it tows great. Transmission temps rarely get above 190F in the dead of summer, uphill. They mostly float between 150-165. 10+ trips and all consistent readings. Very happy.....until 2 days ago.
I was hauling here in Denver, about 5 miles of gentle hillside (same roads I always travel) and my tranny temps starting running north of 200F. At 10 miles, they were at 235F and then at about 15 miles, they rose to 273F and the Check Gage light came on and the OD light stating blinking. I pulled off into a parking lot, unhitched, and drove straight to a Grease Monkey in that parking lot. They discovered a slight leak in the cooler line, and some sludge on the underside of the tranny cover. But still plenty of tranny fluid and not burnt. They recommended a tranny shop.
So I brought it to a shop and they pulled the P1783 overtemp code (no surprise) and a PO732 2nd Ratio code. They are recommending a complete rebuild include a TC replacement. Ugh. But here's the thing...
After diagnosis, I still needed to get my trailer to a safe place, so I brought the F350 back there, hitched up and planned for a long, slow drive with a few stops to cool down. To my surprise, the temps never got about 155F. This trip was also about 12-15 miles of highway and stop and go surface roads, the same distance as the previous day's drive where the temps slammed. Roughly same outside air temperature (about 35F).
So now I am hesitant to spend $3500+ on a rebuild when all seems normal. Over the months, I have noticed some hard shifts from 2nd to 3rd, but nothing consistent enough to concern me.
Again, new to Diesels. Looking for your thoughts and qualifying questions. Thanks!!
