trans spewing AFT

[earthpowerdiesel]

hello, i am looking for some advice on my 94 f350 7.3 IDI , it has the automatic 4 seed and when i was driving it home today it started spewing out all of the transmission fluid , out of a tube on the bottom of the bell housing ...? i parked it until i could find out what was wrong ... could this be a seal around the torque converter ...? any help would be greatly appreciated because i am no mechanic ...

 

[jharvey]

Howdy earthpowerdiesel......lot's of things can cause this but the most common cause is overheating of the tranny. When was the last time you had the tranny serviced?? Sometimes the fix is as simple as a fluid/filter change or it could be that your tranny cooler is clogged.

 

[earthpowerdiesel]

Howdy earthpowerdiesel......lot's of things can cause this but the most common cause is overheating of the tranny. When was the last time you had the tranny serviced?? Sometimes the fix is as simple as a fluid/filter change or it could be that your tranny cooler is clogged.

hello jhavey, thanx for the response, i don't think i over heated it, i was not towing just driving on the interstate at 65 mph, and it was only 35* F out .... but i just bought the truck so i am not sure about the tranny maintenance , the fluid was not burn smelling or too brown, but it was not brand new either the truck has about 134,000 .... i am starting to think its the seal on the Tc .. but will have to get it out to find out for sure ....

i had not thought about the trans cooler getting clogged is this common ...? this is only the 3rd ford automatic trans i have owned .... the first was a c4 that was junk from the day it was made, the second a c6 that still works great .... now this bleeding overdrive ..... ..... but thanks for the advice i will look into the cooler

 

[jharvey]

Hmmm..I would get the fluid and filter changed ASAP. Just because the fluid doesn't look or smell burnt doesn't mean it up to par.

It may well be the front seal on the tranny, mine went at 160k.

Good luck let us know what you find out.

 

[95_stroker]

THe only way to plug your cooler is to have had something major let go in your Tranny like the TC, in which case you would know it. You can probably rule that out. I'd lay odds on the front seal. The E4OD os a pretty good tranny overall, it just does not like excessive heat and maybe the PO had it hot once or twice before and that seal was brittle?

 

[earthpowerdiesel]

THe only way to plug your cooler is to have had something major let go in your Tranny like the TC, in which case you would know it. You can probably rule that out. I'd lay odds on the front seal. The E4OD os a pretty good tranny overall, it just does not like excessive heat and maybe the PO had it hot once or twice before and that seal was brittle?

i was thinking maybe where it was sitting at the PO place and not being driven that maybe it got brittle, and then when i took off in it and drove it 200 miles that it might of let go, ....

 

[97CREWCABPSD]

that could/would do it also if you think its comming from a tube check the cooler lines to see if either one is broken.

 

[NEokcTERROR]

If you don't repair it yourself make sure you take it to a very reputable trans shop with extensive E4OD, 4R100W experience. There are front seal revisions they should know about. Ford and some aftermarket had a run of grey seal material seals that were a different formulation of seal material that didn't hold up. Occasionally I will get an aftermarket rebuild soft seal kit that still has one in it. I have been through this on my own vehicle. One day it left a puddle in my shop parking lot. I checked the fluid, it was still full, fluid wasn't burnt or anything like that, put the scanner on it drove it around, trans wasn't getting hot or showing any slippage condition, parked it back at the shop and it didn't leak any more, hooked up the trailer drove the piss out of it, and it still didn't leak any more, pulled the trans out anyway and sure enough it had the grey seal in it. I have never had any trouble with seals that have the orange seal material they look just like old 3spd auto front seals for GM, Chry, Ford for years and years. I haven't really heard why they tried the grey material, but it sure doesn't seem to work in my experiences. I have replaced several in customers trucks due to roughly the same conditions as mine.

 

[earthpowerdiesel]

If you don't repair it yourself make sure you take it to a very reputable trans shop with extensive E4OD, 4R100W experience. There are front seal revisions they should know about. Ford and some aftermarket had a run of grey seal material seals that were a different formulation of seal material that didn't hold up. Occasionally I will get an aftermarket rebuild soft seal kit that still has one in it. I have been through this on my own vehicle. One day it left a puddle in my shop parking lot. I checked the fluid, it was still full, fluid wasn't burnt or anything like that, put the scanner on it drove it around, trans wasn't getting hot or showing any slippage condition, parked it back at the shop and it didn't leak any more, hooked up the trailer drove the piss out of it, and it still didn't leak any more, pulled the trans out anyway and sure enough it had the grey seal in it. I have never had any trouble with seals that have the orange seal material they look just like old 3spd auto front seals for GM, Chry, Ford for years and years. I haven't really heard why they tried the grey material, but it sure doesn't seem to work in my experiences. I have replaced several in customers trucks due to roughly the same conditions as mine.

i am very glad you posted that because the seal i bought is grey, i got one from ford and a federal mogual from advance auto(sp) and their both grey .... do you have a part number for the orange one ...?

 

[earthpowerdiesel]

ok , i got my tranny back in with a new seal and no more leak, but now it will not shift into over drive ..... ? any ideas ... i am trying to figure out if this is something mechanical in the trans or something with the computer that controls the shifting ..? i hate to drop 2 grand on a new tranny if it is something i can fix my self ... sorry about all the questions but i am new to these trucks, and you guys give good advice