Did I damage my E4OD?

[duaneboggs]

Well I made it home from Utah to Oklahoma with my 20000lb load. However, I fear I may have hurt the trans. I had to pull 3 very long steep passes and of course everything got hot. I do not have a trans temp gauge. My coolant temp never went over 230 and if it tried I pulled over to let things cool down.

I was down in first gear for several miles doing about 10-12mph pulling with everything it had. When I stopped I noticed trans oil coming out the front seal. When the temps went down it stopped leaking. I put about 2.5 quarts of fluid in trans at the top of each pass.

Trans still shifts good, didn't leak anymore even when pulling hard, and seems to be normal. I will be pulling the pan and changing the fluid and filter as soon as I can.

I have done a search and can't seem to find very much info so I thought I would ask. I appreciate all opinions.


Thanks,

Duane

 

[Michael Fowler]

Fluid condition is the best indicator.
Is it burnt?

 

[duaneboggs]

No, if anything its cleaner than before I started due to how much I put in. However it never got burnt smelling one way or the other. Nor is it funny colored. Looks like normal trans fluid should. My big concern was the leak.
Did I fry the seal or do these things leak when they get that hot? Not leaking now so I assume thats a good sign maybe no serious damage was done.

Duane

 

[gandalf]

Could the leaking have been the fluid puking out the fill tube and running back down to the tranny? That might appear to be a leak if it starts running off the bottom of the transmission. Just a thought.

If you're changing the filter and the fluid, I'd suggest a deeper pan, one with a drain plug. The advantage is that it makes future fluid changes so much easier, and it holds an additional couple quarts of fluid, and therefore offers better cooling. I have a picture in the group below, "My Photos".

 

[6.9poweredscout]

My friends got hot and leaked once when he was towing 2 jeeps, after he topped it off it was ok for a week, then it stopped locking in OD. A few months later it went. His did have a bad wire too.....

-Jon

 

[oldmisterbill]

You guys must get tired of me saying the biggest cooler you can get-2 if possible. When youre pulling a steep hill like that loaded and can't get speed above the teens. Think about it there is the poor transmission stuck between a hard twisting torquey monster and a set of rear tires that don't really want to turn because of the weight and grade. Sumpins got to happen some where -the trans is unlocked due to the low speed & the torque convertor is allowing slippage to keep things going.What are you making ? Heat & lots of it!! A locked convertor will help till its too slow & in too low of a gear to keep it locked. BBiggg coolers - bbigg coolers get rid of heat. Thats all there is to it.
I was frequently in the same situation,loaded heavy in the hills of western PA, B4 I got 2 coolers. Steep hills heavy trailer,sometimes I couldn't maintain 10 MPH! I learned my lesson -I paid the fiddler.

 

[bike-maker]

I used to have a 97 PSD with E40D that did the same thing pulling my 5er. First the OD light on the shifter started blinking, then about 200 miles later, pulled off the freeway, smelled trans fluid, jumped out of the truck and it looked like it was coming off of the front seal but on further investigation it was boiling out of the dipstick. Changed the fluid after I got her home - didn't really look discolored or smell burnt. After that the OD light would blink intermittently, otherwise ran fine for about 2 more months (unloaded) before it started slipping it's way to self destruction.

 

[duaneboggs]

I don't think it was coming out of the fill tube, because I actually checked it while it was leaking and I couldn't see anything on the dipstick. The most fluid I put in at any one time was a little over 2.5 quarts to get it back to full. The OD light never flashed and after I got over the last pass I still had nearly 700 miles of towing and some of that was into a substantial head wind, so the truck was really working. I checked the fluid again today and it hasn't leaked anymore.

Mr Bill, I do have a pretty good sized cooler, though I think I'll get another one, but do you still have the one through the radiator hooked up or should I disconnect it?

Duane

 

[david85]

My coolant temp never went over 230....

Just a side note, but thats why some of us prefer not to use the factory rad cooler for the auto transmission and opt for strictly oil to air auxiliary coolers that are oversized. Once the engine temps get that high, the rad is likely very close to that temperature and can't add any more cooling to the trans fuid. It becomes a bit of a snow ball effect, although the OP didn't mention how the cooler is plumbed in. I run 2 coolers in series and never had any problems but I have NEVER moved that much weight and probably never will.

Its quite likely that if this was indeed the front seal on the transmission, it will let go inside of a year even if it stays tight in the mean time. The original seals are not very heat resistant and will leak in an over heat situation. A hard pull like that with the torque converter unlocked puts the seal right inside a "ring of fire" - yeah it gets hot in there.... An aftermrket upgrade is available that eliminates this problem but installing it involves dropping the transmission.

For internal damage its hard to really say. Internal seals don't like to get hot and there is also an orifice valve in the front pump hub (near the front seal) which is vulnerable to high temperature since its made of plastic (unless an update has been installed). Sometimes if they get hot enough they melt and can choke off lube flow to the overdrive section. On the other hand, it could have been the seal was already old and on its way out and the temperature just barely enough to put it over the edge. Only time will tell.

 

[FordGuy100]

I would say the tranny got ht enoughto boil over. I don't think it will last to much longer for you.

 

[trackspeeder]

You might want to update the gray pump seal to the new Viton seal. Change the fluid and drive it. Shop around for a big *** tranny cooler and install it.

Your tranny will thank you.

 

[duaneboggs]

Well I appreciate the opinions, I guess I will hope for the best for now. I'll pull the pan and service it soon and see if there is any debris in there.

One more question. Will it hurt any of the seals or other soft parts if I switch to synthetic fluid when I do service it?

Duane

 

[trackspeeder]

Well I appreciate the opinions, I guess I will hope for the best for now. I'll pull the pan and service it soon and see if there is any debris in there.

One more question. Will it hurt any of the seals or other soft parts if I switch to synthetic fluid when I do service it?

Duane

Not at all. It will help with the extreme temps.

 

[FORDF250HDXLT]

duaneboggs,
you should have an aftermarket cooler and a trans temp gauge towing like this.
you should also consider the updated high volume front pump and viton seal.
synthetic trans fluid can withstand more heat than dino,but that doesn't mean the rest of the trans likes the heat.
going so slow,you may want to consider a cooler with a fan.
you should check your rear gears.if you have 3.55'***** the salvage yard for a complete rear axle w/ 4.10's for this kind of towing.


bike-maker,
the light flashing means stop and diagnose the problem.
driving 200 more miles,you didn't give it a chance.
to bad too,as the '97 e40d has lots of upgrades.
had you been able to stop and fix the problem,that trans may still be with you today.

 

[johnboggs21]

I had my tranny pump out a bunch of its fluid through a rubber cooler line that got rubbed through over the years. I got lucky and it didnt hurt the tranny any. Just something to think about if you add another cooler.

BTW I like your username lol