IDI 7.3 turbo auto

Justin1574

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I have a question about my auto tans. I pulled my 32' camper to work this morning. When got the trailer backed in, I noticed a small trail of Trans fluid where I stopped. Upon looking under the truck to see if I had blown a cooling line, I noticed a tube coming out of the converter cover art the bottom of the bell housing. The fluid on the ground was cool to the touch. Do you guys have any insight to this?
 

fuzzy1626

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Trans fluid gets hot and softens the front trans seal. Fluid leaks past the seal and exits the drain tube on converter inspection cover.
 

Justin1574

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I have to haul it another 60 miles or so after work to my deer camp. Should I be worried about this? I checked the fluid when I noticed the spot on the concrete. It was actually a little over full.
 

fuzzy1626

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Should be alright if it stopped leaking. Mine did that when I was backing my RV around a turn and up hill at the same time. Didn't think about putting it in 4 low. I have a gauge and I saw the temps rising. Once it cooled, no more leak. Towed several more time before flushing the fluid. That's when I found out my trans cooler in the rad was half plugged and I didn't have enough flow. My temps are 35 degrees cooler now.
 

Justin1574

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Thanks man. Eases my mind a bit. Just concerned me a bit when I saw all the fluid on the ground. Gonna keep an eye on it.
 

fuzzy1626

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If the fluid got that hot is needs to be changed in the near future and check the flow through your coolers.
 

Justin1574

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I will do that. The fluid looks fairly new already. I really don't want to blow up a $3500 tranny.
 

saburai

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Should be alright if it stopped leaking. Mine did that when I was backing my RV around a turn and up hill at the same time. Didn't think about putting it in 4 low. I have a gauge and I saw the temps rising. Once it cooled, no more leak. Towed several more time before flushing the fluid. That's when I found out my trans cooler in the rad was half plugged and I didn't have enough flow. My temps are 35 degrees cooler now.

I wish I had 4 low!
How big is your RV? What's your normal operating temperature range for the tranny? Thanks!
 

Justin1574

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Just looked up replacements on the Google box. I'm hoping if it is something wrong, it will be just the front seal.
 

fuzzy1626

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I wish I had 4 low!
How big is your RV? What's your normal operating temperature range for the tranny? Thanks!
99 Terry 27 ft. 7500 lbs loaded. Pulling 65 mph on interstate, with the half plugged cooler, 195*+. Now, 165*-170*
 

snicklas

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Thanks man. Eases my mind a bit. Just concerned me a bit when I saw all the fluid on the ground. Gonna keep an eye on it.

One thing to remember, transmission fluid is fairly "thin"...... just a few drops can appear like a flood.

I have IH Cub Cadet Garden Tractors that have a hydrostatic transmission. These transmissions run Hy-Tran (hydraulic/transmission fluid which is very similar to ATF). There's a spot that is a common leak point, and if I put a pan under the tractor, the leak is so small, it is difficult to see any fluid in the pan. But, if I forget the pan, the leak will make an oily spot almost 6 feet across. It's not a puddle, but the slickness can be felt on the concrete floor.......
 

fuzzy1626

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I think there is an updated seal that's one of the upgrades when the E4OD is rebuilt.
 

Justin1574

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I'm gonna continue to drive the rest of the week, as I'm usually riding my Harley to work, to see if it continues to leak. I'm hoping it was just the stress of the added 7000 lbs. That made the fluid push passed the seal.
 

saburai

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99 Terry 27 ft. 7500 lbs loaded. Pulling 65 mph on interstate, with the half plugged cooler, 195*+. Now, 165*-170*

I'm pulling a 30ft off grid Laredo. With 960W of solar panels, batteries, inverters and not to mention hickory butcher block countertops I'm sure it's close to 10k. I'm running a giant psd cooler and the tranny never much goes over 160*. I should have the turbo installed in the next week or so. I can't wait, right now I feel like a tug captian! I've got to start accelerating for the climbs from miles away:)
 
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