I Killed My Baby!!

[Carbon_Bigfoot]

I think I burned up my tranny. I was pulling my 19 footer home from a camping trip when I started getting hot. I have an Issopro gauge in the pan and it went as high as 250 and held there. This tranny has gotten hot on me before but if I nursed it it would soon cool off. Not today. I bought the truck used and the tranny had already been rebuilt. At 72,000 miles. It has around 120,000 on it now. It ran hot when I bought it so I contacted the shop who rebuilt it and they told me. 1. it was out of warranty and 2. with the parts they put in and the new torque converter it would operate at higher temps than the stock tranny. I should have known better but I said O.K. I went ahead and installed a Bully Dog shift kit, which lowered my operating temps by twenty degrees. To make a long story short. I nursed the truck back home and when I got out I looked underneath and was bleeding ATF from the bell housing. I had assumed the damage was mainly in the torque converter at this point but I had to leave for work. (driving the wife's car) so I haven't tore it down yet. My question to you guys is what kind of damage could I expect and where can I get good, reliable info for rebuilding this myself. And how can I check to see if the torque converter is still usable. I drove about forty miles(very carefully) no hills in the "hot" stage. And it's a 4R100, 4X4.
Thanks for any help

[DonWarkentin]

I overheated mine, and about 2 gallons of atf came out. I just added back the fluid, and it has run perfectly ever since, pulling an 11,400 lb toyhauler up steep hills most of the time. If you are lucky, maybe you haven't caused serious damage. My advice is, change the transmission fluid and the filter, add a bigger transmission cooler, such as 6.0L, and try it to see if maybe you are lucky and it still works.

Powerstrokeshop.com

Any one of the three shown in this link should do the job.

[Falkor919]

check the coolant lines too. on my old truck they were clogged and the fan on the trans cooler was dead so whenever i would drive in city traffic in the summer she would pee out the bell housing.

[JimTJr]

Originally Posted by Falkor919

check the coolant lines too. on my old truck they were clogged and the fan on the trans cooler was dead so whenever i would drive in city traffic in the summer she would pee out the bell housing.

Fan on the trans cooler?
The stock cooling system on these, (well, if you put the 6oh cooler in) is quite sufficient. No electric fan, and by all means DO NOT add coolers inline. (Extra in addition to the stock one) This can actually inhibit flow, and it will run hotter. The 60h has 1/2" tubing, and flows great. It will cool the trans very well, if the trans is healthy.

OP, if you DID destroy the transimssion, might I suggest a BTS? Brians Truck Shop builds the mother of all 4r100s IMHO. And his warranty is above all others, (Three years later, unlimited miles, you call him and say, I have a problem,,,,,, he is on it, won't cost you anything but shipping) Within 2yrs it won't cost you shipping, and if you go there, install is free! (Plus you get to meet him and the family, and watch your transmission get built, while he explains every upgrade in there.....
The smile on your face is wild when you leave,
I mean when an 03 XLT SPORT DUALLY, Crew Cab, Long bed, can chirp second gear, you KNOW that transmission is strong.

[Diezel Dawg]

OP, exactly what Jim said. You cant beat his transmission. By the way, where in Idaho???

[Carbon_Bigfoot]

Sorry guys been out of town for a few days. Thanks for gettting back. I'll try swapping juice and changing the filter, hopefully that works for at least a while. Also, I was looking at replacement trans. Does any body have any experience with Transtech, "Monster box" trans?
Thanks,
Hailey,Dawg

[HighwayPrisoner]

Originally Posted by Carbon_Bigfoot

Sorry guys been out of town for a few days. Thanks for gettting back. I'll try swapping juice and changing the filter, hopefully that works for at least a while. Also, I was looking at replacement trans. Does any body have any experience with Transtech, "Monster box" trans?
Thanks,
Hailey,Dawg

I f you get lucky with only a fluid, and filter change, the overheating problem has not been addressed. The bottom line, there is a long term solution, actually the best value, is to go with a BTS tranny, and 6.0 cooler. You can solve your tranny problem once, or fool around with bandaid fixes. I presume, you are going to keep your truck long term, if so, go with the BTS, and don't look back. The "monster box" could be scary.

[Carbon_Bigfoot]

I hear ya. I'm definetly not one to put "Band-Aid" fixes on anything. Especially my truck. But, I don't exactly have an extra $5,000 laying around either. I have another rig to drive but if I can make the occasional short haul and with snow coming I need to find a way to use my truck till I get the cash for a new trans. I'm thinking bts and the 6.0 cooler. If I can get a few hundred miles out of it I'll be in good shape.

[dmd]

Many times the leak is just it puking from the filler tube. Worst case it that
the front seal has rolled and now has a poor seal. It will leak with teh poor seal but is not a killer. Mine leaks and I only got it mildly hot for a very short
time until I could get over and cool it down.

BTS is the way to go. I have a BTS fund that I add to for when(not if) my
tranny goes.

[JimTJr]

MonsterBox, started out being a PRETTY DARNED good transmission when they were being built by an individual. When he sold it to Jasper then they went downhill pretty quickly. Warranty coverage was pretty much nil and void. And over all I would say AVOID them at all costs.....

[Carbon_Bigfoot]

Thanks for the input. I'm still trying to get the BTS and install the 6.0 cooler. I'll just have to put some dollars away and make it happen.
Thanks guys.