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Total Tranny Fluid Dump

2K views 11 replies 5 participants last post by  chuckster57 
#1 ·
So I was pulling my Toy Hauler from Tucson to Phoenix (around 180 round trip) The truck seemed to be kicking down out of overdrive and I could not maintain 65mph. The gas milage was horrible to say the least. Tranny temps were in the norm a couple of times the engine ran warm but not horribly bad. When I pulled up in front of the house, I noticed a HUGE puddle. Now being that this is Arizona, I thought it was condensation from the AC. BOY was I wrong. It had dumped every ounce of tranny fluid. I put in 3 qts to see if I could find where it was leaking from. Best that I could guess was the bottom of the bell housing. It drives fine and has not leaked a ton of fluid again. PLEASE tell me what could have caused this? I am reading all kinds of maybe's but I am a diabled vet and working on a tranny is not something I want to do. :) Help pointing me in the right direction and how to diagnose the issue would be GREATLY appreciated!!

Hoooah!
Frank
 
#2 ·
Sounds like you just paid your dues to join the tranny puked club. Couple of questions:

Do you have a tranny temp gauge? Did you have to "jog" the trailer when you got it home? How hot was the ambient temp?

When you are parking a trailer and you have to go from FWD to REV a few times and your not moving very fast, the tranny fluid will get hot and the front seal will get limp and "puke" fluid. Mine did this in July '09 in Bull Head City, while I was trying to put my 5er in my buddies front yard. I lost a little over a qt. Ambient temp was 123 degrees. Replaced fluid and it hasn't lost a drop since.
Once things cool off the seal will "grip" again and stop fluid loss.
 
#3 ·
The temp gauge was 150 to 180's if I remember correctly. I did not have to "jog" the trailer. It seemed fine although when I had put it in second instead of drive, it was like driving an old duce..So damn slow. It's dripping a little fluid not much at all. What's the repair on that or should I fill it and try again to see if it resealed itself?
 
#4 ·
I would watch it for any further fluid loss. If it does lose fluid again, then the front seal has failed. Part is less than $15.00 but the transmission has to come out to replace it. Any decent garage should be able to do the work in less than 3 hrs I would think. I know it would take me about 3 or 4.

Make sure you are vigilant about checking the fluid level for the next few days. If the seal has failed, It will continue to leak and you might cause major damage if you let the fluid get too low. DON'T just look for fluid underneath the truck check the dipstick making a note of the exact level on the stick...each check should be under the same conditions.
 
#6 ·
I lost a quart or two once. It was hot, had been pulling a while, and was backing into a site in Great Basin National Park. Saw the red puddle of ATF slithering down the site. Scared the hell out me.

I might have just been lucky, but I was told two things:

Do a complete ATF flush/fill.

And make sure I am in 4WD the next time. I was told that I should have been backing it up in 4WD because the gear ratios, in reverse, are too high, and being in 4WD lowers them.

That happened in 2006 and I never had to fix anything. I've done two or three ATF changes since then and always switch to 4WD when backing. I think I will always make sure the ATF cools after a long haul too, before backing, even in 4WD.
 
#9 ·
And make sure I am in 4WD the next time. I was told that I should have been backing it up in 4WD because the gear ratios, in reverse, are too high, and being in 4WD lowers them.
That only helps if you are in 4x4 low. Being in 4x4 high doesn't help at all because the ratios are exactly the same as 4x2.
 
#7 ·
I don't have 4WD so that option is not in my play book. I do however have an aux cooler that has a fan. that fan has a switch on my dash that I control. I have let my truck sit and idle while I set up the trailer so the fluid can continue to circulate through the cooler with the fan running.
 
#8 ·
The truck seemed to be kicking down out of overdrive and I could not maintain 65mph.
Was it shifting in and out of overdrive? That will heat things up and cause problems. If that is happening turn off overdrive.

It had dumped every ounce of tranny fluid. I put in 3 qts to see if I could find where it was leaking from.
It holds about 18 quarts. I doubt you lost that much.

It seemed fine although when I had put it in second instead of drive, it was like driving an old duce..So damn slow.
Were you in second from a standing start? That will get the torque converter A LOT hotter and cause the seal to leak all that much more.

It's dripping a little fluid not much at all. What's the repair on that or should I fill it and try again to see if it resealed itself?
You should refill it and see what happens. It's going to drip for a while, everything inside the bellhousing got sprayed with ATF and it will take a while for it all to drip out even if the leak is stopped.

If it needs to be fixed the trans has to come out. The torque converter is removed and the seal replaced. If the torque converter hub has any damage the torque converter will need to be replaced, too. It can be about $1000 to replace the converter, including labor.

Most likely it will be fine. More transmission cooling will help prevent this, along with preventing frequent shifting.
 
#10 ·
Thanks so much to all of you.

It's nice to know that there are others out there willing to lend a hand and their two cents worth. So far so good. No more leaks. Since I just bought the truck I am still working out the kinks in her. I found a "superchips" in the glove box, so I am not sure if at one point in time they messed with the programming. I am going to see if I can get it re-programmed to towing as opposed to any preformance mods that they've possibly done. I still have that rattling noise in the front end and it's smoking when I'm hauling. I think that once I've figured out how to fix all this, it will work out to be a great truck...

Thanks again for helping me to put my mind at ease. I will see what I can do to get an additional cooler on that tranny too....

Frank
95B
 
#11 ·
7.3 PSD trannys will dump all there fluid out the fron seal when the fluid gets too hot....This is NORMAL for this tranny.....I have a good friend that rebuilds thousands of trannys a year, and he considers this a "nice feature" becuse you will never BURN up this tranny from heat.....they always puke their fluid before they get way too hot...

I have puked my fluid out of a PSD or two....I was towing and shifting in and out of OD a bit.....Another friend of mine owns a fleet of PSD, and he plows snow with them, and has puked the fluid out of multiple trucks multiple times......His own personal rig had the fluid puke out at least six , seven times over the years.....

I would not worry too much about it, just refill, and keep an eye on temps from now on. It seems to do no other damage when the fluid pukes out.
 
#12 ·
7.3 PSD trannys will dump all there fluid out the fron seal when the fluid gets too hot....This is NORMAL for this tranny.....I have a good friend that rebuilds thousands of trannys a year, and he considers this a "nice feature" becuse you will never BURN up this tranny from heat.....they always puke their fluid before they get way too hot...
????
it's considered normal for any transmission to dump fluid out of a SEAL??? I think not!!!!
 
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