[jarheadatunm]

Hi fellas, first post here. Alright, moved to Cali and now tow in the hills. I have a temp sensor in the pan and use Banks gauges. The tranny heats up to over 240 in traffic and up the hills. When the guy tapped the pan a few months ago for the sensor, he said the fluid looked really dirty. I just had it flushed and filled with Amsoil fluid not 5,000 miles earlier. Plus, when I check the fluid level at the dipstick, it is bright red and smells fine? Is it possible there is a blockage somewhere that is isolating the fluid? It runs fine when the converter stays locked up, but once I get in the stop&go/hills, it heats up real fast. The truck also seems to shift right from 2rd through 3rd and into 4th, with a second or less pause and that is it, when towing my 5th wheel. I have searched some of the other threads on here about tranny cooling and curiuos also about the lack of factory cooling potential. The truck is a 2000 PSD auto 4x4. Thanks for the help fellas! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[boatycall]

240 and it still looks and smells normal? I'm wondering if your gauge isn't off a smidge. Maybe a big smidge. Stop and go traffic hauling a heavy trailer definately makes for a good tranny heater. Been there, done that. But mine has never hit 240. I thinnk the highest I ever hit was 220, and in the same sitution-stop and go, loaded with a 12k trailer.
Invest in a good second tranny cooler, and see if you can get your gauge checked for accuracy, maybe swap out the sending unit.

 

[Smoke Signals]

I agree with Boatycall. If you were consistently seeing 240 I don't think the fluid would still be bright red.

There is a cooler bypass on the tranny - passenger side, the pipe running between the cooler intake and cooler output. You could do a flow test to determine if you're getting proper flow through the cooler. I'm not sure of the exact procedure but I'm sure someone else will chime in.

BTW, why did you drill the pan instead of using the port on the side of the tranny? Just curious.

 

[NCHornet]

I agree 240 is HOT!!!! You have the same year truck as I do. In 2000 they only used a oil to air cooler, now they are using both an oil to air and a oil to water cooler. You can add a tranny cooler out of a gasser V10 that is much bigger, or you can add the radiator with the oil to water cooler built in, but this will run $500.00+. By far the cheapest way is to install a Tru Cool Max tranny cooler. I have yet heard of heating issues with one of these coolers. For $115.00 it is a great deal. Just go to www.dieselsite.com and Bob will help you out. I just posted a thread about installing a Tru Cool Max but my temps have only hit 190 one time and usually run 170-180 while towing my 8K travel trailer. The end decision was to use my money somewhere else. Now this weekend we are going to Gatlinburg Tenn and doing some mountain driving, I will see how hot it gets then. I would also have your temp probe checked as your fluid should be dark brown and smell burnt at 240 degrees. I would at the very least drain the pan and see what the fluid in there looks like. We have a drain plug so it is easy to do. Your synthetic fluid can take higher temps but if you were running regualr DINO ATF, 240 should have cooked it. The only other bit of help I can give you is if you want that tranny to shift better look into installing a FTVB valve body in the tranny. Very easy to install and the truck will shift like it should. I almost forgot about your short shifting time. I am not a tranny guy but something is wrong. Unless you are on a very , very steep hill and have the pedal laid down it should stay in each gear longer than that. I would have it looked at!!! If you need a new tranny I would get a BTS, Brian builds a awesome tranny that will probably never give you a problem again. Welcome to the site, use your search button and get ready to learn a lot about these trucks and watch your credit card balance rise too!!!! Welcome to Cali too, you can have my place, left there 10 years ago and have never missed it. OK I do miss the good restaraunts sometimes, but looking out my window and seeing the blueridge mountains and deer in my backyard is worth all the good food!!!! Besides that deer is good eats!!!!

 

[SmokeyWren]

[ QUOTE ]
When the guy tapped the pan a few months ago for the sensor, he said the fluid looked really dirty. I just had it flushed and filled with Amsoil fluid not 5,000 miles earlier. Plus, when I check the fluid level at the dipstick, it is bright red and smells fine?

[/ QUOTE ]

You probably can't tell by the ATF on the dipstick whether your ATF is burned.

Buy one quart of cheap MERCON/DEXRON III (or DEXRON III/MERCON) ATF and pour it in a clean glass jar to see the color.

Clean up around the tranny drain plug, then drain the tranny pan into a clean container that will hold at least two gallons. Then pour some of that used ATF into a clean glass jar and compare the color to the new ATF. (Pour the clean used ATF back into the tranny.)

If the old ATF is much darker than the new stuff, then you should either have the old ATF tested to see if it's still in good shape, or simply bite the bullet and change the ATF to a fresh shot of synthetic ATF.

Blackstone oil analysis is one source to have the ATF tested. ATF is light-weight oil, so that makes sense, right?
http://blackstone-labs.com/free_test_ford.html
Use the test kit Blackstone sends you, but be sure to tell Blackstone that this sample is synthetic ATF - not motor oil. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

To change the ATF, you'll need 20 quarts (5 gallons) of new ATF. I'm not an AMSoil fan so I use Mobil 1 ATF. Follow the procedures in the '99-up FAQ and changing the ATF is an easy job.

2000 model year PSDs could have only the oil-to-air (OTA) tranny cooler, or if it's a late-2000 model it will also have the oil-to-water (OTW) tranny cooler in the bottom of the radiator. If yours has the OTW cooler, then it should never get even close to 240º.

Crawl under the front of the truck and find the two tranny cooler lines coming from the tranny. If those lines go into the bottom of the radiator, then you have the OTW cooler. If those lines go around the bottom of the ratiator to the OTA cooler in front of the radiator, then you don't have the OTW cooler.

If you don't have the OTW cooler, then you need more tranny cooling capacity. First choice is to install the radiator from a 2001 PSD that includes the OTW tranny cooler, and plumb it to the tranny cooler lines per Ford's instructions. But yeah, expect that to cost you around $500. http://www.thedieselstop.com/faq/9497faq/tsb/tsb/files/002404.pdf

Next best - or in addition to adding the OTW cooler - is to add another OTA tranny cooler in series with your stock cooler, or maybe just replace your stock cooler with a bigger cooler. A good choice is the TruCool Max from www.dieselsite.com or the stock Ford tranny cooler from a V-10 gasser.

Another alternative it to add a big tranny cooler under the truck, with a big fan dedicated to sucking air through the tranny cooler when needed.

Whatever you do to add tranny cooling capacity, you should rarely see over 205º sump temp, and never over 225º - even in stop-and-go traffic towing a heavy trailer in hills.

Mine has both the OTW cooler and the bigger OTA cooler from the V-10, and I don't have any tranny cooling problems when towing. I haven't seen over 200 in years. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif The most I ever saw - several years ago - was 205. And yes, I've been all over the USA with my 5er, including traffic jams in California, and climbing "the Grapevine" north of LA. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/warmsmile.gif

 

[jarheadatunm]

Sorry guys, rough week at work! Anyway, I put the sensor in the pan first because the pressure port (driver's side of the tranny?) wouldn't register any temps, second because Banks recommended it. If everyone else uses the pressure port, and it works, then I am starting to suspect a flow problem in my tranny. I will for sure get a better cooler, but am going to get it checked to ensure that I am not patching a wound. Is there any way at all that the fluid can look clean on the dipstick, but in reality not be? Like someone said, if I saw the red on the gauge, then it should be cooked! But it looks, smells, and feels like it's perfect. Really odd. My wife towed the camper to the dealer today (another story all together!) and she said it was between 220-240 and that was mostly downhill! But the truck runs fine, there doesn't seem to be any degraded ability in it's towing. It does shift early out of 3rd, but it has done that since I bought it so I thought it was normal. Well, thanks again fellas for the help!

 

[MOUNTAINMAN444]

[ QUOTE ]
Hi fellas, first post here. Alright, moved to Cali and now tow in the hills. I have a temp sensor in the pan and use Banks gauges. The tranny heats up to over 240 in traffic and up the hills. When the guy tapped the pan a few months ago for the sensor, he said the fluid looked really dirty. I just had it flushed and filled with Amsoil fluid not 5,000 miles earlier. Plus, when I check the fluid level at the dipstick, it is bright red and smells fine? Is it possible there is a blockage somewhere that is isolating the fluid? It runs fine when the converter stays locked up, but once I get in the stop&go/hills, it heats up real fast. The truck also seems to shift right from 2rd through 3rd and into 4th, with a second or less pause and that is it, when towing my 5th wheel. I have searched some of the other threads on here about tranny cooling and curiuos also about the lack of factory cooling potential. The truck is a 2000 PSD auto 4x4. Thanks for the help fellas! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

I think I would check the flow first. Drive the truck and get the transmission fluid hot. Remove the return line from the transmission, take a half gallon container (or an empty gallon milk jug) and stick it over the line. Put the parking brakes on VERY GOOD, have your wife put the truck in neutral and crank it. Run the truck for 15 seconds only. Shut it off and reconnect the lines. Pour the collected fluid into a quart bottle to measure how much you have. You must have a full quart or more or you have a flow problem. While you have the fluid out you can look at it real good and see if it's dark or smells burnt. If you used clean containers you can just pour it back in when you are done. If the flow is OK then I would start adding coolers to the system. Just my .02
Joe

 

[Casey_1]

[ QUOTE ]
Run the truck for 15 seconds only.

[/ QUOTE ]
That's going to be inaccurate.

You need two containers. After starting the truck let it run for a few seconds to get the flow going, then move the line to the second container. After 15 seconds move the line back to the first container and shut the engine off. Measure the fluid in the container that had the line for 15 seconds. That needs to be at least a quart.

 

[y2k2504x4]

Had similar problem with my 2000 PSD. Tranny overheated when towing my jeep to 270 degrees. It even puked oil at one time. However no damage occured to the tranny. I solved the problem imediately by:
-Fushhing tranny with mobil 1 atf.
-Instal sonnax/tricum
-Install tru cool max cooler in line with factory air cooler.
-Hose off excess dirt and mud off factory cooler.
-Learn to drive with minimum T/C slipage.

Total cost under +/- $250.
I had the opportunity to tow my jeep this weekend thru the same road and tranny temp did not went over 160 degrees with ambient temp of over 90 degrees (that is over 100 degrees difference with mods) I did not even use my T/C lock up swith to prevent slippage.
Future plan is to upgrade the T/C.
Hope this helps.