Tranny Fluid Leaking!! Help

[scottphillips88]

Ok, just got home from a 250 mile trip pulling a 22' loaded enclosed trailer. The last 20 miles is a canyon with lots of hills and it really stresses the truck. When I was backing the trailer into my driveway I could see a serious leak coming from under my truck. I noticed that the pan right behind the engine oil, (I assume the tranny pan) was leaking pretty bad all around the front of it. It appeared to be transmission fluid and it was leaving pretty big puddles.

Question: Does this truck have some sort of an overflow if the fluid gets really hot? Or should I be really concerned about this and not drive the truck. I checked the fluid immediately and it was at the top of the dipstick. Please leave feedback, Thanks!!

1997 F250 317,500 miles.

[scottphillips88]

Nobody has any ideas as to what is going on? My reverse seemed really gutless too when I was reversing. I plan on taking it to the dealership tomorrow morning... Any suggestions? Driveable ect....

[drstephennix]

Any time your leaking fluid, it is a problem. How did this turn out?

[95dieselsmoke]

mine did it to when pulling a heavy load and then backing up. yes they do burp out tranny fluid through a vent when it gets to hot. do you have a tranny gauge? heat is the number 1 killer of these trannys. always helps to put a gauge on so you can monitor the temp.

[scottphillips88]

Yup, heat is what killed it. It turns out that the front pump seal went bad on it. However, Since I topped off the fluid I have lost little to no fluid in a couple weeks. So, I think I will just be careful and not get her too hot. Gauges are first on my list, if I can find any good ones...

p.s. the seal is cheap, the labor is $1,200 so I'm not replacing it until it starts leaking even when cold!

[95dieselsmoke]

Originally Posted by scottphillips88

Yup, heat is what killed it. It turns out that the front pump seal went bad on it. However, Since I topped off the fluid I have lost little to no fluid in a couple weeks. So, I think I will just be careful and not get her too hot. Gauges are first on my list, if I can find any good ones...

p.s. the seal is cheap, the labor is $1,200 so I'm not replacing it until it starts leaking even when cold!

good idea. a good gauge to look for: auto meter, or isspro. both very accurate and reliable.

[Blue01F250]

looks like ya figured it out -- my front pump seal did the same thing, and I was blowing fluid all under teh truck and over the back and my trailer..

the part is cheap, but you have to drop the trans, take the TQ off, and R&I the seal, then reinstall..

The total job should be no more than $800 @ a dealership... at least tahts what it was at mine, and it was about 6-7 hours labor I think and the $13 part and some trans fluid...

[MichaelP]

Mine did the same thing when hot (didn't have a gauge in it then, just bought the truck and didn't work at ISSPRO yet). Unfortunately mine was starting to slip regularly on hills as well (I was pulling a heavy trailer cross-country, GCVW 26,400).

Did you ever get a flashing "OD" light on the shifter? That is an indication of slippage.

Regards,
Michael Pliska

[scottphillips88]

You know I never did get a flashing OD light. Didn't even know it would do that! Good info to know! My tranny seams to be perfect now and never slips...even with 317,000 miles on it. That has to be a record!!!!

Pulled a car and 3 four wheelers in a covered trailer the other day, everything seemed strong to me!

[MichaelP]

Yup, that may be a record! Mine died at around 220k. It started out slipping when I would floor it to pass someone on a two-lane road. I could barely notice the slipping, but it would set a fault code (which starts the OD light flashing). It would then bump the trans pressure WAAAAAY up, which causes really harsh shifts, until the next time I restarted the truck.

I went with a Ford rebuilt unit (wanted a BTS but couldn't afford it at the time). After the Ford warranty expired (I had barely driven the truck during that time), I added the cheapo modifications of accumulator valve and tricumulator springs (as well as a big trans cooler). This really firmed up the shifts, and I'm sure it has contributed to my trans surviving hundreds of dragstrip passes.

Regards,
Michael Pliska