E04D no forward gears STRANGE

[Armalite]

Well the truck is a 96' f-250 with 189k on it. I have no clue of the tranny history but its fine. By fine I mean that when it does work it shifts fine with no slipping at all.

But heres the kicker about 5 months ago I was driving the truck and it was pretty warm out. The trans temp got up to 160 and I went into a store. When I got back into the truck I put it into reverse to backup. Then when I went to put it into gear nothing happened. So i backed it up into a parking spot and checked the fluid levels. From what I'm told the dipstick in this truck is wrong so its almost impossible to get a reading. I then added a quart of tranny fluid and regained 1st(low) gears. I let the truck sit longer and the temp dropped to around 140 and I regained all forward gears. So when i got the truck home I checked the cooler lines etc to see if their working. They all work fine and I added more fluid. The truck and tranny ran fine till today.
**Note after that day I have had the tranny higher then 160, usually everyday it gets above 160-180 and nothing happens.

But today I took a trip into town. I drove into a spot the temp was around 160ish. I parked the truck and turned it off for about 10mins. I went back in the truck and put it into reverse. As soon as I went to put it into drive nothing. So I was like whatever and left the truck. This time I didnt add any fluid. I went and waited around 15 mins. Went back and I had 1st(low) gears back. I drove it and parked it under some shade. Then about 30 mins later I came back and the trans temp was around 140 and it worked fine... Drove it home and added another quart. It never slips or anything. This is the 2nd time this has happened. And I read about what others have been through in the same type of situation but it seems that their gears didn't come back like mine did.

Heres the only thing I noticed about the tranny. The pan was obviously taken off before by previous owner. There is some weird sealant between the pan and the tranny now. It looks like melted rubber. I also noticed that there is always a great deal of tranny fluid on the pan (leaking from the crappy seal job) I mean the pan is completely covered in fluid and there are those little drip areas all around at the lower points and around the seal. (you can run your finger around it and come up with a great deal, and come back later the area where i wiped is covered.)

So is this problem caused by this leak? I mean over the time of 5 months I could have lost a good amount of fluid. I'm gonna have to take it to a local garage and get them to change the filter and seal etc. But like i said its been 5 months and I have had the tranny hotter a few times then it was today. Can low tranny fluid cause no forward gears? I was thinking that If it gets to low that the heated fluid becomes to thin etc... And letting it cool allows it to function again?

[Jarrod B]

Sounds like your low on oil for it not be able to cool its self and shift. Just my $.02.

[Armalite]

By oil you mean tranny fluid? Yah I think that's whats happening. I add some and its fine, but I have that leaky pan. Anyone else ever hear of a tranns forward gears going out and then coming back.. two times..

[Jarrod B]

Yes, tranny oil. I would change the gasket on the oil pan. And watch what happens after that

[BRS]

That's exactly what happened to my '99. Only, the last time it happened forward gears never came back again - ever. I decided to just give it a built trans and quit worrying about when it would do that again.

Ben

[outlawdiesel]

it will not go if fluid is realy low,it cant fill pump.if your going to take off pan change solenoid pack, filter and put shift kit in.

[Armalite]

ya i just ran it hard the past few days as a test after adding more fluid. It works fine. But once i hit around 150+ and I look under the trans its dripping red, from the seal and all the bolts. Whoever took the pan off before didnt put a seal back on. Instead they used RTV silicone stuff. Its leaking all around it at high temps... Over time I must loose a great amount...