Transmission trouble in fords

[jmyles]

I was plowing this weekend with a '92 f250 w/a 8.6ft v plow. I had been plowing for about 8 hours when I noticed tranny fluid all over the snow in the lot. I got out and I had a small leak from the front of the transmission. I checked and added fluid and continued since the truck is under warrenty. I soon became a major flood of oil, and I had to quit, in 45 minutes limping home I used 7 quarts of fluid. Tranny shop, very reputable, said they could find nothing wron, but had had several fords come in with this problem when the fluid got too hot. Mine wasn't hot, oil on the dipstick was warm on my bare hand, but not hot. Also my contractor has a 1999 F450 that is now in the tranny shop with a torque converter that let go completely. we both push in 4 hi with overdrive locked out. HAs any one else had similar problems, or any ideas? <p>Thanks

 

[GeoffD]

I have 14 ford plow trucks, and have never had a transmission problem. I do know that the 92-97 ford's with the 7.3 would chew through a tranny in 5 years. Only i never bought a plow truck with the 7.3 untill the super duty came out. I have did have some front end problems on my 97 F 250 HD. It went through two sets of ball joints in 20,000 miles, now one it's thid sets it has gone 30,000 miles. I guess i just had a few bad sets.<p>Geoff

 

[jmyles]

I forgot to add, My truck has the 7.3 diesel, with an aftermarket turbo. The truck only has 63,000 miles on it, this is the first winter it has pushed snow. I do not ram and jam my truck, always completely stop when shifting, even when not plowing. I also follow ford severe service intervals.

 

[GeoffD]

The 7.3 diesel might be your problem. Ford engineers have stated that the trans in the 92-97 ford could take plowing. No matter what you do, it is just too hard on the trans. Even if you don't ram piles and come to a complete stop, you can still hurt your trans. My advice would be to talk to a ford dealer they might have the best info. <p>Geoff

 

[DaveO]

Jmyles,<p>Have seen this before on Fords and others. After plowing for a while the fluid heats up and &quot;boils&quot; out. After cooldown no problem. Last time I saw it was on an F250, lost a lot of fluid, next day was fine. Try an aftermarket tranny cooler..may help. The new trucks w/plow pkg have a warning buzzer or light that comes on when fluid is too hot.<p>Dave

 

[DaveO]

The 99 SD Fords had problems with the torque converters. Not sure if it was just the early ones. Ford has supposedly resolved this for Y2K models.<p><br>Dave<br>

 

[bill]

I sure hope you were getting a good buck<br>for your snowplowing work. Plowing is<br>hard on trucks. You have to factor your<br>maintenance into your plow prices. If you<br>can't get good money for your work how<br>can you repair your truck?<br>I once had a dealer put a new rebuilt trans<br>in my truck. Under warranty at the time.<br>the funny thing is the old trans seemed ok.<br>But since the dealer was doing it for free<br>I figured it could'nt hurt the truck with<br>a new rebuilt one.<br> bill

 

[thelawnguy]

Some trucks have a bypass in the oil cooler so the trans will warm up quicker in the cold but if it fails the fluid will overheat since its not going thru the cooler.<p>I had a scare last week, tranny oil everywhere similar to what you describe but the cooler pressure line rusted thru where it clips to the frame.<p>BTW I have a 95 Dodge 2500 360 V8 4.10 axles I plow with 10,000 lbs or more total weight and the tranny is the one part which never showed any problem, just change the fluid and adjust the band every November.<p>Bill

 

[cbuozis]

I have a 78 ford bronco with a C6 tranny and had the problm with the fluid leaking out the front of the tranny when it got hot. I added an aftermarket tranny cooler and no more problms.

 

[jmyles]

I have an aux. trans. cooler that measures 8x14x3/4 in front of the radiator, but I am going to add an electric fan to help move more air, the motor runs so cool the fan clutch doesn't pull in when plowing, only going down the road. My big concern is that at $65 and hour and free liability insurance I can't pay off the plow, and buy a new transmission every year. I will be getting a new one with warrenty next fall. When the new GM 3500 series comes out with the &quot;Duramax&quot;tm diesel, and the Allison transmision, I will be the first guy in line, I have always had exceptional luck with plowing with a Gm product, and allison knows how to make a heavy duty tranny. I don't know about the new diesel yet though, the 7.3 is a tough powerhouseto beat, Gets 20+ mpg and has the power to move mountains. I bought my ford for the motor, and thats about all I will have left I am afraid. <p>

 

[GeoffD]

I don't know what to tell ya about your trans. I have never had a trans problem in any or my fords, and they average 14 hours a storm. My 99 and 00 ford are diesel with an auto trans. No problems there either, maybe check out a superduty, before you go to the gm. The first year of a new model is not the year to buy. I had some recals on my 99s, and they were nothing big, but a pain to have down time with the truck. Your problem just sound very strange to me.<p>Geoff