MackinawMan wrote:
We just got back from our big Mackinaw trip yesterday, over 1000 mile round trip towing. The old 2000 Ford F350 7.3L PSD truck towed beautifully, but as I was backing the travel trailer up beside the garage (a rather steep hill which puts a lot of strain on the transmission with a 9,000 lb. camper) my wife noticed a red liquid in the driveway, and sure enough when I got out I noticed that the transmission was leaking transmission fluid. The 500 mile straight tow combined with backing up the hill really heated up the transmission and it started dumping a bit of fluid.
Rather than look into a repair for that, I think it might be time just to replace the Achilles Heel of those model year Super Duty's....which was the junk from the factory 4R100 tranmission. With 130,000 miles on my truck, I knew it was just a matter of time before the transmission issues started. So rather than put any money into that transmission, I'm thinking of putting in a superior aftermarket one.
So...with that in mind, does anybody have any suggestions on manufacturers? We're looking for a solid transmission that can handle the towing. Thanks for any help.
I had a Ford automatic (AX4S) puke fluid once when it got really hot. I was told there is actually a valve designed to dump the fluid in specific overheat situations. After letting the transmission cool, then warming back up to operating temp, I found the fluid level to be in range, so it might have been slightly overfilled before the event.
Moral of the story is I drove that vehicle for another two years 25K+ miles without another peep from the tranny, before selling it for unrelated reasons.
If you really want to replace the tranny, go for it, but just keep in mind that there may not be any 'real' damage done.
