time2roll wrote:
If you were in low gear the torque converter was not locked and was building a lot of heat. If you do this again let it idle in neutral 5 or 8 minutes at the top before you shut it off. OK to pull off half way up and let it idle and cool a bit.
I was in second gear going up the Whitney Portal grade. Idling was actually the thing that set it off overheating. Once I stopped moving, it began to overheat and the fluid came pouring out.
What I should have done was keep driving as fast as I could even if it was around the campground. Unfortunately, at Whitney Portal, once you get to the top, there's no place to really go but down. I did the Lee Vining Canyon/Tioga Pass grade twice earlier that week without any problems. There at least there was enough time for the engine to cool down once I got to the top of the grade.
