I was wondering at what temp the temp Sensor for the automatics turns on {O.D. light starts blinking} I have a 2004 Heritage?

 

2000 degrees I believe....or maybe 190......or maybe its 180....Im not sure but its somewhere below or a bit above 200.

 

I assume your meaning the temp sensor in the transmission. It allows shifing in about the 100* range +/-.
In winter temps you will notice it takes longer for the trans to shift, from cold starting and drive off. Trans cooler even make this delay longer yet.
If your referring to the seperate engine temp sensor, it signals at somewhere in the 240 range then starts to shut down cylinders in an attempt to cool the engine some, by only pumping air through.

 

The temp sensor in the transmission also causes an error code { O.D. light starts blinking } when it gets too hot. I wanted to know if any one knows what that temperature is?

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Let me explain, I have a 3400 pound boat. I pulled it with my ranger for 3 years, no problems. I was concerned about the weight though. My Ranger had a trailer weight rating of 3600 pounds, with fuel, passengers, and supplies we were pushing around 4300 pounds. So I traded it in for a new truck as soon as I got it payed down to a tradable level.

My F150 is rated for 5500 pounds, but at 5300 miles the transmission went nuclear. I took it in to the dealer with the blinking over drive light and they said it had over heated, but it probably didnt damage any thing. They then said that I needed to get an auxillary transmission cooler and wanted $275.

I balked at this. If the truck is sold as having a 5500 pound towing capacity, then it shouldnt require extra parts to pull 5500 pounds, or am I way out of line here?

I told them I wasnt putting a dime into that truck. If ford over-rated their trucks then they should be the ones who need to bring it up to specs, not me.
I also pointed out that there WAS something wrong since I inspected the trans-fluid level when the O.D. light started blinking. Upon inspection I found the fluid to be dark purple in color with little metal chips in it.

So unless Ford is putting "Glittery Purple Sage finger nail polish" in all of their auto-matics, I have a serious problem.

They then determined that my torque converter turned itself into shrapnel and plugged the cooler.

At this point they finally became VERY sypathetic to my problem. 2 weeks later I have a rebuild transmission with a new torque converter and radiator.

How ever they did not add an auxillary transmission cooler?

They said I probably dont need one? WTF? Do I need one or not?

I NEVER had a problem with my 3.0 liter ranger pulling it? So Im in no hurry to spend $275 for a transmission cooler Im still of the opinion that if it needs one Ford should be installing it at their expense.

So Im driving around with out one, but I would like to know how hot it gets before the hi-temp error code starts flashing. I have no intention of frying another transmission purposely just because its under warrenty. Im just trying to pull my 3400 pound boat to the lake with my 5500 pound rated truck?

I only do 60 tops with the over drive OFF. Nebraska is pretty flat too?

I cant get a straight answer from my dealer, and Im not sure that I trust them that much. It doesnt need it when they have to pay for it, But If Im going to pay for its a different story?


I only have 5800 miles now, I have this fear of torturing my transmission only to have it fail on me at 36,001 miles and having to pay through the nose to get it fixed.
Thats why I would like to know at what temp the sensor starts blinking??

Is it a bad Idea to use that as a fail safe? Should I just cough up the $275?


THERES NO WAY IN HELL IM GOING TO GET STUCK IN THAT FOCUS LOANER OF THEIRS AGAIN......... NEVER AGAIN

 

You can get an aftermarket cooler for a lot less, less than $100, and they are easy to install.

IMHO, anytime you tow, you should get a tranny cooler. Heat (hot fluid) is the #1 killer of autoboxes.

Cheap insurance for your tranny, especially once it isn't under warranty and the repair costs are on your dime.

I think the factory cooler is a joke - look at how small it is compared to a heavy-duty aftermarket unit. Looks more like a power-steering fluid cooler...


I've got Troyer's (Derale) active cooler in addition to the factory one (I didn't remove the factory one when I put the new one on). Even when I'm not towing, the fan comes on when driving in heavy traffic. While it switches on at a somewhat low 180-degrees, tranny temps can rise rapidly.

 

Podunk you will have to try to understand some things here.
You are being hard headed about the overall situation.
The truck has to have some extra cooling to safley handle towing within reasonable life expectancy of the transmission.
Trucks come without coolers, some come with small coolers, some come with a complete towing package. Depend on what you got if bought used or what you orderd as new. You have some responsibility in this matter.
Transmission heat above 250 degrees is risky and makes for short life.
No matter what the rating says, it's based on many things such as axle ratio, engine size, truck weight, tire size etc.
Even if you go to another make truck there is no gaurrentee that you won't have simular problems until you equip the truck to do the job.
I pull over 11,000 lbs total through a 4r70w and a truck that had no extra towing equipment but I added and modified to make as sure as practical that every area was addressed.
If you still insist that the mfg listed tow rating is all you need to consider then you will go on enjoying failure towing anything but a light trailer.
I hope you will consider this advice in a positive way.
Sometimes we have to help the owner understand as well as try to provide direction on his problems. After all if the owner cannot translate advice to action, we cannot help at all.
Good luck.

 

Even though I didnt get the answer to the exact question I was asking [ At what temp does the transmission sensor read an over-heat error code?], I have taken your advise and decided to get the auxillary cooler.

I tried and I just cant seem to grasp it????


If you bought a Sports car and that was suppose to make 400hp and you had it dynoed only to find out it only makes 290 Hp.....Wouldnt you be a bit miffed?

If you then took this sports car to the dealer and said "why doesnt my car make 400HP like its suppose to?" and the dealer replied " Oh, It makes 400HP but you have to add some new heads, a new exhaust, and a super charger. We can do that for you for $3000."

Wouldnt you feel a bit jipped??

It makes no mention of having to add extra equipment in my owners manual to pull this much weight?

I think its a bunch of balony. Im going to buy a cooler and install it, but Im still going to complain about it to My dealer. May be some were the Blue Oval Gods will take notice and say " OMG! An unhappy customer..." and then they will fly down to Nebraska in one of their corporate jets and personally hand me a refund check and beg me for forgiveness.


Hey it could happen.......................

 

About 270 degrees F.

 

So using that as a fail safe is probably a really bad idea.

Thanks.

 

If the transmission fluid temp in the pan exceeds 270 degree f. the computer will set a code P1783 I would install a cooler and change the fluid if it happens after that then you have some undetected slippage that is causing the fluid to overheat.

 

I wouldn't go over 200 for the max safety of your tranny.

You wanna know whats bad? If you have ever seen the inside of a superduty, you can see that there is a auto tranny temp gauge. Good idea from ford right? Well, it would be if the dang thing had numbers on it to tell you what is going on, or if it actually moved while the temps changed. It just sits in the middle, and by the time the needle jumps to the "oh s##t" reading, you are already coasting to the side of the road with a blown tranny.

To keep my 4R100 from pooping itself, I added the biggest cooler I could get with a fan, AND a REAL temp gauge that I can keep an eye on, and keep the temp under 200 or so.

Adrianspeeder

 

There was something wrong with the trans....it shouldnt break twice...

 

Transmission fluid starts to break down and turn into varnish at somewhere around 230-240 degrees F I think. Heat will turn frictions into kitty hair faster than anything.

 

Ok, I had the transmission shop install an 18000# GVWC cooler on my truck. It cost $175 instead of the $275 Ford wanted.

Hopefully I shouldnt have any more problems.

I also checked into how my truck was factory equiped.

The V6's DO NOT have any kind of tow package? You CANT get an auxillary transmission cooler with it??? Its not even an option??

Its the same way on the new 2005's??? At least it is when I checked on line??? Once you click V6 on power train options all the trailering equipment turns grey and you cant select it? You can get trailer wiring and helper springs, But no cooler?

I can only get 3:55 or 3:08 rears?? I have 3:55, which is better for towing.

This is why I think Ford kind of screwed up here. I cant figure out how it got the 5500# tow rating when 4000# burns up the transmission???

There is NO WAY to better equip this truck from the factory for towing with a V6?

So where did they get 5500# from?