I just bought a 99 ford f150 xlt from a private owner. It runs great, the only problem is that sometimes I smell a hint of burning oil. I crawled under it tonight to find the bottom of my transmission wet with tranny fluid and it looked like it was coming from an overflow tube, I checked the level and it says its completely full. Does anyone have any suggestions???

 

Are the bolts tight on the pan? You may want to make sure it's not "overfull". If overfull, you can siphon some off through tubing in the tube or drop the pan slightly. I would probably try calling a reputable trans. shop and ask if they had heard of "overflow" with your particular transmission but the tube is a servicing point and, more than likely, also provides a venting feature.

I've never seen one vent/spew fluid and create a leak, although I wouldn't doubt it could happen if seriously overserviced! Ask the previous owner if they recently had the trans. serviced; I'll bet they did!

Good luck,
Curt

 

Unfortunately, I have seen the same sympton. This was on my 90 with a 140k on it. The clutches for the overdrive went out. Had to get a rebuilt. If it is overheating, it will spew out the overflow at the top of the transmission. I would have it checked to see if there are any codes. How does the transmission fluid smell, burnt? I would get it looked at quick.