I have an issue that confuses me and I need some advice. I have a 2001 Expedition with a 5.4 motor, towing package, tranny cooler, and about 74,000 miles. I love the truck and haven't had any issues until recently purchasing and pulling a boat. The boat (3,000pds) and trailer (1,100pds) have a combined weight of 4100pds. I pulled the boat for about 300 miles (Overdrive off) and when I arrived at my destination, I noticed that I had an oily film on my hatch glass and all over the front of the boat and trailer. Long story short, I later discovered that the tranny blew all of the fluid out the bottom of the silver thing below and rear of the motor (it has a black rubber plug on the bottom of it). The road and driveway was littered with explosions of fluid, a subsequent attempt to drive the vehicle resulted in major slippage, and a check of fluid revealed a dry dipstick. After the dealership examined the vehicle, they stated that the tranny got hot and puked all of the fluid past the seal. When it cooled, it re-sealed itself and all that it required was the re-addition of fluid. I had it flushed and serviced and a test drive and further diagnostics revealed a clean bill of health. I have towed the boat since then on short distances (less than 20 miles) with no issues and earlier tonight towed the same distance and experienced the same "puking fluid" issue. The majority of the "puking" appears to occur when the truck is reversing, which I understand requires twice the power and pressure, but why is it getting so hot that it causes it to eject the fluid? Can anyone tell me what is going on with my truck and offer any advice or assistance. I was told by one mechanic that I shouldn't tow anything with my Expedition because they are not built for it, but I am skeptical as he appeared biased with Fords.

 

Yours is not an uncommon occurrance. The dealership accurately described it.

The very best thing you could do would be to install the largest stacked plate transmission cooler behind the grill that you can find. That will lower the fluid temps significantly.

If the tranny ever has to be pulled, replace the pump seal with one of the aftermarket upgraded ones.

Steve

 

Your cooler could be clogged. Anyway that's not too big of a load, but a big stacked plate cooler and a temp gauge is something that will be worth your while.

Adrianspeeder

 

Thank you guys for you're replies as they are very much appreciated and I will take any information I can get. My next question is this>>>>> I have talked with mechanics that say the suggestions you gave will likely help my issue in the SUMMER months. They say that it can also cause problems in the cold MN WINTER months, however, especially with the fact that temps can get very cold. I currently have a factory cooler (tow package) with no temp gauge for the tranny but I really need a solution that will suit my needs primarily for pulling my boat without issues and secondary, for all season use (I also have snowmobiles). My mechanical experience is limited, however, I'm not ignorant to the terms either, so what other knowledge can you impart?

 

Make a cover that you can install over the extra cooler for the winter months.

Alternatively, you'll need to rig up a thermostatic bypass valve and plumb it into the system.


Steve

 

Also, you can simply leave the in radiatior cooler in the loop. In the winter the radiatior will heat up the tranny fluid that way.

Adrianspeeder