This page was developed to benefit the consumer by making available information that will, in the long run, save them money. We will be posting tips and fixes for various models of vehicles. Tips will constantly be added or updated, so it is important that you check this page out periodically. If you have a particular transmission related question about a vehicle, please send it to our email comments and questions.
Articles Found on this Page
Better Torque Converters For Your Diesel Truck
Using Torque Converter Lock-Up During Engine Braking With Your Diesel Truck
Low Engine Coolant Levels Can Overheat Your Transmission
General Motors 4L60E Preventive Maintenance Tip
M5OD Mazda Design Manual Five Speed Transmission
Number One Cause of Severe Manual Transmission Damage
Some Transmissions May Benefit From Overfilling
Noisy Transmissions
Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF)
Detailing Engine Compartments
Ford AODE and 4R70W Valve Body Tips
Trucks or Cars Towing with Automatic Overdrive Transmissions
Towing Vehicles behind Motorhomes
Manual Transmission. Difficulty Shifting Between Gears
Upgraded Transmission Cooling for Certain Ford Trucks
Better Torque Converters For Your Diesel Truck
Through the years we have seen that the main cause of transmission failure with today's high powered diesel trucks is the shortcomings of the torque converters that come with these trucks from the factory. With the torque converters being so borderline, what really pushes them over the edge is when the owners install items that increase the power output of the engine. The solution is to install an aftermarket torque converter that has been designed to take the punishment that these high torque trucks put out, especially after performance modifications have been done to the engine. We have partnered up with Hughes Performance to supply our customers with the best solution to early torque converter failure. For years we have been supplying our customers with quality torque converters from Hughes with a track record that is truly amazing, considering the punishment that these units have to go through. These special torque converters not only improve durability, but with certain models, increase performance that can actually be felt by the driver. It's claimed that with the Hughes Dodge diesel truck torque converter, off-the-line torque is increased up to 30 percent. That is something you'll really want when you're towing that extra heavy load up that grade. We constantly get reports back from our customers, raving about the increased performance level. There is just no good reason to install a stock production torque converter in your truck during a rebuild of the transmission. These torque converters are absolutely amazing.
Using Torque Converter Lock Up During Engine Braking With Your Diesel Truck
We have noticed that some companies are using a strategy of torque converter clutch lock-up during engine braking to provide a more effective engine braking. The systems that we have seen have a good chance of causing and have caused friction element problems in the transmission. With the throttle at idle position, the transmission is supplying a low line pressure to the friction elements that are engaged. Forcing the torque converter to lock-up and use the transmission to help with engine braking with this low line pressure condition can cause early failure of the friction elements. It's much cheaper to replace brake linings than to rebuild a transmission. Locking up the torque converter clutch for engine braking should be avoided.
Low Engine Coolant Levels Can Overheat Your Transmission
The following case felt like we were in the middle of a mystery novel, so I thought it would be good to share this one with you all, just to show how difficult it can be sometimes to diagnose some vehicles. Actually, this is an example of one of the more easier ones we've solved.
I've come across a situation that is rather interesting. The subject vehicle was a 1997 Mazda 626 with a Mazda 4 cylinder engine and a Ford design CD4E transaxle. The front seal of the transaxle developed a leak and was replaced. Since the transaxle had been recently rebuilt, why did the front seal leak? Lets examine the situation that led up to the discovery of the leaking seal. The vehicles owner was driving through some mountainous roads packed with luggage and passengers. She noticed that the engines temperature gauge was reading higher than usual and figured it was because of the hot weather at the time. She then noticed smoke and figured it was from the fires that were raging at the time on the nearby mountain sides. This happened during the time they had the fires in the LA area. The engine rpm suddenly rose and the engine stopped pulling the car. She pulled the car over and had it towed to a shop for repair. It turned out the smoke was coming from ATF that was leaking from the transaxles front seal and hitting the hot exhaust system. The seal was replaced and the car was put back into service. The transaxle performed perfectly. When the car was back in town, it was brought to us to figure out why the seal had leaked, since we were the ones that had rebuilt the transaxle. Since we are aware that an overheated transmission or transaxle can develop a front seal leak, the first thing we checked was anything that may have caused the transaxle to overheat. We looked at transaxle cooler lines, cooler flow, we tested the transaxle and everything was normal. We also checked the radiator coolant level and it was normal. We shrugged our shoulders and were ready to chalk this one up as a mystery. Then, upon examination of the invoice that the other shop gave the owner, it was noticed that there was a note about a water pump leak that should be taken care of. We contacted the shop and asked to talk to the technician. We asked why he noted the water pump leak, since we really didn't notice any active leak from the pump. He answered, since he had to add water to the radiator it made him look for any leak that would have caused the low water level. Interesting! We then asked the technician how much water he had to add to the radiator. His reply was 1/2 gallon. As an experiment we then drained the radiator of the Mazda, just to see how much water the radiator held. Of course, we knew it would also include any water that managed to drain from the engine block through the lower radiator hose. That amount turned out to be only 7/8 gallon. We put back in all but the 1/2 gallon and noted the water level in the radiator. With a radiator height of 14", the water level came to 4" from the bottom. The amazing thing was that while the temperature gauge read higher than usual, the engine didn't overheat. Even more interesting was how much of the transaxle cooler in the side tank of the radiator was actually submerged in the 4" water level. The total trans cooler length was 9", centered in the side tank of the 14" high radiator. With the water level low by 1/2 gallon, that left only 1" of the trans cooler submerged in the cooling medium (water). It was obvious at this point why the transaxle overheated. The internal trans cooler must be submerged in water to efficiently cool the transaxle. As soon as the driver would hit some hills the transaxle would be in serious trouble. Remember the owner saying that she was driving through a mountainous area, on a hot day, with the car fully loaded, A/C on I'm sure. The picture was perfect for the 'borderline cooling' of the transaxle to cross over the line.
The moral of the above story is keep a check on your radiator's water level, and all other fluid levels for that matter. Some of today's small cars have cooling systems that can run low and not give the driver any warning. Meanwhile the engine is borderline overheating and the transmission/transaxle is in dire heat distress. Please realize that the engine temperature gauge does not give any indication of what the transmission/transaxle temperature could actually be. The only way to know the transmission/transaxle's temperature is to install a dedicated temperature gauge.
General Motors 4L60E Preventive Maintenance Tip
The pressure regulator boost valve and it's sleeve should be replaced every 40,000 miles to avoid major damage that occurs when accumulated wear in the boost sleeve causes insufficient pressure to be made available in reverse. We are seeing too many major repairs of the 4L60E at around 50,000 plus miles being traced to this boost valve and sleeve. The valve and sleeve can be replaced easily during a routine service of the transmission at an additional cost of around $50.00. This should be considered a must do maintenance procedure on the 4L60E.
Number One Cause of Severe Manual Transmission Damage
The number one cause of severe damage to manual transmissions is the lack of lubrication because of a leak that was not caught early on and corrected. Have your transmission checked for leaks and the fluid level checked regularly.
Some Transmissions May Benefit From Overfilling
Some automatic transmissions can actually benefit from overfilling. Call to find out if your transmission model might be one of these. For instance, the General Motors Turbo-Hydramatic 200-4R transmission found in the high horsepower applications such as the Buick T-Type, Grand National, GNX and the Pontiac Turbo Trans-Am, is one of these. Under high G force acceleration the filter in this transmission will uncover and allow air to be picked up instead of fluid. This results in a drop of the transmissions main working pressure or commonly called line pressure. When this drop in line pressure occurs, the band and clutch packs do not have the necessary pressure to keep from slipping and the result is a burned band and/or clutch packs. The slipping will often be very slight, almost not felt by the driver, but enough to cause irreparable damage to the friction elements. The correction is to overfill this model transmission by no more than one quart when fully warmed. On highly modified vehicles that are into the 11 seconds in the quarter mile, an aftermarket deep pan or modified stock pan that will accommodate a late style Turbo-Hydramatic 700-R4 (4L60) filter is a must. Our shop has done tests to confirm these recommendations. Before filter modifications, pressure would drop as much as 60-70 psi. Sometimes for up to 5 seconds. This would result in certain death for the band and clutches. A change in the filter and a deep pan brought about a steady pressure reading.
Noisy Transmissions
Those of you with standard transmissions that develop a noise, should have it looked at as soon as possible. Waiting to have the transmission repaired, will surely result in more damage and a higher repair bill. The same holds true for automatic transmissions.
Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF)
With the advancements in automotive technology, we have all been guilty of taking our automobile for granted. Engine tune-ups that had to be performed every 6,000 miles can now be stretched to 50,000 miles and even more, synthetic fluids are more durable and can go longer between changes, new car manufacturers are advertising 100,000-mile service intervals. All of these milestones have been developed to make our lives easier and more carefree. That is what we expect from our carmakers. But there is one thing that hasn't changed. Car owners are responsible for the proper up keep of their vehicle.
Back when I was a gas station attendant, self-serve was just starting to dig in as a permanent alternative to the full service gas station. At the full service islands, the attendant would pump the gas, clean the windshield, check tire pressures and most importantly check under the hood. When under the hood, an attendant would visually check for leaks, worn belts and hoses, and all the fluid levels would be checked. The nice thing about having all these things checked when you drove into a service station was that the vehicle had a chance to warm up. Some fluid levels require that the vehicle be warmed up to normal operating temperature before the checks are made. Now, how many of you bother to regularly make these checks after you have come home from a hard days work. I know many of you don't make these checks at the service stations. I very rarely notice anyone checking anything on his or her vehicle except to pump the tank full of fuel.
The expense of buying an automobile today should be a very good reason to make routine checks of your automobile a regular occurrence. You have two choices. Either have someone that you trust do the checks for you or do them yourself.
The check that I am going to concentrate on, in this article, is the automatic transmission fluid (ATF). Some notes I would like to make to you before I go any further is most automatic transmissions will develop some type of drivability symptom after losing about 2 quarts of its fluid capacity. Transmission capacity can range anywhere from 7 to 17 quarts of ATF. Most of the automatic transmissions on the market have a capacity of around 12 quarts. When an automatic transmission gets low enough on fluid it will start to slip the clutch packs and bands. This will end up in irreversible damage.
Let's check the fluid level. This check should be performed at least every 3,000 miles. The perfect time would be at every engine oil change when all the other fluids are being checked also. ATF will expand as it warms, so it is important that the transmission be at its normal operating temperature before doing any level check. 10 to 15 minutes of driving will be adequate to obtain the temperature needed to give you a proper level reading. Some models of transmissions have a special way of checking the level, so check with your owner's manual for the proper procedure. The most common procedure is, after the transmission is warmed up to temperature, with the engine idling in park on level ground, parking brake on, pull out the transmission dipstick, wipe it off with a clean lint free rag, and put it back into the dipstick tube. As soon as the dipstick is bottomed out in the tube, withdraw it again and check the level at the bottom of the stick. Check both sides and take the side with the lower reading as your true reading. Many times the dipstick may pick up fluid clinging to the side of the dipstick tube or splash from inside the transmission that will give you a false reading. That is why we always assume the lower reading to be the true reading. Some vans and motorhomes, after just adding fluid, may have to be checked after setting for 5 minutes. The fluid clinging to the sides of the long tube never fails in giving you a false reading until it has had time to drain down into the transmission. Check the level 3 or 4 times until you are confident you have a true reading. As long as the reading is somewhere between the low and high level marker, you are OK. The level does not have to be right at the full level mark. When taking a trip that may take you up a long grade, you will want to have some room for the fluid to expand. An overfilled transmission may blow fluid out the dipstick tube or the transmission vent. When the level is high enough to get whipped up by the geartrain assembly in the transmission, air bubbles develop and upset the hydraulic pressures that are trying to keep the clutches and bands from slipping.
If the transmission level is consistently checking low and you always have to add fluid, have the transmission, the cooler and lines checked for leaks. That fluid is going somewhere. Unlike the engine oil, the transmission does not burn its fluid. If the transmission is the model that has a vacuum modulator, pull the vacuum hose off at the modulator end and check for any ATF coming out the end of it. If you find any, have the vacuum modulator replaced. The rubber diaphragm in the modulator has developed a leak and the engine is sucking the ATF through the vacuum line and into the engine where it is being burned. If the leak is bad enough you will notice a difference in the way the transmission is shifting and may also have a big white cloud of smoke coming out the tailpipe.
The fluid in your transmission generally should be replaced every 20,000 to 25,000 miles. Check your owner's manual for the recommended interval. Commonly the service of an automatic transmission changes only 4 to 7 quarts of ATF out of a total capacity of 12. You can see that letting the service interval go for too long can degrade the total fluid quality severely. When you notice the fluid color changing from it's nice new red color, it is beginning to oxidize and break down. It is time to change it. There are new machines out that will change all of the fluid in your automatic transmission. If your fluid is real bad this will be a good alternative to get it back on track. One thing though, please replace the filter. Manufacturers are moving towards better filters that will have a tendency to restrict flow when they get dirty.
The fluid color and smell can give a trained person a valuable clue as to the serviceability of the transmission. Some of the different smells you can have are oxidized fluid, varnished fluid (very badly oxidized), burnt friction material whether it is a band or clutch pack, overheated torque converter, excessive amount of stop leak additives. The color can give you the same variety of clues including a pink color, which is a sign of the engine coolant mixing with the trans fluid via the transmission cooler in the radiator. In some cases you can even detect metallic debris in the fluid. Dropping the bottom pan will, of course, give you a much better clue as to the condition of the transmission.
I hope you noticed that I used the word clue a lot in the previous paragraph. A clue is all a service will give you as to the condition of your transmission. There are some people who expect you to service their trans and, if you give them a good report about what was found in the pan, guarantee they won't have any problems on their 5,000 mile trip vacation. Sorry, it doesn't work that way. The only way to give such a guarantee would be to disassemble the trans and visually inspect every component. Not a cost-effective procedure unless you are having a problem with the transmission.
Next, let's discuss the different types of fluids available. There is Dexron III, Mercon, Chrysler's Type 7176, Honda's ATF, Ford's Type F. They're others but these are the main players. We'll also discuss the new synthetic fluids that are coming with the new vehicles sold by the manufacturers.
Dexron III and Mercon are both very similar and are therefore usually found packaged together by many oil distributors.
Mercon has superceded many of the past applications which called for Type F. If your Ford transmission is using metallic friction linings, then you should continue to use Type F.
Chrysler's Type 7176 is used in many of their late model automatic transmissions and should be used if the application calls for it. Type 7176 gives a smoother shift and if another fluid type is used in its place can result in a harsh shift or chattering during clutch application.
Honda's fluid gives a smooth shift much like the Type 7176 and should be used in Honda applications that call for it.
Many high-performance minded individuals may use Type F fluid in place of Dexron III /Mercon in order to get a harsher and quicker shift. That's fine, but remember that Type F fluid oxidizes much quicker and will have to be changed more frequently.
If you want to keep parts breakage to a minimum, I would recommend that you use Dexron III/Mercon and not Type F. The Dexron may give you just enough of a cushion during shifts to keep from over stressing hard parts. If you are using Type F in order to keep clutches or bands from burning up, then you have a problem with the transmission and the fluid type is only a Band-Aid. Have the problem with the transmission corrected.
Synthetic ATF in automatic transmissions is becoming the recommended fluid for many of the newer vehicles coming off the showroom floor. Ford's Mercon V is a semi-synthetic. There are aftermarket suppliers for synthetic ATFs, but check to make sure that they have the same certification level as what's needed for your application to keep any warranty coverage intact.
A special note for the General Motors THM 200-4R transmission found in high performance applications. It is highly recommended that this transmission be overfilled by no more than 1 full quart. The reason for this is that at full acceleration the fluid will slosh to the back of the pan and uncover the filter inlet allowing air to be picked up by the pump. This will disrupt the hydraulic pressure that is trying to keep the band and clutches from slipping and will consequently allow them to burn. A vehicle that is capable of 12.5 to 12.0 seconds in the quarter mile will need to do this overfilling procedure. If your car is capable of under 12.0 seconds in the quarter, you should install the updated filter from a 4L60 (700-R4) transmission and use a pan that will accommodate the extra clearance this filter will need. You can either modify the stock pan or modify an aftermarket aluminum pan. If you use the original bottom pan without modifying it, you stand the chance of cracking the plastic filter neck and picking up air. We have a very nice pan available for this upgrade.
The filter for the first 4L60s (previously known as 700R-4) was originally the same as the one used in the 200-4R transmission. During Corvette testing, it was decided the filter design needed to be changed because of pickup problems they were having. The filter inlet for the new 4L60 design was placed at the underside of the filter where in the original design, it is located on the topside of the filter. GM didn't see the need to correct the filter design for the 200-4R. Probably, because the Corvette already had a hard time out performing the Buicks at that time, anyway.
Ok then, I think I have worn out the subject of automatic transmission fluid. Just remember that frequent checks and changes are the owner's best and only defense against early transmission failure. Good luck and drive safely.
Detailing Engine Compartments
Care should be taken when cleaning an engine compartment. Because of the computer controls used in today's vehicles there are a number of sensitive electronic components in the engine bay that don't take kindly to moisture. High pressure steam or water can penetrate an electronic component and either damage it immediately or cause corrosion to build up which will eventually cause the component to fail. One vehicle that is particularly sensitive to this is Jeeps. The throttle position sensors do not like moisture at all!
AODE and 4R70W Valve Body Tips
Owners of Ford vehicles that use the AODE or 4R70W transmission model should have the valve body attaching bolts re-torqued periodically. Some vehicle models are: some trucks, the Mustang, T-Bird, and Lincoln rear wheel drive models. We have experienced cars with as low as 25,000 miles start experiencing various drivability complaints, one of which, but not limited to, the transmission seems to neutralize when forcing a downshift from overdrive while driving along on the freeway. By simply re-tightening the valve body attaching bolts, the problem disappeared. If you are noticing strange shifting characteristics, before condemning the transmission, try performing a service and at the same time have the valve body bolts re-torqued. The valve body bolts becoming loose is a prevalent problem and the bolts should be re-torqued at least every 20,000 miles. At our shop, we re-torque the valve body bolts on this model of transmission as a normal course of doing the service. Ignoring this tip could possibly cause irreversible transmission damage. In that case, the only recourse being to rebuild the transmission.
When rebuilding this type of transmission, the valve body bolt torque should be performed three times. The second time being four hours or longer after the initial torque procedure. The third time being after 2 weeks of operation. The heating up and cooling of the transmission during the initial 2 weeks of operation will cause the valve body gaskets to relax, this in turn causes the valve body bolts to loose tension. The problem with the valve body bolt tension seems to be the uncommonly thick gasket that is under the large steel plate located on the valve body.
Trucks or Cars Towing with Automatic Overdrive Transmissions
An interesting job came in this week that made me want to write this tip for those who tow with automatic overdrive transmissions. A year 2000 Ford F-350 Powerstroke diesel 4 X 4 truck with Ford's top of the line 4R100 transmission came in with a TCC slip code stored in the computer. This is usually an indication that the torque converter clutch has started to slip and in most instances only requires a torque converter change. The client indicated that after he had towed this one particular time, the transmission temperature has been rising higher than usual when climbing hills, whether towing or not. We were worried that a burned clutch pack may be helping to generate this added heat, so we pulled the trans down for inspection. The overdrive clutch pack was burned. Not completely, but well enough to ruin the friction coefficient (holding capacity) of the clutch pack. Looking into the unit further to try and find the cause for the failure turned up nothing. Next question, "Were you towing in overdrive?". The client answered yes. Problem solved. The following will describe why the overdrive clutch failed and what you should do to keep it from happening to you. Because the manufacturers are always trying to do what the consumer wants, many have put into the owner's manuals that it is OK to tow in overdrive with some particular models. That may be fine for most driving situations, but let me tell you when it's definitely not OK to tow in overdrive. Your towing a heavy load and you hit an uphill grade. It's steep enough to cause you to press on the accelerator quite a bit. Remember we're pulling a heavy load. The trans decides to drop out of OD and it allows you to gain some speed up the hill. You reach a situation when the trans shifts back into OD and this causes you to lose a little speed. When enough speed is lost the trans downshifts out of OD again, and back and forth it goes as you climb the hill. Some of the more mechanically inclined fellows reading this are saying to themselves, "I know what happened to that OD clutch pack!" For those that haven't figured it out yet, I will clarify. Every time a band or clutch pack in an automatic transmission applies or is turned on, heat is created. Add to the fact that you are towing, and the heat that is generated during an application of a friction element is even higher. The friction element needs time to cool after an application. If it hasn't cooled enough before the next time it is applied, the heat builds up to a level where the friction material starts to burn. Once the material is burned it is down hill from there. The trans will have to come out. What can be done to combat this? Number one, make sure you have adequate cooling capacity of the transmission fluid. Any towing will require that you install an auxiliary cooler for the transmission. Do not bypass the extremely efficient trans cooler that is already in the radiator. I also recommend installing a trans temperature gauge, especially if your towing heavy loads. Nothing beats knowing exactly what your trans temp is. The client that owns this particular truck was able to tell he had a problem by just watching his trans temperature and relating it to past temperature levels experienced. Smart guy. The other thing you can do to prevent this type of damage is to drop to the next lower gear if you experience shift cycling. If your in OD and the trans is shifting back and forth from 3rd to OD, drop the shifter into 3 to save wear and tear on the fiction elements involved. It's that simple.
Towing Vehicles behind Motorhomes
Don't think that your vehicle will be alright just because everyone tells you that you can tow that type of car behind a motorhome. Recently, one of our clients brought in a Geo Tracker (known in the motorhome owners circles as one of the vehicles that can be towed behind a motorhome) with lack of lubrication damage to the transmission. The fluid level was correct and he had it in neutral. Driveshaft was left connected. Manual transmissions CAN suffer damage when towed for too long, too fast or both. It turns out that in this case the vehicle was towed for 600 miles before it was disconnected and driven. Noise was noticed and it was hard shifting into 1st and 2nd. The 2nd gear radial needle bearing was overheated and disintegrated from lack of circulating oil. When the output shaft is spinning in neutral, the gears on the shaft are not. In order for a manual transmission to circulate oil, the gears need to be turning to splash the oil around in the casing. I cannot give any recommendations as to how long or how fast you can tow a manual transmission (refer to the manufacturer of your specific transmission), but it will help greatly if you can stop and idle the engine for a minute every 50 miles or less to get some oil splashed around in the gearbox. The safest thing to do would be to remove the driveshaft and plug the end of the trans to prevent losing any lube oil. Good luck and happy traveling.
Manual Transmission. Difficulty Shifting Between Gears
Hello, I hope you can give me some advise. Please bear with me while I explain my situation. I have a 92 Geo Tracker with manual 5speed, 4WD. It began to get difficult to shift between gears like the clutch wasn't engaging fully. I had previously adjusted the clutch cable and knew it was at the end of adjustment. I took it to a trustworthy shop which I know the manager. They replaced the clutch. Everything was fine for about 3K miles. It then became difficult to shift between gears again, like the clutch needed adjustment. I took it back to the shop. They pulled the clutch and everything checked out fine. They checked the clutch cable which was replaced about a year ago, it was fine. The firewall where the cable goes through is not tore or bent. The pedal is not bent or distorted. The manager and the head mechanic are stumped. Everything seems to check out like it should work. They are going to pull the clutch again and install another pressure plate even though a new one was used, of course, when the clutch was replaced 3K miles ago. Have you ever run into this problem? Any suggestions other than a match and a can of gasoline? Any advise you could give me would be appreciated. Thanks. Tom
Reply: Two very important items that I have come across over the years that can cause the symptoms you are describing. First and by far the most common cause is improper cleaning and lubing of the input shaft splines. Use a small wire brush to clean all the accumulated gunk off the splines of the input shaft, put a FINE coating of temp resistant grease on the splines and check the splines of the new clutch disc to make sure there isn't a coating of corrosion inhibitor on them. There should be no burrs, nicks, heavy coating of any kind. Install the disc onto the input shaft and make sure it travels smoothly. Even without the proper prep you could test the disc on the input splines and all will feel fine. For this reason some may not feel the prep is necessary. Warning: Even though the disc may already slip easily on the splines, DO NOT SKIP THE STEP OF PROPERLY PREPPING THE INPUT SHAFT SPLINES! I have seen techs get bit from this one too many times. For the grease we use Amzoil synthetic. The second problem could be the pilot bearing and input shaft tip condition. Again, they should be in excellent condition so that the tip of the input shaft cannot be grabbed by the bearing or bushing, which ever may be the case. A little bit of grease here also. The first cause above that I described is a surprisingly common problem. Be very careful in the prep of the input shaft splines. Also check the shifter seats. Some models of transmissions use plastic seats at the pivot point of the shifter shaft that disintegrate from old age and can cause various shifting complaints. It's just a matter of putting new seats in. Total transmission disassembly is not required.
Upgraded Transmission Cooling for Certain Ford Trucks
If you own a 1999-2000 Super Duty F-Series equipped with a 6.8L or 7.3L engine built 1/5/98 through 2/6/2000 or a 2000 Excursion built 7/1/1999 through 2/6/2000 and you use your vehicle for heavy duty type conditions (i.e., snow plowing, towing, carrying heavy loads) a revised transmission fluid filter/cooler kit has been developed by Ford to aid in transmission fluid cooling. This involves replacing the radiator, cooler lines, and hoses for the transmission fluid cooling system with current level parts on vehicles built prior to 2/6/2000. An intermittently leaking transmission front seal is a common symptom related to this needed upgrade. We did some testing on a customer's truck that had the transmission cooling system in question and I can tell you this upgrade is definitely needed. For more detail, give us a call at the shop.
DRW Transmission Specialties, Inc. 10728 Kenney St. Ste. B, Santee, CA 92071
Office phone: (619) 258-4240 Fax: (619) 258-9105
Copyright 1998-2006 DRW Transmission Specialties, Inc. All rights reserved.
