Operating 2014 Limited After Low Transmission Fluid?

This is related to a thread I posted the other day about my 2014 Limited dying on vacation. That sucked but now time to see to repairs.

Currently, the vehicle is in Layton (SLC) Utah and I'm in Cache Valley, abour 90 miles away with just one significant hill in between.

When the vehicle died I was pulling going up a long hill pulling a 3,200 lb trailer. Not all that heavy. At any rate, the engine began to rev without any significant increase in power to the wheels. For whatever reason, the engine was doing it's job but the power wasn't getting to the wheels. I was in 2WD at the time. Eventually, after 30 sec or so as I was working my way to the shoulder, I lost power completely. Engine running, zero power to the wheels. In terms of likely problems it goes Transmission, Transfer Case, Differential. Balance of probability says it's the transmission. Very unlikely it was diff. I did smell what smelled to me like a burned clutch smell but it wasn't particularly strong.

I did manage to get to the side of the road and after a half an hour I was able to start the vehicle and drive the 1/3 mile to the top of the pass where we started the whole tow truck mess. Drove just fine but I didn't get over 20 mph or so.

I'm wondering if this whole thing was my fault and if the fluid was low. I did not check it right before the trip. Last time I checked it, it was fine but that was a while back. If it was low, I'm wondering if I could top it off and drive the vehicle home from Layton??? I think either way I'm going to need transmission work. If I have to do that, I'm better off just putting in a new or remanufactured transmission, rather than a rebuild so if I cause some more damage, does it really matter? The risk of course is that I won't get all the way home and have to get another ($$$) tow. I'm already $1,2000 into towing fees and don't really want to do that again!

If it is possible to flat tow a 2014 maybe I could take a friend with truck and a tow bar? If I break down we could pull the driveshaft and just keep going. Or... does it make more sense to just hire another $800 tow?

Thoughts?

I would highly recommend a AAA membership. Take some Mercon LV fluid with you in case it's just low on fluid. See what condition the old fluid is in. If its brown and smells burnt then yes, a new tranny is in order.

Hamfisted said:

I would highly recommend a AAA membership. Take some Mercon LV fluid with you in case it's just low on fluid. See what condition the old fluid is in. If its brown and smells burnt then yes, a new tranny is in order.

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I'm just wondering if it is drivable for a hundred miles or so??? If a new transmission is in order might as well grenade the existing one, right? Thrash it into the ground!

JohnSKepler said:

I'm just wondering if it is drivable for a hundred miles or so??? If a new transmission is in order might as well grenade the existing one, right? Thrash it into the ground!

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FULL SEND!

If you smelled a "burning clutch" smell and there was a leak that you didn't know about (low fluid level), you might have burned up the transmission (depends on how low the fluid level was... how long you drove it that way and how hot the transmission got). What color is the transmission fluid after you wipe it on a white paper towel? Does the transmission fluid smell burned as compared to a fresh quart? How often do you perform a transmission service (fluid and filter change and clean the pan magnet)? Remember, when checking your automatic transmission fluid level, the engine/transmission needs to be at normal operating temperature (almost too hot to touch the trans dipstick), vehicle in Park and on level ground (laterally and longitudinally). If you wind up having to tow your truck (and your trailer too = yuk), grab a tow dolly from U-haul (or a drive-on tow trailer). As for the travel trailer - rent a truck from U-haul or Lowe's. What a drag! Good luck, godspeed and keep us posted :+)

BROKENPILOT said:

If you smelled a "burning clutch" smell and there was a leak that you didn't know about (low fluid level), you might have burned up the transmission (depends on how low the fluid level was... how long you drove it that way and how hot the transmission got). What color is the transmission fluid after you wipe it on a white paper towel? Does the transmission fluid smell burned as compared to a fresh quart? How often do you perform a transmission service (fluid and filter change and clean the pan magnet)? Remember, when checking your automatic transmission fluid level, the engine/transmission needs to be at normal operating temperature (almost too hot to touch the trans dipstick), vehicle in Park and on level ground (laterally and longitudinally). If you wind up having to tow your truck (and your trailer too = yuk), grab a tow dolly from U-haul (or a drive-on tow trailer). As for the travel trailer - rent a truck from U-haul or Lowe's. What a drag! Good luck, godspeed and keep us posted :+)

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Got the travel trailer back to the owners that same night. It's why I chose the location for the tow. It was just a few miles, like 4, from the owners house. That was my primary consideration when the failure occurred: get the rental back to the owner in the same condition as it was in when I picked it up. It wasn't the money, it's just what you do.

It's interesting, I've been wrenching my own cars since 1981. I started on a '66 Mustang. Stripped it to the metal and rebuilt everything on that car. Rebuilt the 289 then replaced it with a short block 302. Rebuilt the C4 automatic then later replaced it with a 4-spd toploader. Nearly blinded myself and wound up with severe scars on my arms from that chemical stripper... No goggles. No gloves. Haha! As a teenager I just mixed and matched parts enough to get them to bolt up. I recall for the 4 spd using the shift levers from a Falcon from around the same year. They were about the right length and had the correct ends but the bends were off. So an old guy down the street who I knew from church, Norman Gonzales, was a welder. We put the rods in his vise, heated them up with his torch, and bent them to fit. What the bellhousing came from or the pressure plate and clutch I have no idea. But they bolted up so must have been right. Right?

Decades later, with lots of experience I'm so much less confident, having become ever more aware of what I don't know. As they say, when you are a kid you know everything about everything but as you get older you know less and less about more and more until you don't know anything! I've become a big believer in experience and in drawing on the knowledge of others in situations where I don't have any direct experience. Like with this transmission. Gather facts from those who've been there and then make an informed decision. It might still be the wrong decision, but at least it will be someone else's fault if it goes tango-uniform!

I think I'm going down tomorrow morning with a couple of quarts of tranny fluid and see if I can nurse the gray ghost home. It won't be the first time I've milked home a stricken bomber. it probably won't be the last time I'll milk home a stricken bomber. I'll just stick to back roads and stay out of the I-15 traffic hell through Ogden. The challenge will be Sardine Pass with a couple thousand feet of vertical elevation. Or would it make more sense to go a little farther and go through Tremonton with no elevation... Hmm...???

I'm with BrokenPilot, best move is to rent a tow dolly or trailer.

Be careful renting a tow dolly because the Expy is too heavy for most of them and they won't rent one out, also renting a vehicle trailer might not work either. I bought my truck 100 miles from here and picked up the U-haul trailer near the seller and had to fudge on the weight of the truck. Then when I went to use it the width was barely wide enough. The tires were squealing on the sides while loading it and if it was an inch narrower I would have been out of luck since that was the only one they had for many miles and maybe the widest one they rented out period.

Brought the Expedition home today. Drove it about 90 miles avoiding any big hills and got back no problem. Drove completely normal as far as I could tell. I brought two quarts of Mercon LV and a serving of Lucas Transmission Fix only to find there is no dipstick. In fact, there's no way to add any fluid at all! While annoying, it also means it isn't my fault for lack of maintenance.

Sure there is, it's just a pain to get to it. It's down on the side of the transmission.