Stuck on the side of the road with transmission leak, any suggestions?

[Artie]

We’re on a road trip and are kinda at a loss. Debating on what to do. It looks like adding fluid isn’t an option but if there’s a way to do this then I can limp home. Other than a tow, who’s got any ideas?

 

[Deep8174]

You need to tow your vehicle unless you’re able to add tx fluid and seal the leak while on the side of the road

 

[Artie]

You need to tow your vehicle unless you’re able to add tx fluid and seal the leak while on the side of the road

Yeah there’s no adding it. I spoke with a service guy and he said as much… you need a lift.

We have arranged a ride and a tow. Sucky part is we’re hours from home so not sure how to arrange pick up of the vehicle once it’s fixed and we’re back home…

 

[Going_Going_Gone]

Sadly, based on what I've been hearing about the availability of parts and entire replacement transmissions plus scheduling service appointments, I think that you'll have more than enough time to arrange for pickup etc. Like weeks, not days.

 

[Deep8174]

I’d check with your insurance as you might have some sort of coverage involving towing it back to your home… as well as covering for your recent road side service.

 

[The Swagonmaster]

Guys, I have an '07 3rd gen Expy but in all likelyhood the fill procedure is the same as mine. The fill and check port is at the front right of the trans right where the old long dipsticks used to be. You unscrew the top with a 3/4" wrench and pull out the little dipstick so you can check to see what you have and fill if necessary. I have a cheap fluid pump with a hose that I bought to fill the lower end of my outboard engine (boat stores have them, possibly Walmart also) that can be put in the bottle of atf and pump it in the tranny. Since the fill spec is for fluid that has been fully warmed and the engine running you might go a little low at cold fill so it has some room to expand. And yes I have done it lying on my back under the truck, recommend a piece of cardboard or a blanket on the ground though.

 

[Polo08816]

We’re on a road trip and are kinda at a loss. Debating on what to do. It looks like adding fluid isn’t an option but if there’s a way to do this then I can limp home. Other than a tow, who’s got any ideas?

If your vehicle is covered by factory warranty, I would continue to drive that until the transmission turns into a pile of smoldering kibbles and bits. If you don't drive it to failure, Ford/dealership may decide to just top it off with ATF and send you on your way. The damage that was already done by the lack of ATF may not manifest itself until after the warranty period has expired. Better to have it completely fail under warranty.

This is what almost happened with my transmission in my BMW. The initial fix was just to top it off with ZF Lifeguard 8. No later than 10,000 miles later, the transmission missed a shift and threw codes. I'm glad that was under the extended warranty mileage limit.

In hind sight, I should have taken my friend's advice which was to have the following three:
- 1 ton SRW HD pickup
- car trailer
- my car

Step 1: Hook up car trailer to my car.
Step 2: Load 1 ton SRW HD pickup onto car trailer.
Step 3: Drag race my car with that trailer until the transmission turns into kibbles and bits.
Step 4: Unload 1 ton SRW HD pickup off trailer.
Step 5: Hook trailer up to 1 ton SRW HD pickup.
Step 6: Winch my car onto the trailer.
Step 7: Drop off my car at a BMW dealership for a transmission replacement under warranty.

 

[rd618]

In hind sight, I should have taken my friend's advice which was to have the following three:
- 1 ton SRW HD pickup
- car trailer
- my car

Step 1: Hook up car trailer to my car.
Step 2: Load 1 ton SRW HD pickup onto car trailer.
Step 3: Drag race my car with that trailer until the transmission turns into kibbles and bits.
Step 4: Unload 1 ton SRW HD pickup off trailer.
Step 5: Hook trailer up to 1 ton SRW HD pickup.
Step 6: Winch my car onto the trailer.
Step 7: Drop off my car at a BMW dealership for a transmission replacement under warranty.

terrible advice. I knew someone who tried doing burn outs by doing neutral drops into drive with their foot on the gas, blew the transmission.
Honda pulled the computer's last 5-10 minutes of "drive time" and voided his warranty. They also backed up the denial by pointing out which components broke, how they should operate normally, and how they failed.

 

[Artie]

If your vehicle is covered by factory warranty, I would continue to drive that until the transmission turns into a pile of smoldering kibbles and bits. If you don't drive it to failure, Ford/dealership may decide to just top it off with ATF and send you on your way. The damage that was already done by the lack of ATF may not manifest itself until after the warranty period has expired. Better to have it completely fail under warranty.

This is what almost happened with my transmission in my BMW. The initial fix was just to top it off with ZF Lifeguard 8. No later than 10,000 miles later, the transmission missed a shift and threw codes. I'm glad that was under the extended warranty mileage limit.

In hind sight, I should have taken my friend's advice which was to have the following three:
- 1 ton SRW HD pickup
- car trailer
- my car

Step 1: Hook up car trailer to my car.
Step 2: Load 1 ton SRW HD pickup onto car trailer.
Step 3: Drag race my car with that trailer until the transmission turns into kibbles and bits.
Step 4: Unload 1 ton SRW HD pickup off trailer.
Step 5: Hook trailer up to 1 ton SRW HD pickup.
Step 6: Winch my car onto the trailer.
Step 7: Drop off my car at a BMW dealership for a transmission replacement under warranty.

I may have tried to drive back to the nearest city if it were just me but I had my wife and kids with me and a breakdown in a more remote area would just present more issues. As it was I was in the middle of nowhere and lucky to find a spot to pull off with service and a relatively safe spot to stop.

 

[Artie]

Update on this post:

Finally got the dealer on the phone to let them know the vehicle was on its way. The schedule person was in such a hurry to get off the phone I was lucky to catch her before she hung up to tell her the entire story… the part about us being on vacation and hours from the vehicle and her dealership. It was at this point the told me that they don’t typically look at towed in vehicles for 4-6 WEEKS! She said that she would do me a favor since we are on the road and try to expedite a diagnosis. I’m still speechless at this point in the convo but also holding up my kids to trip to the sledding hill so I thank her for her time and hang up.

10 minutes later I get a call from the service manager l, who I was also sent straight to voicemail earlier when I called and requested a person. He was much more helpful but reiterated the 4-6 week thing but said he would get a diagnosis asap before Thursday when we are driving back through the city where he is located.

I had just gotten this vehicle back for hose replacements that were both warranty. I’m not sure if this work would have involved anything around the transmission or not. They should have checked the fluid level during this visit as I had oil change done. It’s possible they didn’t tighten the trans dipstick.

So far I’m utterly disappointed with Lincoln service. My main dealership is no longer Lincoln and the new on I’m going to is a total hassle and too far for them to come get my car. Getting a loaner is also a pain and the fact that I paid to extend the Lincoln concierge throughout the length of extended warranty and service plans means absolutely zero to any of these places.

 

[99WhiteC5Coupe]

Update on this post:

Finally got the dealer on the phone to let them know the vehicle was on its way. The schedule person was in such a hurry to get off the phone I was lucky to catch her before she hung up to tell her the entire story… the part about us being on vacation and hours from the vehicle and her dealership. It was at this point the told me that they don’t typically look at towed in vehicles for 4-6 WEEKS! She said that she would do me a favor since we are on the road and try to expedite a diagnosis. I’m still speechless at this point in the convo but also holding up my kids to trip to the sledding hill so I thank her for her time and hang up.

10 minutes later I get a call from the service manager l, who I was also sent straight to voicemail earlier when I called and requested a person. He was much more helpful but reiterated the 4-6 week thing but said he would get a diagnosis asap before Thursday when we are driving back through the city where he is located.

I had just gotten this vehicle back for hose replacements that were both warranty. I’m not sure if this work would have involved anything around the transmission or not. They should have checked the fluid level during this visit as I had oil change done. It’s possible they didn’t tighten the trans dipstick.

So far I’m utterly disappointed with Lincoln service. My main dealership is no longer Lincoln and the new on I’m going to is a total hassle and too far for them to come get my car. Getting a loaner is also a pain and the fact that I paid to extend the Lincoln concierge throughout the length of extended warranty and service plans means absolutely zero to any of these places.

I wish you nothing but luck - but I suspect you’re in for a long and problematic repair.

Earlier this year, the transmission failed on my 2015 Expedition Limited 4x4. It took 51 days for repair after diagnosis at the Ford dealer, due to lack of parts.

Recently, the steering gear failed on the vehicle. Tomorrow will be the start of 7 weeks waiting on back-ordered part from Ford - with my vehicle parked in their lot.

Ford is doing a MISERABLE job of proving parts to its dealers, to repair their customer’s vehicles.

I have the premium Ford service contract - but it means very little since Ford has no concern for its customers.

Good luck and best wishes. Keep us updated.

 

[5280tunage]

So sorry to hear about your issues. I feel like we are truly at a breaking point here. People need cars, it's not a luxury. Any one with kids, especially young kids, retirees who need care, you name it, people do need cars. these companies will continue to fall back on "covid" as a cause, but really, anything could have interrupted the global supply/trade and we'd be in this. A volcanic eruption in the wrong place could cause this. but regardless, the manufacturers (and I don't think it's just ford) are dealing with massive labor issues, quality issues, recalls, and many of them have decided its far more important to keep building new vehicles at 60% (made up but pretty edumicated) their volume while chewing up all stock of replacement parts. They clearly care more about the next sale then they do supporting existing. I really wish our useless Gov't would get involved and I wish some rich folks would start some serious class action suits.

As others have said, I wish you the best. If nothing else, make Ford pay for the delivery to your home once it's half a year older... on the bright side you'll have lower mileage on it. Now i just have to pray nothing happens to mine.

 

[Polo08816]

terrible advice. I knew someone who tried doing burn outs by doing neutral drops into drive with their foot on the gas, blew the transmission.
Honda pulled the computer's last 5-10 minutes of "drive time" and voided his warranty. They also backed up the denial by pointing out which components broke, how they should operate normally, and how they failed.

I went to a few more track events and eventually the transmission failed. It was covered by warranty as my powertrain was completely stock.

Doing neutral drops from a dig will surely destroy a component instantaneously. My failure was probably from heat which could be associated to the low ATF that was already documented by a dealership. Either way, at HPDEs and track events, you're never going to be accelerating from a dead stop so you're probably not going to experience the same type of failure that someone would from drag racing from a dig.

 

[Polo08816]

I wish you nothing but luck - but I suspect you’re in for a long and problematic repair.

Earlier this year, the transmission failed on my 2015 Expedition Limited 4x4. It took 51 days for repair after diagnosis at the Ford dealer, due to lack of parts.

Recently, the steering gear failed on the vehicle. Tomorrow will be the start of 7 weeks waiting on back-ordered part from Ford - with my vehicle parked in their lot.

Ford is doing a MISERABLE job of proving parts to its dealers, to repair their customer’s vehicles.

I have the premium Ford service contract - but it means very little since Ford has no concern for its customers.

Good luck and best wishes. Keep us updated.

Were they trying to repair the existing transmission or just replace it with a rebuilt transmission from Ford?

 

[Artie]

So sorry to hear about your issues. I feel like we are truly at a breaking point here. People need cars, it's not a luxury. Any one with kids, especially young kids, retirees who need care, you name it, people do need cars. these companies will continue to fall back on "covid" as a cause, but really, anything could have interrupted the global supply/trade and we'd be in this. A volcanic eruption in the wrong place could cause this. but regardless, the manufacturers (and I don't think it's just ford) are dealing with massive labor issues, quality issues, recalls, and many of them have decided its far more important to keep building new vehicles at 60% (made up but pretty edumicated) their volume while chewing up all stock of replacement parts. They clearly care more about the next sale then they do supporting existing. I really wish our useless Gov't would get involved and I wish some rich folks would start some serious class action suits.

As others have said, I wish you the best. If nothing else, make Ford pay for the delivery to your home once it's half a year older... on the bright side you'll have lower mileage on it. Now i just have to pray nothing happens to mine.

The unnecessary supply chain issue aside, they should be humans that are reachable by phone. Even though my situation hadn’t changed, I felt better just having spoken with someone to just get the ball rolling.

The Lincoln roadside was ok. However, it took a while to get a tow. Thankfully, we had family who were joining us on this trip so we got a rescue and I was able to make it home to get our other car, my Land Cruiser which I should have taken to begin with ‍. But the tow truck was delayed hours today. Idk what people do when they are in a bad area or without cell service. It just points out the real truth of the state of this country at this particular point in time… you’re on your own and you had better have the skills to take care of yourself.

 

[Artie]

I wish you nothing but luck - but I suspect you’re in for a long and problematic repair.

Earlier this year, the transmission failed on my 2015 Expedition Limited 4x4. It took 51 days for repair after diagnosis at the Ford dealer, due to lack of parts.

Recently, the steering gear failed on the vehicle. Tomorrow will be the start of 7 weeks waiting on back-ordered part from Ford - with my vehicle parked in their lot.

Ford is doing a MISERABLE job of proving parts to its dealers, to repair their customer’s vehicles.

I have the premium Ford service contract - but it means very little since Ford has no concern for its customers.

Good luck and best wishes. Keep us updated.

Awe man… the scenario you’ve painted sounds infuriating.

 

[99WhiteC5Coupe]

Were they trying to repair the existing transmission or just replace it with a rebuilt transmission from Ford?

Initially I was told they transmission would be replaced with a new unit (technician and the service advisor). Then, later the service advisor stated “Ford” insisted the transmission be rebuilt.

 

[LokiWolf]

I went to a few more track events and eventually the transmission failed. It was covered by warranty as my powertrain was completely stock.

Doing neutral drops from a dig will surely destroy a component instantaneously. My failure was probably from heat which could be associated to the low ATF that was already documented by a dealership. Either way, at HPDEs and track events, you're never going to be accelerating from a dead stop so you're probably not going to experience the same type of failure that someone would from drag racing from a dig.

You were doing HPDE and Track days? You realize that is in direct violation of pretty much any manufacturers warranty, and your insurance unless you have gotten specific insurance to cover your Track days. There are a few cars, like the Dodge Demon, that Track time and failure are covered, but that is few and far between. I know plenty of people that do HPDE and Track days, and they accept any damage from that out of their back pocket. Pay to Play. Most don't take under warranty Brand new cars either. Unless they are manufacturer Specific events.

Regardless of the method, your advice above to the OP about how to handle their transmission issue, was TERRIBLE.

 

[Polo08816]

You were doing HPDE and Track days? You realize that is in direct violation of pretty much any manufacturers warranty, and your insurance unless you have gotten specific insurance to cover your Track days. There are a few cars, like the Dodge Demon, that Track time and failure are covered, but that is few and far between. I know plenty of people that do HPDE and Track days, and they accept any damage from that out of their back pocket. Pay to Play. Most don't take under warranty Brand new cars either. Unless they are manufacturer Specific events.

Regardless of the method, your advice above to the OP about how to handle their transmission issue, was TERRIBLE.

As for HPDE/track days, you're way more likely to get your warranty voided by showing up to a dealership with powertrain modifications never having tracked the car than you are with a stock powertrain vehicle that has been tracked often. It's far easier to void a warranty for a vehicle that show up with visible modification than it is to find out the user history of a stock vehicle particularly if their social media is very restricted.

When you say "damage" are you referring to a mechanical failure at the track or a collision? Also when you say "most don't take under warranty brand new cars either", then of course, they are going to accept any "damage from that out of their back pocket".

Ultimate, I've seen two camps. Either you have a tow vehicle and trailer to transport your out of warranty track vehicle, or you arrive/drive in your under warranty car.

Regardless, your method would likely have cost me over $7-8k for a new ZF 8HP45 because the manufacturer's method of filling 2-3 quarts of ATF would have prolonged the problems until after the extended warranty period.

The example you used of someone doing neutral drops is not the same as someone pushing the car harder but under reasonable street conditions. The physical damage from neutral drops is also different in nature than what would happen from ATF fluid loss. The former would see broken components like CV axles, etc. The latter would manifest itself in excessive temperatures but wouldn't be an instantaneous failure.

 

[Artie]

Update:

Heard from one of the techs that had a chance to look at the vehicle. He couldn’t find any obvious leaks and stated that the fluid was venting due to excessive heat. He said it’s likely an internal issue and they will need to dig deeper. Trans tech on vacation. 4-6 weeks to figure out.

My goal now is to get this vehicle back to my local dealer and get a loaner to drive.

Wish me luck lol