Transmission Getting Hot and Puking ATF

[MikeS3000]

I own a 2018 Expedition with the Heavy Duty Tow package. It has 76k miles on it. We bought it in February 2018 and have never towed with it until yesterday. I bought a 3200 lb. horse trailer and towed it home 1.5 hours. On the interstate on a very slight uphill grade in Ohio the transmission temps rose until they hit 246 F. I was going about 65 mph. The temps would settle into the 220s or so on level ground and 45 to 55 mph. I did not think this was normal. When I finally got home I noticed a puddle of ATF on the driveway. I let it cool and detached the trailer and parked the vehicle in my garage. I found another smaller puddle this morning. Anybody know what is going on?

 

[Artie]

Bro, I’m in the same boat. 2018 Navigator reserve with tow package 67k miles.

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

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?

www.expeditionforum.com

Have you had any service done on this vehicle recently? Are you having a Ford dealership service this vehicle?

I’m over a month in with the exact same issue and all they said was that they can’t find anything wrong, maybe it was overfilled. They think this because after all the fluid it puked they only had to add less than a quart. I saw that stuff blasting out the back as I drove and it puked a fairly large puddle while I sat broke down waiting on roadside service to come.

Just come get it and drive it around to see if it happens again is what Ford is saying….These idiots only answer is for me to see if I get stranded with my kids again.

 

[MikeS3000]

That's crazy. I have not had the best luck with Ford dealerships lately so I think I am going to try a local shop that just specializes in transmissions. They have been in business over 20 years and have great Google reviews. The only service that I have had done recently is an oil change plus repairing my broken A/C (that's another long b.s. story)

 

[Artie]

That's crazy. I have not had the best luck with Ford dealerships lately so I think I am going to try a local shop that just specializes in transmissions. They have been in business over 20 years and have great Google reviews. The only service that I have had done recently is an oil change plus repairing my broken A/C (that's another long b.s. story)

Do report back on what they find. I am locked into dealerships because of extended warranty, which I’m glad I have because it’s more than paid for itself but all the Ford and Lincoln techs are terrible, in my experience.

 

[Kahuna]

I had a 2020 with tow package. On straight road towing one day my Tran temp went very high. Then noticed smoking pouring out of the rear. Fluid spilling on the road.

Net net here - on the top of the tran there’s a plastic or rubber relief valve that inserts into a hole in the case. In my situation the pressure got so high it popped the thing out and luckily fell into an engine pan. Found it upon inspection and put it back in.

Yours may be relieving the pressure too and spilling out small amounts.

 

[Benztech]

This has happened on my wife's 2018 (65k currently, bought with 45k) 4 different times while driving on the highway 65-75 mph and not towing (all 1 1/2 to 4 hours from home). The last attempted fix of software seems to have fixed the overheat issue for now, but I'm not entirely convinced it won't happen again especially if I tow. Two different dealers blamed other dealers and fluid level even though it happened randomly despite multiple highway trips. The updated software did nothing to improve the harsh gear shifts (3-4, 4-5) or low speed trans shudder (why in the world is the trans in 7th gear at 20 mph??). The dealer provided the bulletin to me. I'll look for it and post it when I find it. The lesson I learned from all this is I screwed up selling my 08 Expy EL. No trans trouble at all and it had 175k when I sold it.

 

[MikeS3000]

The dealerships around me are so booked up and I called a few transmission shops. They turned down business so they don't have to tackle the 10 speed from Ford if that tells you anything. They just don't want to work on it. I did book an appointment at a Ford dealership for next week that is much farther than my local one, but I'm not going to wait a month just to evaluate the leaking transmission. I'll update once I get more info.

 

[MikeS3000]

So follow-up to the transmission overheating issue. $4000 later it is supposed to be fixed. So the technician diagnosed a failing transmission cooler pump so that needed replaced. Also, front brake pads and rotors needed done, rear shocks both leaking and needed replaced and finally when they were installing the new cooler pump they found some kind of oil cooler hose was leaking and supposedly melted. I should have asked for pictures of everything because I just serviced the car for an oil change in January and none of the other issues were mentioned. I have not towed with it yet but I hope to test it this weekend.

 

[Polo08816]

So follow-up to the transmission overheating issue. $4000 later it is supposed to be fixed. So the technician diagnosed a failing transmission cooler pump so that needed replaced. Also, front brake pads and rotors needed done, rear shocks both leaking and needed replaced and finally when they were installing the new cooler pump they found some kind of oil cooler hose was leaking and supposedly melted. I should have asked for pictures of everything because I just serviced the car for an oil change in January and none of the other issues were mentioned. I have not towed with it yet but I hope to test it this weekend.

How much does a new transmission cost (part cost)? $2500-3000?

 

[duneslider]

How much does a new transmission cost (part cost)? $2500-3000?

I kind of took it that the $4k was including all the other stuff that he had done, and not just the work on the transmission.

 

[MikeS3000]

Yeah, it's for everything. I think the cost for the transmission cooler pump was a little over a $1000

 

[Soliyou]

What is a transmission cooler pump?? I am not aware of that part in 10r80s!

 

[BMW2FORD]

There is a valve on the front pass side of the engine that is controlled by the ECM to shut coolant flow from the engines coolant pump to the trans cooler but it’s not a pump. If that’s stuck shut for sure the trans would run hot but sounds like it was replaced (maybe). Usually on these cars the engine is running too hot from a failed thermostat and the hot engine overheats the trans since they share the same coolant system. Unfortunately, the coolant bar graph in the dash is really dampened and stays dead center from 170 -237 degrees. At 238 degrees it places the actual coolant number above it to tell you it’s hot. You might just have an engine running too hot overheating the trans. Ford does have an updated thermostat with a plastic side to them that came out about 6 months ago. If you have the repair order for what the dealer replaced, post the part numbers installed and we can see if that’s the trans cooling valve or engine water pump.

 

[keny01998]

I just replaced my thermostat with the new version from Ford. The engine temp is significantly lower after over an hour drive. The change procedure is easy since you don't have to remove any hoses. Took me around 30 minutes and I refilled with 1 gallon of yellow coolant. You can buy Ford coolant from dealership or Oreilly's. My engine was hoovering over 232 and transmission went over 219-222 with old thermostat.

 

[aziz]

I just replaced my thermostat with the new version from Ford. The engine temp is significantly lower after over an hour drive. The change procedure is easy since you don't have to remove any hoses. Took me around 30 minutes and I refilled with 1 gallon of yellow coolant. You can buy Ford coolant from dealership or Oreilly's. My engine was hoovering over 232 and transmission went over 219-222 with old thermostat.

How much it cost and is it under warranty

 

[keny01998]

How much it cost and is it under warranty

No, it's not under warranty. I bought the thermostat and gasket on Ebay around $50. Two gallons of Ford yellow coolant around $28 on Amazon. I replaced it myself.

 

[wakeboarder]

No, it's not under warranty. I bought the thermostat and gasket on Ebay around $50. Two gallons of Ford yellow coolant around $28 on Amazon. I replaced it myself.

I bought all 3 at Rock Auto last June. They were a little cheaper.

 

[Jeff Sweeney]

How much does a new transmission cost (part cost)? $2500-3000?

 

[Jeff Sweeney]

So follow-up to the transmission overheating issue. $4000 later it is supposed to be fixed. So the technician diagnosed a failing transmission cooler pump so that needed replaced. Also, front brake pads and rotors needed done, rear shocks both leaking and needed replaced and finally when they were installing the new cooler pump they found some kind of oil cooler hose was leaking and supposedly melted. I should have asked for pictures of everything because I just serviced the car for an oil change in January and none of the other issues were mentioned. I have not towed with it yet but I hope to test it this weekend.

Have you had a chance to tow and any overheating? How is the heat now? I have a 2018 XLT Max and having the same issues.