I need help with my truck

[CurlyDave]

The Truck: 2000 F-150 4x4 v-8 Triton, Automatic. 72,000 miles.

The Problem: It spilled a lot of what seems to be transmission fluid in my driveway.

The Terrain: My driveway is ~700' long with a 15% uphill grade coming in. It is gravel.

The Weather: Clear and hot, 105 degrees maybe more.

What happened: I drove about 80 miles home from a camping trip towing my Toy Hauler (Redneck Hunting Lodge). Trailer weighs 6500 - 6700 lbs as it was loaded coming home. The owner's manual says the towing capacity of the truck is 7200 to 7700 lbs. Depending on rim and tire size.

Before I get to my 700'gravel drive, there is a 1200' section of private paved road, again with a 15% uphill grade.

At the bottom of the paved section, I put the truck in: 4x4, overdrive off, transmission selector in "1" (PRND21) and drove up the hill to my house. It was clearly tough going, but the truck & trailer made it with no apparent problems. I parked by the front door and unloaded stuff for about 30 minutes, then tried to move the trailer to in front of the garage which is ~ 20' elevation below the front door.

I drove downhill and when I tried to back into the driveway, the truck would not move the trailer, and unknown to me started leaking reddish oil. I drove the 700' to the bottom of my gravel driveway, leaking a very noticeable trail of this reddish oil. I made a U-turn in the cul-de-sac at the bottom of my driveway, and came back uphill. The oil trail stopped for the uphill trip. I drove slightly past the entrance to the garage and could easily back the trailer into the position in front of the garage. While I was backing it, the oil trail returned.

When I unhooked the trailer, I looked at the gravel driveway and saw all the oil for the first time. I checked the engine oil and it was OK, right in the middle of the dipstick range. I had the engine off and didn't want to start it, but pulled the transmission dipstick and checked that oil and it was right in the middle of the range.

I got a plain white paper towel and patted up some of the oil on the gravel driveway. It was the same red as new transmission oil.

Does anyone have a clue where this oil is coming from?

I am intending to tow a 16' enclosed trailer with $1500 worth of trees and shrubs about 500 miles on Tuesday, and would like to make it without a breakdown in the CA desert, which would fry the trees, fry me, and fry my poor dogs.

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The only other information I have is that I had the transmission serviced about 10,000 miles ago.

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Thankfully it doesn't seem to be engine oil which is 500 mile old Rotella 5W-40, and which is now still honey amber in color.

It looks like I lost at least a couple of quarts of something, but the apparently full condition of the transmission leads me to question the front transfer case. What do they put in there and what color is it?

At the time of the leak, the hood and everything in it was too hot to touch.

Anyway, I would be grateful for any help.

 

[Scooby074]

Could be the xfer case. I believe that it uses ATF. But id suspect the tranny first.

F150 trannys are crap. Were on our 2nd with 130K Kms. Pure Junk. Trannys slipping again too. BUT it never puked out fluid....

What service was done? Just a filter or something more in depth?

If i understand, the oil is appearing when the front of the truck is pointing down grade? Maybe the front edge of the pan seal has blown out? Or the seal between the tranny and Torque converter.

Best thing to do is crawl under and see if you can track it down. Youll have to crawl under to check the xfer case levels anyway.Id pull the xfer case level check plug as one of first things to see if you have a overfill or underfill condition.

A tip is to put a piece of cardboard under the tranny xfer case area. It will catch the drips and help you track down the source of the oil a little more accurately.

 

[Skyco]

Sounds to me like the classic severely overheated transmission puking out oil from expansion. You'll have to check the fluid per procedure, ie running in park to see if the level is low.
If it is low and there are no apparent leaks I'd change the fluid since if it was overheated it is compromised. You might crawl under the truck and see if the trans is wet from blowing fluid out the vent, generally on top of the trans somewhere.

 

[kennyd]

Sounds to me like the classic severely overheated transmission puking out oil from expansion. You'll have to check the fluid per procedure, ie running in park to see if the level is low.
If it is low and there are no apparent leaks I'd change the fluid since if it was overheated it is compromised. You might crawl under the truck and see if the trans is wet from blowing fluid out the vent, generally on top of the trans somewhere.

Good advice. Might want to invest in a transmission temperature gauge also since you are doing serious towing.

 

[irwin]

Does the truck have an aux trans cooler? If not I'd think hard about getting one installed soon.

Had a similar incident with my k2500 gmc. I towed my skid steer 60 miles across some hilly territory, it was dripping some when I got home. I haven't had a reoccurence but I also haven't towed anything heavy since. I'm planning adding a large aftermarket cooler soon, just to be cautious. Replacing a transmission is very expensive these days.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I see this one 2 or 3 times a summer. Does the truck have a tow package? If so it has a tranny cooler. I am guessing it may not since it has a low tow limit. I would have one installed asap and a full tranny service done. Don't settle for just a flush. Make them drop the pan and do a flush and if possible drain the torque converter. Best place and probably cheaper in the long run is the dealer. Also never ever tow in overdrive, even if it feels light. One of my customers was trying to break 10mpg pulling a 8K boat with a Dodge 1500. He said he kicked the overdrive on for less than 10 miles on I70 heading to Lake of the Ozarks and it overheated and puked fluid. My S-10 Blazer did the same thing.

Also, F-150's trannys are not crap. They are not bullet proof either. I know dozens of friends and customer who drive F-150's and I have had about a 1/2 dozen with not one issue.

Chris

 

[CurlyDave]

The truck has the towing package.

I am taking it to a shop this morning, and I'll see what they say.

Funny that someone mentioned a low tow limit, because back in 2000 this model was the highest limit of any of the F-150s. Had to go to a F-250 to get any higher.

 

[Diamondpilot]

According to my trailer towing guide the highest tow limit is 8,400# for a F-140 4x4 with the 5.4L V8, auto tranny, and 3.73 gears. If that is what you have you must have a tow package.

Chris

 

[Scooby074]

Also, F-150's trannys are not crap.

Chris

I beg to differ. Another friend of mine has a 2000 F150 that blew its tranny too.

Ours is a 2003 that never sees much hauling besides atv's and trips to the dump. A couple times a year it may haul a B26 or a Pop up trailer, but thats the most that this truck sees. And it has the towing package.

Oh.. and its also on its 2nd rear end. and maybe 10th ball joint.

Look, i used to be a Ford guy, to the core. Ive had 4 from a '78 F250 to this one, but this will be the ABSOLUTE last ford i buy.

Dont get me started on the bubbling paint on the door bottoms and sills that ford wont warranty on a $55000 truck. Or the rusted "stainless" running boards that they wont do a thing about either. Ford blamed this on "enviromental causes" that were outside the scope of the rust warranty or that the running boards were aftermarket, they weren't, they are part of the king ranch package that this truck has, to me this is a ford defect, not a Lund or what ever OEM made them problem...... Of course all this all took place before the warranty was up.

And before the warranty was up, this truck was only serviced at the dealer, so all repairs were done by the book.

Pure Junk.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I beg to differ. Another friend of mine has a 2000 F150 that blew its tranny too.

Ours is a 2003 that never sees much hauling besides atv's and trips to the dump. A couple times a year it may haul a B26 or a Pop up trailer, but thats the most that this truck sees.

Oh.. and its also on its 2nd rear end. and maybe 10th ball joint.

Look, i used to be a Ford guy, to the core. Ive had 4 from a '78 F250 to this one, but this will be the ABSOLUTE last ford i buy.

Dont get me started on the bubbling paint on the door bottoms and sills that ford wont warranty on a $55000 truck. Or the rusted "stainless" running boards that they wont do a thing about either. THis all took place before the warranty was up.

And before the warranty was up, this truck was only serviced at the dealer, so all repairs were done by the book.

Pure Junk.

Sounds like you need to walk away from Ford. I had to do the same thing with GM after my 3500 4x4 Dura Junk nightmare.

Back on topic, he really just need to have it serviced and checked out and my money is it will be ok.

Chris