Towing 4500 lb travel trailer up and down 7% grade for 8 miles

[ctechbob]

I don't disagree with almost everything he told you.

ULV is a good fluid, I've seen that in several different UOA's on it.

10R/10L's are designed to operate hotter than past transmissions - 215-220 is perfectly normal, 250 is starting to get up to where you need to watch them.

They're also very sensitive to fluid (particularly viscosity) don't go substituting a 'non-ulv' in them thinking it is better, its not.

They're also very sensitive to overfilling. Just don't. Firsthand experience with this one. Work an overfilled trans a little bit and it will overtemp and blow fluid everywhere.

I disagree slightly with the pan argument in that the plastic pan is 'good enough'. It probably is for our trucks at our power level, but I've seen some rebuilders remark that metal tends to stabilize any flexing in the case. Whether that is something we should watch out for, I dunno, just thought it was interesting. Plus, drain plug. If I end up having a trans problem I need to take in for warranty, I'll swap the plastic back on it and roll.

Rev the nuts off your truck, it will be fine, they're designed to work. Probably better for it than lugging it around in 10th at 45 mph.

Sucks you had a loose bolt issue, but glad you got to have a good chat with the tech. And glad the tech wasn't a total moron!

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[Grumpaw]

Higher rpm's never bothered me....running up a grade and downshifting always gets the rpm's up.....and running down a long grade in tow mode the trans always drops to lower gears and rpm's go up accordingly.
Yeah, the tech gave me some valuable info. Even advised why gauges aren't installed....owners who weren't familiar with the proper operation would probably freak out if they saw very high coolant and tranny fluid temps.
As for the 210-215 being "normal"...he told me that when they do a diagnostic on a tranny they try to get it up to "normal operating temp of 215" before they do any work. And I thought that 195 was "the magic number"

He definitely understands the need for some of us to keep tabs along with just the interest in what's going on.....and I learned a valuable lesson....I was one of those "uninformed" who saw a high temp and got all worried !!!!
Now, I know better !!!

 

[Cabose-1]

4500 lbs will be nothing for the ranger. Towed a pathfinder Easy peasy!! . Texas i know not to big of hills.

 

[mtbikernate]

He told me the reason that Ford went to that stupid dipstick is to prevent owners from adding the wrong fluid to the trans. There are many who are not DIY'ers, or who are uninformed about what is the proper fluid to use. Apparently if you add as little as one quart of an improper fluid, it will cause major problems....just one stinkin quart.

On my 98 Ranger, a SHOP put the wrong fluid in my transmission and it did indeed cause major problems. a transmission shop wanted me to have the whole thing rebuilt when I took it to them for a 2nd opinion. I took it to the local Ford dealer for a 3rd opinion, and they're the ones that identified the wrong fluid. I had them totally flush it out and put in the correct stuff. and had them write up a DETAILED invoice that I took to the original shop for them to pay.

so yeah, I totally get it. that happened to me about 20yrs ago. I'm going to bet the Ford techs were SICK AND TIRED of dealing with that same problem from backyard mechanics and shitty shops over the years.

 

[Frenchy]

On my 98 Ranger, a SHOP put the wrong fluid in my transmission and it did indeed cause major problems. a transmission shop wanted me to have the whole thing rebuilt when I took it to them for a 2nd opinion. I took it to the local Ford dealer for a 3rd opinion, and they're the ones that identified the wrong fluid. I had them totally flush it out and put in the correct stuff. and had them write up a DETAILED invoice that I took to the original shop for them to pay.

so yeah, I totally get it. that happened to me about 20yrs ago. I'm going to bet the Ford techs were SICK AND TIRED of dealing with that same problem from backyard mechanics and shitty shops over the years.

Probably more of the vehicle manufacturer getting tired of it. Also keep in mind that Ford decided to have 50 different types of fluid 20 years ago for their transmissions. Don't ask me why

 

[mtbikernate]

Probably more of the vehicle manufacturer getting tired of it. Also keep in mind that Ford decided to have 50 different types of fluid 20 years ago for their transmissions. Don't ask me why

Whether those higher up made the final decision about it, I'm sure the techs were still fed up with dealing with so many transmissions with the wrong fluid in them. I'll bet they were equally irritated having to deal with so many different fluids.

 

[23HRPXL]

OK, kind of long....
Left Tues heading south to Boone NC....Interstate and a few US highways. On way down, temps got up into the high 80's. Bout 3/4 way down started smelling trans fluid smell, and trans fluid on my Scangauge lll was hitting 220-225/coolant was around 210-215.
Pulled over and saw a very light film of fluid on undercarriage. Well, continued on to campground, unhooked and ran Truck over to a Ford dealer in Boone...it was about noon....
Oh...no "wrench light" or codes were thrown .
Luckily they were slow and took it in while I waited....possible for some bad news...
Turns out several of the pan bolts on the front of the pan had backed off just enough to leak fluid.
The tech tightened everything up to spec, checked every fastener he could get to for other loose items, cleaned the film off the undercarriage. Checked and re-checked tranny fluid after topping it off, and I was out in 3 hours....No Charge...warranty.
Now, while I was there I was approached by one of the Ford Master Mechanics (44 years with Ford) there who was curious about the Fitzstick. I gave him the rundown about it, what and why we have installed it, and he understood, but gave me some education and information....
Take it for what it;'s worth and follow or not....
He told me the reason that Ford went to that stupid dipstick is to prevent owners from adding the wrong fluid to the trans. There are many who are not DIY'ers, or who are uninformed about what is the proper fluid to use. Apparently if you add as little as one quart of an improper fluid, it will cause major problems....just one stinkin quart.
He understands about us that know what to properly use wanting to keep tabs, and the Fitzstick will not void the warranty,
But be aware if a trans comes in for warranty work, they do check the fluid to see what is there.
Also, the Ultra stuff that's called for gets dirty VERY FAST, like within a few hundred miles and does not smell like regular trans fluid, so you really cannot tell if it's "burned" by smell or visually.
When I asked about the high temp on my Scangauge, he laughed and said that the fluid is a pure synthetic, and whey don't even consider it at temp till it hits 210-215. Overheat is probably somewhere around 250-260.
I asked him about the deep pans many of us have installed, and that will void the warranty.....your adding more fluid than is required by Ford, and he said you could argue till the moon turnes blue, and you will not get Ford to do warranty work with a deep pan installed.
He was not totally sure about the pan that are replacement size, but said it might. Just said that the plastic pan gets rid of heat as needed, and the only benifit would be the drain plug.
As for rpm's going up and down grades, he said just wind it up....it's a high rev engine with a turbo, ao it gonna ref hige....it has a 6000+ redline, so hitting 3500-4000 rpms while going up/down grades/mountains is not going to hurt anything....it's made to rev high.

So, coming home today, temp was at a high of 95 degrees.....running up the I-77 north mountain grade into Va, trans temp hit 224, and coolant hit 214, and it didn't bother me one bit.....remember, I'm towing 7000 travel trailer....and I maintained 55-60 all the way up that grade....7-8 degree grades for a total of 7 miles, and then all the ups n downs on I-81 heading north.
So, I'm just posting this for info and the education I got from a Master Tech....

And, I'll be selling my new un-installed Mishimoto deep pan shortly....keeping my plastic as I have an 8 year, 100,000 mile warranty.

And before anyone asks....this is the first trip we have taken in hot weather....prior trips the trans fluid ran up to 200-205 but outside temps were in the 70's to 80.

Good information, thanks for this write up.

 

[brroberts]

Nice info. Since I have the standard PPE, not deep, I’m going to roll with it. I wondered how hot was too hot. I had 225 once and let it cool a bit. Fortunately, the Fitzstick has ULV written on it.

 

[23HRPXL]

does any turn off the AC especially when climbing a long grade when towing or does it matter?

Most vehicles since the mid-80's automatically shut off the A/C compressor at WOT. I had mid-80's Escort GT and Chrysler K based cars with A/C and when you floored it, the A/C cut out. In the Chrysler, the owners manual even said that it was programmed to do so.

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