5R55W Tranny Question

I've got a 2002 V-6 Explorer (w/towing package) that recently went through the dreaded 2nd-3rd gear heartbreak (at only 83K miles). $1250 later, I'm back on the road again with another problem. The transmission re-builder is nearly an hour away and I want to avoid spending almost 4 hours on the road with the 2 round trips required to take Eddie back for another visit. The new problem is this: a fluid leak around the cooler somewhere. The leak is heavy enough to have soaked everything in the area and is leaving small dribbles on the floor. After tightening the two clamps on the hoses that lead into the bottom of the cooler I noticed two more hoses above them that don't appear to connect to anything. They're simply open to the environment and one of them was wet with fluid on the inside. They seem kind of odd to me, since I always thought that a cooler was a closed and pressurized system (but hey, with a tranny lacking a dipstick, anything's possible as to design, I suppose). I didn't see anything that they could possible connect to and am assuming they're some type of vent hoses. There was no leakage before the rebuild, so the leak appears to be caused as a result of the rebuild. My question is this: If the re-builder overfilled the transmission, would the excess fluid would be expelled via this "vent" hose and possibly causing the problem? Thanks in advance to anyone with any advice or suggestions.

Something doesn't sound right here. My Explorer is away on a trip to Santa Fe right now or I would go have a look at it. The only thing I can think of is there is a small cooler for the power steering mounted under there. Could they have left it off with the hoses dangling? How is the fluid level in the PS res? If that's not it can you upload pics somewhere and post a link here?

i would think if there's a leak that big the trans fluid was leaking that it would be very low and there would be a telltale for it, ie O/D light blinking or message in the message center if equipped

Here's a photo:

After doing a little studyin' on the matter, I've about decided that the ring clamps on the cooler hoses (yellow arrow) are probably the culprits, as I was able to tighten them a little more this afternoon. The PS level was fine, so the fluid wasn't coming from there. From what I understand about this tranny, it would probably would be difficult to overfill it, assuming you left the plug out of the pan and took your time. I'm gonna watch the leak closely over the next few days and see if I stopped it by tightening the ring clamps. However, a mystery (to me) still remains. What are the two "vent" hoses left open to the air? They're the ones, in the photo, with the red arrows located about 4/5 inches up from the bottom corner of the radiator on the passenger side. This photo was taken looking up at the bottom corner of the radiator. Thanks again for any input into the matter.
Dunno if this link will work or not:

Once again...

Here:
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Here:



I noticed that HTML is "Turned Off", so I may not be able to post an image and attachments are not allowed.

At any rate, thanks for your help, and I'll keep an eye on the leak.

Sorry, but I can't see your pics. I don't know about picasa, but photobucket works well here.

Never underestimate the ability of a human being to overfill anything! But I sure wouldn't think it very likely that a tranny shop would do that.

cougarparts4u said:

After doing a little studyin' on the matter, I've about decided that the ring clamps on the cooler hoses (yellow arrow) are probably the culprits, as I was able to tighten them a little more this afternoon.

Click to expand...

A possibility:

A/T - 5R55W Cooler Line Fluid Leak
Article No.
01-10-2

05/28/01

TRANSMISSION - 5R55W - FLUID LEAK FROM
TRANSMISSION COOLER LINES AT TRANSMISSION
CASE CONNECTION - EXPLORER/MOUNTAINEER
4-DOOR VEHICLES BUILT 11/13/2000 THROUGH
4/2/2001 ONLY

FORD:
2002 EXPLORER

MERCURY:
2002 MOUNTAINEER

ISSUE
Some 2002 Explorer/Mountaineer 4-door vehicles built 11/13/2000 through 4/2/2001 equipped with the 5R55W transmission may exhibit a fluid leak at the transmission cooler line-to-transmission case connection. This may be caused by contamination on the cooler tube between the tube nut and flare, contamination on the tube nut threads or improper installation torque.

ACTION
If fluid is leaking from the cooler lines at the transmission, the cooler line tube nuts and lines will need to be disconnected, cleaned and a service 0-ring installed into the case fitting.