Serious Transmission problem or not?

[raymo1]

Hi Folks,

Have a 1993 Explorer XLT with 50K miles on it. Bought it in Dublin, Ireland and attempted to drive it to Spain. Long story short, just outside Bordeaux in France on the motorway I see fumes coming from behind and pull over to see an oil leak coming from somewhere underneath and burning off from the exhaust. I call roadside assistance and they tow it to a garage, where they obviously haven't dealt with this type of vehicle and tell me it's ok to drive just to keep the transmission oil topped up and that they would have to remove the tranny to fix the problem. My insurance company disagree and lend me a hire car to continue the journey and transport the Explorer to me a few days later in the same condition as the repairs would not be covered.
Move on 2 years and I still have the Explorer at my holiday home in Spain and have just had 1 re-occurrence of the smoke problem on a particularly hot day and working her fairly hard. I heard somewhere that the transmission oil can sometimes overheat and there is an overflow pipe for the excess oil to run out and that could be the problem or is it something more serious like the dreaded transmission.

Thanks for any help as here in Europe this age of Explorer is very rare and no garages really know anything about them.

 

[ragajungle]

That sounds like a strong possibility. If the fluid is in bad shape it will overheat easier. IMO I would change the fluid and filter and install an external fluid cooler in front of the radiator. Make sure to use Mercon V and don't tow in OD

 

[FIND]

Your transmission is overheating.... This is usually a sign of excessive clutch slippage, which means you may need a transmission rebuild soon.... Overheating will also cause slippage, so that is shortening the life of your transmission. For now, change your tranny oil and filter and install an external transmission filter.

 

[92exp4x4]

Please post pics of your truck. Is it a euro spec explorer, or was it imported from the states?

I have had issues before where the transmission front seal would leak and pour fluid onto the exhaust crossover pipe, causing a cloud of smoke. I think the vent for the trans is on the top of the case in the center. Where exactly is the fluid leaking from? Either way the trans will have to come out for repairs.


I would love to get a euro spec 1st gen for my collection. It may be tough to import though.

 

[nashka]

Tranny stays in low gear, any ideas??

93 ford explorer with 97 tranny won't come out of first gear...just bought the truck and need some help....and would love to have a vacuum and wire diagram for this vehicle...93 explorer eddie bauer

 

[deamon3]

My explorer also has an overheating trans. I've seen a lot of fixes reguarding the overheating/leaking transmission.

One was do a radiator flush , sounds weird but it's was written that a radiator can be clogged to where it cools the engine fine but not the trans. Also see if the tranny cooler is clogged.

 

[FIND]

My explorer also has an overheating trans. I've seen a lot of fixes reguarding the overheating/leaking transmission.

One was do a radiator flush , sounds weird but it's was written that a radiator can be clogged to where it cools the engine fine but not the trans. Also see if the tranny cooler is clogged.

Yeah, the tranny cooler is out of the major flow area of the radiator, and in my experience, is right in the area that sediment collects.

 

[explorer1107]

Trans overheat

I have a similar problem and think that the oil cooler is in a poor area and a separate one may be a good idea.
Mine starts to vent oil when I give it a bit of stick, round town no problems but on a short quick run at speed, even 5 miles it starts to slip gears and sprays oil onto the exhaust and generally plays up, I then have to wait for it to cool and then I ;imp home and have to refill trans fluid and it works ok again.
Any other ideas to solve this would be appreciated
Thanks