Trans 5r55e puked Fluid

[Lefy]

I just finished rebuilding the the valve body last week drove well
Put fresh fluid in it drove it till Saturday Then flushed the pan again and put new fluid in again as the fluid was pretty dark. I put cheaper fluid in (castro merconV) because I was going to flush it again once I got to Syracuse.
I was some what in a hurry and put a little to much fluid in.
left home yesterday to drive to Syracuse and it was shifting well and seemed to be driving fine highway speeds 65-70mph.. There were two of us in the truck with all our stuff for school. The truck was packed. even had my tools and winch in it.

About 200 miles into the drive The Overdrive light starts flashing and I back off her and turn over drive off. slow to about 50-55 trying to make it to the
rest stop 10 miles further. about 2miles later.
I feel a difference in the throttle and look the rear view and see white out smoke.. I instantly turn on the 4ways and put her in neutral and turn the engine off. coasting on to the shoulder.
Trans is puking fluid and I can't really make out where it's coming from. as its every where. I think its coming from the bell housing as its dripping there but the tow truck driver says it looks like the cooler lines. right at the trans.

get towed to school for free 65miles Thank you AAA.

I have it in the garage and I'm going to wipe it down as much as possible and then put a quart in and see where it drips from.
I think it may be the front shaft seal but I don't know.
Is that something that would be difficult to replace?
I know dropping the trans and removing the exhaust and tcase is going to be fun but Is it that difficult to replace that front shaft seal?
That what I read goes on the a4ld transmissions.
Could having too much fluid in the trans cause the seal to go?
Thanks for any help

 

[Lefy]

update:
check the fluid and its insanely burnt smells terrible. black.
I drained the pan and will drop the pan in a little bit. as it's frigid out 25 degrees.

 

[manaen]

the fluid was probably boiling out of the overflow, what did your rebuild include? and how many miles are on your tranny.

 

[Lefy]

new EPC, Transgo shift kit, sonnex boost valve, endplug kit,
bonded separator plate on vb.
adjusted bands.
180000miles on truck about maybe about 30k on the trans since i had it rebuilt at a shop although from the looks of it I don't believe the shop truly rebuilt it.. as it does not look like the trans was ever removed from the truck.

 

[manaen]

you said you overfilled the tranny, do you have an idea, how much you overfilled it?

 

[Lefy]

if I remember correctly it was about maybe 3/8inch over the XXXXXXX mark on the dipstick.
I had read that automatics can starve on steep inclines.. and that overfilling it is a good idea. I think I may have put too much.

 

[tha704mafia]

yeah they can starve on steep inclines mine did 3/4's the way up a big hill very scary haha, but i always was told that overfilled automatics will blow out all the seals, you should also look to see if it all came out of the breather and just sprayed everywhere.

 

[Lefy]

but i always was told that overfilled automatics will blow out all the seals,

all the seals?? dam I may have made an expensive whoops.
dam.
the breath diden't look like it was puking fluid.. it looked as if it was puking fluid from the bell housing in front on the pan. I was thinking maybe the front input shaft seal by the torque convertor. are those a pain to change. I mean once the trans is out.. Would I need any special tools

 

[tha704mafia]

i couldnt tell ya i hate automatics pain in the *** i you ask me but you shoud find glacier i think thats his name he knows all about them i would like to figure out a way to keep the tranny from starving itself on steep inclines

 

[manaen]

well if you have a 2wd version your transmission pan is not made to do steep inclines, I would recommend getting a 4wd pan and filter it has a much deeper sump so you do not starve while going up hill.

If you do have a 4wd truck then I would make sure you have the correct filter in there since it is a common problem that the 4wd deep sump filter is wrongly replaced with a 2wd version which will work fine until you hit any type of incline.

If you know your filter is right and you have a 4wd and your still starving on very steep inclines, I guess if you have a welder you could weld a deeper sump on the tranny pan and then extend the filters drop tube, get it all fixed up so the only way you will starve is if you roll over.


This starving is not a common problem with the 4wd version of the 5r55e (that I am aware of), and there are guys out here that are really testing the limits of these trucks. I would talk to Izwack since he has a SOHC ex with a SAS conversion that has seen some serious offroad battle if he isn't having any trouble with his I would guess it's really not a problem.


Just make sure you have a 4wd pan and filter

but I would not overfill the tranny that is just bad mojo all around... If you want more fluid get a large external cooler and an additional external filter that will add about 2 to 3 quarts.

 

[Lefy]

I have a 4wd truck the pan is stock so I'm guessing it was a 4wd pan. the filter I had put in is the same as the one I took out. so those are out.

I have purchased a external filter
a large b&m stacked fin super cooler
A trans temp gauge with pod.
I'm going to install them all as precautions.

I'm guessing overfilling the trans caused it to blow atf all over. not sure how but it did as there was nothing else I know of that was wrong. I'm waiting on a 5r55e manual I bought to get delivered. that should give me some good info.

 

[manaen]

the 5r55e has an overflow tube, it is most likely that all the fluid came from there.

 

[Lefy]

Where is the over flow tube located??

 

[manaen]

I think if memory serves me right, It comes down on the driver side middle of the transmission, it's a steel line. I would go look, but it's late and like 16 degrees here right now

 

[Lefy]

yeah i don't believe that is where the fluid came from but today we are supposed to get to a warm 33 degrees so I'm going to finally do some work on the truck..
i'll post up with what I find

 

[Lefy]

update..
filled the trans with cheapo walmart mercon V $1.68per quart
tighted up the bolts wiped almost everything down pretty good
and started it up. no leak checked fluid level it was good. turned off check for leaks throughly. started back up let run for 3-4 minutes started seeing a little. drip it bell housing bottom and then the drip turned to a flow of dirty ATF started coming out turn it off crawled under front end to look up and see it's dripping from the starter.. right next to the oil pan. I'll post photos later today when I get home from school.

Any one know where this leak could be coming from. I believe the started spins the torque convertor which cranks the engine over but not sure. ?? I'm guessing it's a leak in the bell housing/torque convertor front of trans.

 

[manaen]

Almost sounds like the seal around the torque converter is leaking. It is weird that it is running from the starter area and not the bottom of the bell housing. Anything leaking in or around the torque converter would spray mercon all over the inside of the bell housing and run down to the bottom.