very lame

[BMXunleashed]

So I have a 94 eddie bauer 4x4 with intake and a muffler and some weight taken off here and there....otherwise its very stock performance wise. I have 31's on there but i havent re-geared and its on the factory 3.27's.

The family vacation was comin up and my dad wanted me to take my truck because he was planning on flying back....the truck had my dad and brother (420lbs combined...weightlifters haha) my dog 50lbs, two bicycles 60 lbs, and 100 lbs of luggage, and me 135 lbs.... so 765lbs of **** in my ex..... I let my dad drive the first bit and i wake up to him asking me if my truck burned oil? I said no in a concerned matter because i know my truck is healthy, and i realised he had the thing HAMMERED up hill like f*ckin 3500 rpm and I said to him "dude get off the effing throttle like that, my truck cant handle loads like that" and by that time we noticed a plume of smoke coming out my rear end. we pulled over and sure enough it was tranny fluid...
we checked the levels with the engine running and they were fine and it wasnt really leaking from anywhere..... i figured he had just overworked it and the heat caused it to blow out of the tranny vent because its been a week and i havent had anymore leaking.... I just noticed that my temp had been running high because we were in hills most of the time but thats because the tranny cooler shares the radiator right?.... so anyways Im gunna regear, that should solve the tranny stress prob right? and im goin to get another tranny cooler to help out... im going to 4.10 gearing for my 31's, good choice right and will leave room to go to 33's?... the motor will get more beef soon, hotter plugs and wires , headers etc....more weight stripped off the truck.......


but anywys....my guess about the leak sound right? i ramble too much i know but help me out

 

[metstalker]

defenatly get a cooler, and i have 3.73 with my 31s and its perfect since im not going bigger

 

[pughman]

this just happend to me, it is the front seal, mine blue out all the way so i need to replace mine. but you might get buy with out it, yours just got hot and let some out , then cooled down and sealed back up. im going to put a trany cooler, new radiator, fan and clutch, and 4:10's in mine , and see if that takes care of it...

 

[Albino 94LTD]

1st. when driving up a long grade at freeway speed, shift into D, not OD. This will lock up the torque converter at the 1:1 final drive ratio instead of the Overdrive ratio and cut a lot of heat from the tranny. This is better than just stomping on the gas pedal.

2nd. get a filter/temp guage so you know how much damage you're doing with heat.

 

[pughman]

think the filter is better than the cooler ? and what temp does your truck run ?

 

[410Fortune]

YOU need a transmission cooler.
I personally cannot believe Ford made Gen I and II trucks with light duty automatics without a cooler.
The factory cooler is barely adequate

A fully loaded Explorer should be able to pull hills at 3500 RPM annd much much higher, hell some of the climbs here in CO with the boat in tow and fully loaded with camping gear the 4.0L has no issue at 4300 RPM for 15 minutes in 1st & 2nd gear, as long as your cooling system is up to par.

tempature first, heat KILLS auto transmission fluid.
The fluid cools and lubricates, once its burnt it will not anymore.

the filter should come at the same time or after a gage and cooler.

 

[Albino 94LTD]

Oh, I have the factory auxillary cooler AND a second auxillary cooler. The switch on the temp guage turns on the fan.

I peak out at 220 towing the boat 2 miles up hill at slow speed from the boat ramp home.

There is a 20-30 degree difference driving over Snoqualmie pass between OD kicked down and driving in D with the torque converter locked up, . The last section of the pass is about a 6% grade for 5 miles

 

[410Fortune]

220 is about as high a peak as I would like to see too, I found those fin style coolers (perma cool, Hayden, etc) like the one you have pictured are not nearly as efficient as this stacked plate style:

http://www.bmracing.com/media/products/items/282_full.jpg

http://www.bmracing.com/index.php?id=products&sid=4&cat=20&subcat=28&pid=282

220 should not hurt the trans fluid, but if you are taking that temp at the cooler the pan temp may be alot higher...
You guys can imagine what a factory style cooler under heavy load, on an old transmission, hunting from 2-3 and locking/unlocking the torque converter will do........to me spending a little now to ensure I can monitor the temp and keep it around 210-220 max is the cheapest insurance I can buy on an automatic equipped vehicle......rebuilds cost upwards of $1200 and thats because I do all the removal/installation myself....

 

[BMXunleashed]

I know a loaded X will pull up a steep grade fine as 410fortune said but then again i have the 31's and 3.27 gears.... so that made things kinda nasty...

I dont think ill ever be hauling that much stuff again because im moving my fuel tank into the rear and caging the rear end as well for longer travel shocks etc....

4.10 gears and add cooler/filter/ temp gauge

that should solve all my problems huh? if i do go to 33's later on the 4.10 gears will still be cool right?

 

[brttwttnr]

You said your gonna pick up some headders, well my bro is about to do a 351w efi swap into his ex and he's got headders from the 4.0 that he'll have to get rid of so if your interested make an offer.

 

[410Fortune]

33's in your future? go 4.56 IMO, especially with the added weight of a cage and where it seems you are headed with this build.

 

[BMXunleashed]

well i was thinking of 4.56 BUT.....

i might be doing a V8 swap and i think the v8 could easily push 33's on 4.10.... right?

i like that lil 4.0, it sounds sexy on exhaust and is fun to play around with but v8's can just power through just about anything.......but im gunna leave the rest of that for another future thread haha

 

[410Fortune]

yes the 5.0L with automatic will motivate you with 4.10's and 33's. however then when you go 35's you will wish you did the 4.56 or even 5.13
go 4.56 trust me, I have 5.0L, BII, 4.10,'s 35's its great on the highway and it drives fine, but 4.56 would have been better