CraigK
New Member
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2007
- Messages
- 293
- Reaction score
- 2
- Points
- 0
- Vehicle Year
- 1987
- Make / Model
- Ford
- Transmission
- Automatic
I haven't driven my '87 BII AT 4WD on the interstate (I-95) in very hot weather 95°F+ for several years, but did this past weekend while hauling a small trailer. A problem that I'd had previously began to occur again, in fact, occurred several times during this trip.
Near as I can figure, the transmission fluid reaches its flash point and suddenly boils. A huge spray of ATF fluid blows out somewhere under the vehicle, burning on the exhaust system and making a huge blue cloud of smoke and oil spray. Very cool. Unless you are me, or the driver behind me.
I have a small tranny cooler mounted in front of the rad, and have had the tranny looked at for circulation etc., and it all checks out. The engine temp gauge rose steadily during the trip (~90 miles round trip) and I was unable to use my AC, as this caused an additional spike in engine coolant temperature. I used about 2-3quarts of ATF during the trip, most of which is on the underside and hatch of my BII, all over my trailer, and I suspect all over the windshields of several pissed off drivers!
Possible Solutions?
I'd rather not install yet another tranny fluid cooler, besides, I already have one. Several years ago I bought some sort of ATF additive that raised the flash point. This seemed to help a great deal, however, this stuff has either worn out or is gone from the system, and I can't find an additive that is advertised to do this.
I'm thinking that maybe by using synthetic ATF, I can raise the flash point of the fluid enough to prevent further blowouts. It looks like the flash point of synthetic ATF is 80F° or more higher than regular ATF. Has anyone had this kind of blowout experience? If so, what did you do to solve the problem? Can you MIX old regular ATF with new synthetic ATF? Which synthetic grade/type would I use?
As usual, any ideas, help or insight will be appreciated.
CraigK
Near as I can figure, the transmission fluid reaches its flash point and suddenly boils. A huge spray of ATF fluid blows out somewhere under the vehicle, burning on the exhaust system and making a huge blue cloud of smoke and oil spray. Very cool. Unless you are me, or the driver behind me.
I have a small tranny cooler mounted in front of the rad, and have had the tranny looked at for circulation etc., and it all checks out. The engine temp gauge rose steadily during the trip (~90 miles round trip) and I was unable to use my AC, as this caused an additional spike in engine coolant temperature. I used about 2-3quarts of ATF during the trip, most of which is on the underside and hatch of my BII, all over my trailer, and I suspect all over the windshields of several pissed off drivers!
Possible Solutions?
I'd rather not install yet another tranny fluid cooler, besides, I already have one. Several years ago I bought some sort of ATF additive that raised the flash point. This seemed to help a great deal, however, this stuff has either worn out or is gone from the system, and I can't find an additive that is advertised to do this.
I'm thinking that maybe by using synthetic ATF, I can raise the flash point of the fluid enough to prevent further blowouts. It looks like the flash point of synthetic ATF is 80F° or more higher than regular ATF. Has anyone had this kind of blowout experience? If so, what did you do to solve the problem? Can you MIX old regular ATF with new synthetic ATF? Which synthetic grade/type would I use?
As usual, any ideas, help or insight will be appreciated.
CraigK