cooler question

[jlracing]

I just fryed my 02 fx4 5spd tranny last month towing a samurai home from a 3 hour trip. I am guessing it was the heat form towing to heavy of a load. I have since looked in the book and saw the autos can tow almost 2000lbs more.

I have tryed searching hear and other forums with not much luck. What I am wondering is if I tap 3 holes in the tranny for an input output and temp gauge in a safe spot to run a cooler. Now this would have to be powered by an inline 12v pump for when I tow heavy loads agian.

Now I would have the temp to watch and if i see it heats up flick the pump on and she cools down. Day to day driving you would leave it off.

I guess my other question is was it the heat that got to my tranny and way autos can tow more.


Please fast replys, my truck may be sold by the weekend unless this is a good idea, if not I need a full size or auto ranger
Thanks

 

[exbass94]

Were you towing in overdrive? If so, that's why you fried it. You need to press the "OD Off" button on the shifter if you're towing heavy loads. Here is a link that gives some tips on installing a cooler and temp gauge. Installing a pump is not necessary, just run the cooler lines from trans, to the stock cooler, to the aux cooler, then back to the trans. If you want a way to switch on/off extra cooling, then get a really big cooler with an electric fan on it.

EDIT: Wait, is this a manual or automatic tranny? If it's a manual, then forget everything I said. Sounds like the pump with cooler might work. I would also not tow in 5th gear with that transmission either, leaving it in 4th would put a lot less stress on it. And about the auto rated to tow more, the general concensus here is that Ford said that only so moron drivers wouldn't fry the clutch under warranty. The manual in reality can tow just as much as the auto.

 

[jlracing]

Yes, as stated it is a 5spd. I did most of the towing in 5th when i could the rest was in 4th. If you think a auto vs 5spd should tow around the same except for fear of frying a clutch then why did my tranny die??

This was all highway driving.

 

[engdept]

since there is no fluid pump in the M50D (your 5 speed) there is no way to add an external cooler too it.

Are your sure you blew up your transmission and not just glazed the clutch?

 

[4x4junkie]

"5-speed" does not differentiate between a stick or auto, they both have 5 speeds.

I would suspect you had a low fluid level (leakage at the shift rail plugs on the M5OD is not uncommon), combined with your use of overdrive with such a heavy load.

 

[jlracing]

sorry, 5spd manual. While driving it popped out of gear (well the shifter did) when i released the clutch it was still in what i think was 4th gear. I put it in 4low and crawled to a truck stop to look at the linkage. Saw nothing wrong yet stuck in 4th while the lever was in neutral.After 10 mins of sitting i was able to get 1st and 4th in the proper position. Day after I had all my gears back but i had to power slam it in 4th and while reversing if I let of the gas it would bind up and stop the truck.

when i replaced the tranny there was still lots of oil, and steel on the drain plug, i replaced the oil 3 times before dropping out the tranny for a new one. each time metal and metal.

 

[exbass94]

Did you have the correct fluid in there? Those manuals use automatic tranny fluid, not gear oil.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

sounds more like a shift rail problem to me (like you somehow got in 2 gears at once).

ive towed much more than the weight of a sammy for much longer than 3 hours on my 130,000 miles M5OD without incident...id say this was probably a freak occurrence and a replacement transmission is likely to survive a little better.

i have, however, given thought to a manual trans cooler as well. my idea was just to remove the fill and drain plugs and screw pipe fittings into them. the drain plug hole being the outlet and the fill hole being the inlet.

but dont expect a cooler to increase your towing capacity. like was mentioned, the autos are rated to tow more because most people do not know how to properly operate a clutch, especially while towing, and ford doesnt want to replace a bunch of burnt-up clutches under warranty.

 

[jlracing]

Ya, it was atf and i put atf in it. I was thinking about the drain plug way today with a t fitting allowing a temp gauge.

 

[engdept]

i have, however, given thought to a manual trans cooler as well. my idea was just to remove the fill and drain plugs and screw pipe fittings into them. the drain plug hole being the outlet and the fill hole being the inlet.

That would work, but you would still need some sort of pump to get the fluid out of the transmission, through the cooler, and back into it.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

well yes, the pump is sort of implied. i was thinking of something along the lines of an electric fuel pump...cheap and clean.

 

[jlracing]

Ya my father and I had tossed the fuel pump idea around too.