Hi all... New here..
Ive got a 94 Ford F150 Flareside/ext cab shortbed. It has the 5.8 engine, 3:55 gears, auto tranny...

I have a 6"lift and 32"tires on it....
I pull a 6040lb TT. I use a weight distribution hitch and sway control.

My truck has 79k miles, and I just blew out two trannys in a 6month period while towing this trailer. (luckily under warranty)

The 2nd blowout was my torque converter. The shop said "from extreme overheating"...

My truck is rated to pull almost 2000lbs more than what i'm pulling, but for some reason, my truck doesnt know that....

Can I add an additional tranny cooler, and will that help?
Or do I just need to buy a bigger truck?

My tire size has probably reduced my gears to about a 3:23..
Is this hurting my tranny?

Any help would be much appreciated!
Thanks!
Lawson

 

well you are a bit under geared, but not bad. If i was you i would add the biggest aftermarket cooler you can find. Also i would add a shift kit, I recomend the Transgo shift kit you can get them from summit for $107 shipped and most people can install them in there driveways in a few hours i did mine in 4 hours flat easy as pie. This will help stop the tranny from slipping as much during shifts and incase you dont know when the tranny shifts it creats heat which is bad. So with a shift kit on the tow setting and a tranny cooler you wont have to worry about it anymore.

hope this helps some.

Dustin

 

It's not unusual for a tranny to go within a few months after it is replaced Too often the bad TC and tranny are just replaced and the bazillion of metal particles are left in the radiator, lines, and cooler, these eventually destroy the replacement tranny. Hope that you had the radiator and cooler replaced.

 

No, the radiator and cooler are still the original stock ones. I was told that adding an additional cooler wouldnt do much as the factory ones are more than adequate. That sure isnt seeming to be true in my case though, eh? lol

I really appreciate the quick responces...
Does summit offer "performance" tranny coolers as well?
Where would be a good place to look for a big one? The local auto parts stores? Are there any certain brands to look out for?

 

Do you have a tranny fluid temp guage? Don't start adding parts if you don't even know what your fluid temps are.........

It's totally possible for the tranny to fail due to heat. That's what kills them the fastest. You have to have some pretty high temps to fry a TC however!

Are you trying to tow in OD? Remember, those "tow ratings" assume you only have a #150 driver and ZERO options on the truck and are still under the GVWR and GCWR at the same time.

A #6000 TT is heavy, but should be dooable with your setup..... It's probably at it's max, considering options and other stuff you are probably carrying in the truck.

I tow a #4500 TT with my rig and I do have a tranny temp guage and in 90* weather it runs around 180* cruising down the road. I have my sender in the output line, so it's reading the TC temp of the fluid before it even enters the rad cooler.

My truck is at it's GVWR of #6250 when I'm all hitched up and ready to roll. I'm "rated" for a #7700 TT too!! I'm over a ton UNDER my GCWR too! But, since I've reached my GVWR, I really can't tow much more trailer anyway....... Actually, I would not want to anyway.

My other thought is that your first new tranny just injested all the crap that fried the first one that was left in the rad and the cooler lines....... Unless the shop that did the replacement totally flushed the system before putting in the second new tranny that's what could have happened to the second one.

Good luck!

 

Thanks man... Your garage is less cluttered than mine....lol
A tranny temp guage will be the 1st order of business, and then probably a set of 4:11 gears due to my 32" tires.
I have a 6" lift, and I think the shocks and springs they use in the kits arent the most heavy duty.... But thats another story. My main prob's are with the tranny....

 

Law...I'm curious, if I understand you correctly..the orig. a/t failed, then 2 more failed within 6mo.

Your told 2nd failure from "extreme overheating" From what your asking here, did you also ask the a/t shop what could be done to prevent the "extreme overheating"? If so, what did they say?

Reason I ask, I got abunch of info. from my a/t shop, when I also had 2 failures, close together. They didn't hesitate on making/rebuilding what might be considered a bullet proof a/t. Of course, thats if I wanted to pay extra, as my warr. did not cover non-stock parts etc. Long story short, I didnt do that.

As mentioned the a/t guage is most helpful. Your old a/t cooler could be cruded up? Even orig. rad. could be plugging up? Might be time to upgrade? Summit has some good ones. www.summitracing.com + some auto. stores. Also those big tires, yeah your tranny knows it. Gear change, yes.

If you have no real complaints w/your ride, other than a/t. Seems its worth keeping. Maybe you want have anymore tranny problems. However, warranty will expire sometime soon, right?
If just opposite, then time for new ride. I know about that.

Good luck on what ever you decide. OT