4R100 issues/leak(s)

Sterling B.

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I haven't had any issues with my trans until recently. Suddenly the entire underside of the truck is dripping trans fluid. It seems to be coming from the weep hole in the inspection/dust cover at the converter. Having recently serviced the transmission and draining the TC, I thought maybe the plug is loose, so I removed the cover; TC is completely dry. During the service, I had some larger metal flakes on the magnet, but no bigger than 1/8"

After some searches, it looks like the most probably culprit is either the pump or converter seal. Anything else it may be? Is it common for these to let go without much warning or starting off as a slow leak?

When I got fuel last night, the truck shut off on my when going from drive to reverse; is this connected to the trans being low on fluid? It started right back up without hesitation. I towed most of the weekend with it around 30K combined and didn't have temp issues. Any and all help is greatly appreciated!

Also, what are some reputable shops in the Houston area?
 

mandkole

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How many miles on it? Any codes yet? I'd get it in for full inspection immediately and will likely need a refresh. If its beginning to stall on shifts, it needs to be torn down for a close inspection of pump and converter.
 

Sterling B.

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How many miles on it? Any codes yet? I'd get it in for full inspection immediately and will likely need a refresh. If its beginning to stall on shifts, it needs to be torn down for a close inspection of pump and converter.

As far as myself and the previous owner know... its an original trans at 340K. Definitely hard to believe, but no indication to think otherwise besides the high miles. No codes as of yet and I hadn't noticed shifting issues. This all happened over a 1-2 day span and about 600 miles. I'll be making some phone calls today during my lunch break.

I don't know of any stellar trans shops in my area, so I might be looking at a BD Diesel, DieselSite, or Ford HD reman... Any input on these?
 

mandkole

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As far as myself and the previous owner know... its an original trans at 340K. Definitely hard to believe, but no indication to think otherwise besides the high miles. No codes as of yet and I hadn't noticed shifting issues. This all happened over a 1-2 day span and about 600 miles. I'll be making some phone calls today during my lunch break.

I don't know of any stellar trans shops in my area, so I might be looking at a BD Diesel, DieselSite, or Ford HD reman... Any input on these?

Ok, it doesn't owe you anything lol... awesome service from that unit and good job taking care of it.

Check with Diesel Innovations (David Lott). He should be able to help. No need to mail it all over the place for a stock upgrade rebuild.
 

Sterling B.

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Also, any experience with Monster Transmissions? As much as I'd love to get one from BTS, my wallet and timeframe simply won't allow.

Some questions in general...
- truck is DD/tow duty; gross trailer weights up to 30k
- lower stall converter is better than higher stall converter for my use?
- deep pan worth getting? (mag hytec, etc.)
- upgrade to trans cooler from 6.0 would probably be a good idea
- anything else I should be considering for my use?
 

Sterling B.

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Ok, it doesn't owe you anything lol... awesome service from that unit and good job taking care of it.

Check with Diesel Innovations (David Lott). He should be able to help. No need to mail it all over the place for a stock upgrade rebuild.

Thank you! I'll give him a call shortly!
 

mandkole

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Also, any experience with Monster Transmissions? As much as I'd love to get one from BTS, my wallet and timeframe simply won't allow.

Some questions in general...
- truck is DD/tow duty; gross trailer weights up to 30k
- lower stall converter is better than higher stall converter for my use?
- deep pan worth getting? (mag hytec, etc.)
- upgrade to trans cooler from 6.0 would probably be a good idea
- anything else I should be considering for my use?

For me, I have an older 500hp? BTS that was freshened by a local shop 18 months ago when the PI converter went bad. It had some things done to it by BTS that were not common back in 2006, but its said to be all pretty standard build mods today in good trans shops.

IMO, a standard stall billet triple disk is fine--I actually use a 6.0 converter and it flashes at about 1800. If I raced more, I would have gotten a 2200 or so. Add a nice valve body (to control line pressure mechanically, not with a chip), the stock 4wd pan works fine and the 6.0 cooler is fine. If the cooler circuit is very clean and you have good valving on the TCC to control flow (the Sonnax parts are good), a good build should stay cool. I don't pull more than about 19K gross, but it cools fine even on the long steep grades in 100F ambients.
 

Sterling B.

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Looks like it'll be getting a rebuild with triple disc converter and billet input shaft; haven't decided yet on a billet forward drum.

I know I need to upgrade my cooler... there's the OEM 31 row cooler for the 6.0 which has always been a good idea, but found this while on RiffRaff's site today. Maybe this is an even better option?

http://www.riffraffdiesel.com/mishimoto-6-0l-37-row-transmission-cooler/

Seems like it should have greater cooling capability and is more affordable, which is great being that I'm low on disposable income, but want to do this right the first time.
 

Sterling B.

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Got my truck back from the shop; probably going to load it down this weekend and go for a drive to check temps. Current DP Tuner will be ditched in favor of having my spare TS reburned by Matt whenever I get a chance to drop it off. Trans builder has no concerns about this trans holding up to my heavy towing (up to 30K gtw) and additional power without adding nitrous.

Trans lines currently bypass the cooler integrated into the radiator, but runs oh-so cool. (100-110 vs the old 130 with radiator cooler and factory trans cooler).

Next items: 16x8s and 315s
 

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