JW tow master or manual swap

deangarth · Jul 22, 2014

So I'm suck of my 2002 f350 cc short box 7.3 L auto 4wd tranny overheating when towing my horses up hills. On the highway and up gravel roads in the mountains here in western Wyoming. Wife had it almost overheat pulling her and her friends (4 horses all together) up a 7% grade doing 45mph with a PHP hydra on the 45 horse tow setting. It got almost to the yellow on my temp gauge on my dash and she pulled over and let it cool off then went on her way. I have an aftermarket cooler ( measures 7" by 11" mounted on front right behind grill) this happens every time we haul. On gravel roads I throw it in 4low and go, no issues. But at this point I'm looking at trading trucks. But I love my 7.3 and only manuals around here (huge farm/ ranch area) are 5.9 dodge cummins. Not a dodge fan. So we are looking at upgrades, option one a zf6 manual swap. Not more auto issues, looking at one in so cal from a kid for around $2700 for all parts needed. Or a john woods tow master for $4700. Problem is I don't have that kinda money right now. And with hunting season and riding horses a lot I'm thinking maybe a second tranny cooler with a fan in it. I was told also get a deep pan... I have been told this is bad for the 4r100. Just more hot oil, also been told it helps cool tho. I don't have an aftermarket tyranny temp gauge, I have been told the factory ones ain't very accurate, but getting clear up to the yellow/ red from running about half way hasta mean I'm hot. I'm leaning towards a manual swap. Next spring/ this winter. I know it's a pain to swap. Not sure how big pain. But sure it sux... Lol but I do love a manual for towing and so does my wife. That's all we do with this truck is tow, horse trailer, snowmobiles, haul wood, haul hay, tow camper, occasional weekend trip to the lake with friends or town. But I need this truck to last. We really don't want any bigger or more bank payments as we wanna buy a house soon.

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Spatel23 · Jul 22, 2014

Thats def odd.
First thing Id do is throw a real gauge on it and see how hot its actually getting.
Whats the fluid look like ?

deangarth · Jul 22, 2014

It's red, don't smell burnt yet, but I got it hot last summer, real hot, it was burnt. I dropped oil and filter and flushed out all fluid I could and put new in. Has maybe 20k since change.

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deangarth · Jul 22, 2014

My trans cooler

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Spatel23 · Jul 22, 2014

Id try this from Diesel site:
Q: I have added an additional cooler to my Powerstroke truck and I still see higher than expected temps. How do I check to see what is wrong?

A:IMPORTANT! The temps should be measured in the pressure port in the driver side of the transmission body. If you are measuring temps from a tee in the output line, temps will read about 30 degrees hotter than temps read from the pressure port.

TESTING:

Bring the transmission up to temperature. It needs to be at least 100 degrees for this test.
Turn the truck off.
Remove the rear line from the transmission and place it into a bucket or similar container so that you can measure volume of your flow.
Have someone turn the truck on.
At idle (in park), you should measure 32 ounces of fluid in your bucket - in 15 seconds or less. This is an absolute minimum number. A properly working transmission will flow that amount in about 10 seconds or less. You should not see ANY fluid pumping out of the rear transmission port.
TEST RESULTS:

If you have the proper amount of flow, your transmission pump and coolers are working fine. SO, if you are running hot and have the proper flow (with no fluid coming out of the rear transmission port), you most likely have a mechanical problem causing high heat. This could be torque converter slippage or one of many other internal problems. You may have to see a professional at this point to help diagnose the problem.
If you do not have proper flow, OR you have fluid coming out of the transmission rear port, you either have a cooler blockage, OR a faulty cooler bypass valve. Here's how to tell.
Trace the forward transmission line to the front of the truck.
Remove the line from the 1st place it enters a cooler or the radiator (if so equipped).
Now, do the same flow test checking flow at this point.
There are two outcomes.
The first is that you now have enough fluid flow- this means your cooler /coolers are partially blocked. To determine which cooler is plugged you would perform the same flow test through one cooler at a time.
The second outcome will be that you don't have enough flow even with all coolers disconnected. This means you have an internal pump problem.
IMPORTANT! The outcome of this test assumes that you have NO fluid exiting the rear port of the transmission. If you perform a flow test with the coolers disconnected and you get fluid from the rear port on the transmission, your cooler bypass valve is bad

backwoodsboy · Jul 22, 2014

Are you still running the fluid to fluid cooler incorporated in the radiator?
That will help brings temps down drastically in low speed/airflow conditions.

I would also try a better cooler before writing that transmission off. A factory V10/6.0 cooler, or even a Tru-Cool 40k would be a step up. Those tube and fin cooler are notoriously inefficient.

deangarth · Jul 22, 2014

I'm not sure not the fluid to fluid cooler. Bought the truck with the aftermarket cooler mounted up. I'll hafta trace lines in the morning. And I didn't know a 6.0 cooler was that good, just thought it was an upgrade, that these tube ones where great. And I'll try those tests also. Looking for a gauge to buy to put on, and yes I know sensor goes on drivers side of trans. Just gave the factory one on my dash cluster of my 02 lariat

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gnxtc2 · Jul 22, 2014

Is the trans fluid overheating or the motor?

If it's the trans, install a 6.0 trans cooler. Route the trans fluid to radiator first then to the external cooler.

With my OBS, I tow a enclosed GN trailer grossing almost 21k. My trans temps barely reach 150*, in 90* weather.

I'm driving my friends 2002 dually. The trans temp gauge reaches the middle of the range as soon as I go around the block. The Isspro trans temp gauge reads just over 100*.......so what does that tell you about the factory gauge?

Oh yea, get rid of that tube/fin cooler.

Billy T.
[email protected]

rascal · Jul 22, 2014

Wash out that condenser/intercooler/radiator and straighten the fins. That can make a big difference. They look pretty dirty and bent up in that pic.

Good luck.

deangarth · Jul 22, 2014

Thanks guys. Ya I'm gonna flush it and order a 6.0 cooler next payday, I still hate the huge jump between gears on the 4r vs a zf6, but I'm looking at around $3000 parts plus labor for a swap. Found a shop that had all parts I need. So for now we might keep the auto

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deangarth · Jul 22, 2014

So my front trans line runs into my radiator, then out and up into that cooler in front, then back into my trans in the back.

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littleredstroker · Jul 22, 2014

just get a 6.0 cooler. I have had similar issues with mine towing a lot less... my AC condenser is pretty smashed up from the bugs hitting it... yours looks not so hot too. get a comb and clean it up, I bet you see a difference.

littleredstroker · Jul 22, 2014

for pulling in general, once the heat issue is addressed, the 4R is a far superior trans..

don't forget, your zf6 will overheat too....

trackspeeder · Jul 22, 2014

deangarth said:
So my front trans line runs into my radiator, then out and up into that cooler in front, then back into my trans in the back.

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Correct.

Go with the 6.oh cooler. Get a real tranny gauge too.

The tube and fin aftermarket cooler you currently have is useless. Always use a stacked plate cooler like the 6.0, V10 or Long TruCool. These are the most efficient type coolers.:thumbsup: