Just blew 8qts of tranny fluid out the truck....
 

Yep.... I missed my turn so I went down to the next road (dirt driveway) and did a K turn. When I pulled forward I noticed it strained a little like I was pulling a load. Well I thought it may be normal since the back wheels were off the pavement. Well I proceeded down the road and about 500 ft or so later the trans didn't shift. I put the truck in neutral and coasted until I could pull off the road. I noticed red trans fluid pouring out from under the truck. I know the previous owner had a hose going to the aux trans cooler bust on him while he was in route to deliever the truck to me. He bought the hose by the foot and fixed the problem. Well this time the hose he installed came off the cooler itself and poured out the fluid. So I put the hose back on with the clamp and filled it up with 8 qts of trans fluid. It shifts fine now and the trans temp gauge never rose. Should I worry?

Hmm...

I'd call DTT to make sure... They're pretty friendly people over there...


I would think that the TC would stay pretty full of the ATF even while the valve body and the rest of the tranny drains (for a few seconds anyhow), and I would think that the TC is what you would stand a chance of grinding up there...

But I have no clue...

I do know that you probably shouldn't use the same hose and clamp, though. [dummy]

clamp and hose were fine
 

Yeah I know what you mean about using the same hose and clamp. They are in perfect shape though. It looks like the clamp just wasn't tight enough and hose just blew off the end of the aux trans cooler. I've got it on there good and tight and it drives perfect. I really think I caught it in time for anything to happend. No scary sounds from the truck except I could tell it wouldn't shift out of first gear. [yuk]

Is there more pressure in reverse? My aluminum lines rubbed together and when I put it in reverse, I left a line of fluid in the parkinglot 100' long. Only sprayed in reverse. Replaced the line and all is good.

hmm
 

I'm not sure. You know the feeling you get when you have your back wheels against a curb and you pull forward over them? That is how it felt. I'm going to go back tomorrow in the daylight and retrace my steps. That way I can see if it happened when I put it in reverse or when I started back out in drive. One thing I just thought of. The hose clamp was very very loose. So loose I had to turn the screw probably 10 times to get it tight again. I'm going to put another hose clamp on just for good measure.

By losing 8 qts, the sump didn't have enough fluid to drive the TC. Plus you saw no temp increase, you're okay.

Just make sure to get it completely full. What happens when it is low, it will not have enough fluid to drive the gear, thus the reason it didn't shift, not enough fluid to work with.

thanks
 

Thanks! I was kind of hoping you would chime in! I can go to bed now!! :D

I have had this happen twice with mine, and no problems at all. As long as you catch it fairly quick, you wont hurt a thing. Just fix it, and fill it back up, and take off. :D

Eric

Drove her to work and back....
 

Well everything turned out ok. I drove the truck 55 miles to work and 55 miles home. Got home and checked the fluid. Added a quart of tranny fluid to bring it up to the upper of the "ok" range. I left a little margin because this stuff expands a little when it warms up.