Remove the bolts from the transmission pan with a ratchet and socket. Since problem occurred a few months after replacement of the fluids, we should not rule out the possibility of bad fluids and if they have not been replaced since, maybe you can give it a try and check the filter as well. Now my kids are missing school already 3 days and I have to beg my parent's for the money. It should work for you Mustang owners, too! This will allow the new fluid to cycle through the system. There are myriad web pages on the internet for servicing the 4R70W, as it is the automatic transmission commonly used in Mustangs and in Crown Victorias, but very few resources when it comes to servicing the transmission in a truck. I almost forgot to mention - I have also had to replace the rear end 110k and wheel bearings 120k miles. It is much easier to fill the tranny from the top! The Service Manager came to the same conclusion as you: bypass the original cooler and install an external one.
Since my truck is a 2002, I was not able to access a drain plug in the torque converter. Take it to a shop and have it checked. Can do that now without taking it to dealer, which is the worst thing one can ever do my opinion. Anyone who knows for sure please let me know. New to the forum and glad I found it. But I was wondering if that would cause the check engine light to come on? This is not a very reassuring recommendation. The powertrain control module monitors the voltage across the transmission fluid temperature sensor to determine the temperature of the transmission fluid.
The Haynes manual suggests that you drop the transmission pan to replace the fluid, filter, and clean the magnet. If it does, insert the filter back into the transmission. While on the freeway, I noticed smoke trailing behind me. Just prior to getting the flush done, the vehicle had been dropping out of gear and kicking back in harshly very regularly. Im not 100%, but I believe the fluid needs to be checked with the engine warm, and running. When the fluid comes out as a thin stream or a drip, the fluid is at the correct level.
Also, when I was starting up the fairly steep grade toward home, I noticed that the tranny hesitated a bit shifting from 1st into 2nd. The factory security code will be printed on the white label. The problem I am having is that at low speed traffic 15mph or less stop and go, it has a hard down shift. He is currently checking with some other folks on the Ford Hotline to see if the flow rate seems like the real source of my overheating issue. My friend Google gave me a wide range of 100k to 150k miles. Restricte flow of the trans fluid would not cause any shfting issues but the overheating would as the fluid properties would be changed when the fluid heats up.
It's sort of a messy, ugly job. I am supposed to get the Explorer back this Monday, November 30th. It definitely waited until the vehicle had heated up and he wasn't in the vehicle, of course before I noticed the shifting issues today. To my knowledge, I was told that my tranny had been taken out and either repaired or replaced sometime before I bought it used in February of '09. Service Manager said that his recommendation is, if it were his vehicle, to just drive it as it is. They had just added tran fluid, instead of draining it completely, and refilling the specific amount.
While this does allow you to replace the filter and clean the magnet, you do very little in terms of changing out the fluid since most of it resides in areas of the transmission cooling system that are not accessible. I don't know how many the Windstar takes but I would ask them first, I've had some cars take only 4 quarts and 1 that took 16 quarts. He said that if the gauge temperature doesn't show signs of overheating, he doesn't see a reason to check the cooler, etc. When you begin removing the last few bolts, the pan may want to start dropping, so keep it supported. It will be in a metal bracket it just slides up and out. All are part of the transmission solenoid body and are not replaced individually. The solenoid packs would not casue the problem unless they are causing the trans to slip and when this occurs, overheating of the fluid would occur over strenous driving as in your case.
Adding insult to injury, the 2002-2005 Explorer also has a massive problem with the. This is the line where fluid will come out after it has been cooled in the radiator. I usually drive 40 to 74 miles each day, mountainous driving. He said it has done this off and on since he bought it new. Sometimes it actually feels like I am hitting patches of ice.
He was mainly focusing on the gauge readings. Replace the entire radiator the tranny cooler is built inside the radiator on my Explorer, I'm told 2. Either way, not being able to service the tranny til 100k seems crazy on a vehicle you use to tow with. The 4R100 is a heavier-duty transmission than the 4R70W and is used in the supercharged F-150 Lightning, Excursion, and the F-250 and F-350 Super Duty trucks. Don't know if that has a bearing on it. Figured it was just a little warm transmission.