Thread: 53 Is back from the Body Shop

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We got back from our trip to the Black Hills, we stayed near Deadwood and we put on about 1200 miles on Rita. Other than maybe knocking out the trans and a fading master cyl it treated us pretty good. We were about 100 miles from Rapid City and I lost overdrive, if I would let it it and cool down it would work again for awhile, then loose it again. We got it crippled to our VRBO and did some research and found that if something slips in the trans it will give full pressure to all the clutches and shift violently in all gears after that, and that is what it was doing. Once we disconnected the trailer it never lost overdrive again but we would have to stop and restart the pickup if we were going to drive in town awhile, that would re start the computer and it would shift in the lower gears nice again. We left the trailer and Ranger at a Friends house near Rapid City when we were done riding, and he is going to pull it back in a few weeks when he comes to Iowa to see his new grand baby. We drove 450 miles back home without a trailer and it never skipped a beat or shifted harsh but we were only going 70 on the interstate. My BIL at the trans shop will take a look at it in a couple weeks to see whats going on. I'm hoping that I just overheated it because I didn't have an external trans cooler, who know how good the Champion Radiator oil cooler is. Other than that we had a very good time and I would recommend the ATV trails in the Black Hills to anyone. SD is full of great people too, didn't meet one that I didn't enjoy talking too and very patriotic as well. Here is a ton of pictures of some trails and other things for you if your interested.

some more pictures

here are some more pics

one last bunch of pics

Loved the pictures! Made me smile and I needed it. Thanks

Originally Posted by 53 Chevy5

I'm hoping that I just overheated it because I didn't have an external trans cooler,

Sounds like it, change the fluid and add a cooler.

JMHO, when I'm pulling a trailer I don't use overdrive except on straight flats.

Hope things are good by you, there's quite a smoke haze over the Black Hills due to the California fires. I guess I never thought much about pulling in OD, I figured it will shift down if it needs to. Maybe that's not the right way to think. I''m going to put on a remote cooler with a thermostat and fan.

Smoke has been heavy, blocked the sun out one day very eerie and very unhealthy. Today was a good day though.

Cooler will fix you up, but I'd still watch the overdrive when pulling.

I got a brake question for you guys. I cannot get Rita's back brakes to grab as much as they should, It's really noticeable when pulling a trailer that it is almost entirely reliant on the front brakes. The master cylinder is an 1/16 bore off of a 1990 F-150 , The rears are disc brakes off of a 2000 Explorer, The fronts are GM metrics that came with the m2 kit, not really sure exactly what the vehicle they're off of. I have a willwood adjustable proportioning valve, and with max pressure to the rear brakes, I still can't get them to slide on a gravel road, and smashed hard to the floor, you can power brake like there's almost no brakes there. I've double and triple checked the line routing to the proportioning valve, and swapped the front and rear lines around on the valve, absolutely nothing I do makes a noticeable difference. The only thing I'm starting to think is that I maybe need a smaller bore master cylinder to increase caliper pressure, a 2000 Explorer with four wheel disc brakes does use a 1 in master cylinder vs my 1/16. Any suggestions?

Not sure on your brakes but those are some awesome pictures!

On the OD, when I took ol' gray, '90 F150 to haul the coupe home we were pulling the empty trailer and the tranny started shifting funny. A quick check of the truck manual said to never use OD when towing. We left it in "D" after that and it was fine.

My 2017 F150 has the Max Tow package (10 speed), and it's got 3 modes - Economy, Sport and Tow/Haul. The Tow/Haul mode restricts the higher OD gears.

We have a 13 2500 Silverado at work and I have a 16 ram 1500 at home. With both of them, if you push the tow/ haul button They just downshift quicker going up hills and down shift sooner when you're stopping but they both still use overdrive. The Silverado just has the four speed automatic, my Dodge has a six-speed automatic. I'm just about certain the lock up failed in my torque converter and that's what caused all the problems, not the overdrive clutch. The ECM fault says transmission component slippage, my BIL will have a better scanner for what actually happened. The fluid does not smell burnt at all, so I guess that's maybe a good sign.

It's handy to have a BIL who has a tranny shop! Definitely good the fluid isn't burned.

I mis-spoke on my newer truck. Tow/haul delays upshifts to reduce frequency of transmission shifting. Tow/haul also provides engine braking in all forward gears when the transmission is in the D (Overdrive) position; this engine braking will slow the vehicle and assist the driver in controlling the vehicle when descending a grade. Depending on driving conditions and load conditions, the transmission may downshift, slow the vehicle and control the vehicle speed when descending a hill, without the accelerator pedal being pressed. The amount of downshift braking provided will vary based upon the amount the brake pedal is pressed.

The problem is he's the one who rebuilt the transmission only 10,000 miles ago ���� As a mechanic I know freak things can happen.