Sorry but this will be a long post to get in all the info i need to, but please read and let me know what you think.
I have a 2018 XLT crew cab 4 wheel drive and had the engine blow up on Valentines day this year (2022). Had it towed to dealership and was confirmed needed new engine at a cost of $10,000-$11,000 out of my pocket, oh and couldn't get new engine in for at least 6-8 weeks. So fast forward to Memorial day and my ford app on phone starts blowing up and sending me codes, so i figured they were working on it. I go pick up truck on 1st day of June and it runs like a champ (as it should with brand new engine), have it for about a month and then all of a sudden i start to notice my trans temp running high on the heat side and then on 3 occasions it actually had check engine light come on and truck wouldn't go into reverse. After it cools down, it is back to normal.
Googled trans running hot on the new 10 speed transmission and the #1 and #2 cause is low and dirty fluid. Crawled under and checked that and it was neither low or dirty. (Yes, i checked it while engine was hot) lol. Had appointment with ford to have it looked at and then they called and told me for trans work, it would be at least a month before they could look at it. Asked around and everyone suggested a local transmission repair guy. Everyone for miles around knows this guy and recommends him for anything transmission wise. I make appointment and take to him. He has truck 2 days and runs and drives it and went thru everything he thought it could be and came up with it being the transmission Oil cooler that is mounted under truck by the trans itself. He said that he narrowed it down to the fluids were not circulating thru it as they should be, and that it was either clogged or needed to be replaced. He suggested that i take it to ford, because he said he didn't feel comfortable messing with it, since he has not dealt with that many of the new 10 speeds, since most are still under warranty.
I crawled under truck and found what he was referring to and it looks pretty simple to take off and replace but if he wasn't wanting to do it, then i am not going to attempt it. Has anyone else had an issue with this trans oil cooler? I am also wondering if when they replaced the motor if they could have kinked or put a line from the cooler in a bind or something. If that would be the case it should be covered under the new motor warranty, but if not, then they will go thru and double check over everything that they think it may be and it may cost me a fortune. I am wondering if i just made an appointment and told them i needed my oil cooler changed if they would just and do that for me.
Anyone had or dealt with anything like this let me know how you fixed the issue or just offer your thoughts on this.
Thanks in advance for any insight.
I have attached a pic of the oil cooler.
robertp1971 is online now Report Post

 

Is the transmission showing overheating on your dash gauge?

 

in the few times that the actual wrench popped up and it threw a code, yeah, it got to the yellow, never in the red.

 

Trying to think how replacing the engine could cause this since this is happening right after.
Could be entirely unrelated but that does not seem likely. Bummer the dealer can't look at it for a month as warranty support on the engine work.

Possible there is air in the cooling system? Do you have a coolant vacuum fill tool you can use to pull a vacuum on the system and see if there is trapped air?
Remove the coolant lines and see if you can blow air through the cooler?

Check with the engine warm to see if the inlet/outlet coolant lines feel like the same temp and indicate coolant is flowing through it?

I suppose the trans thermostat could also have decided to be stuck closed.

 

mbrick, i am wondering if somehow they pinched or kinked a line or something but who knows. I just got back from Ford dealership. Ordered new oil cooler and have appointment for August 26th for them to replace it. Hopefully that is it.
The transmission guy that i brought it to, had it up to temps and used a infrared tool and said that they coolant wasn't circulating thru the cooler.
WHo knows, guess we will see once they change it and hopefully the problem goes away.

 

The transmission guy that i brought it to, had it up to temps and used a infrared tool and said that they coolant wasn't circulating thru the cooler.
This is initially what I suspected. Helpful feedback from him!

 

They had to drain the coolant to swap out the engine, so it's unlikely your current issue is unrelated. While it's possible you could have had something else fail while the truck was sitting in the repair shop, it's unlikely, and I'd bug the dealership to fix this relatively cheap repair (compared to what you laid down for the engine swap).

It's super easy to drain fluid, disconnect the coolant lines at the oil to coolant radiator, and check for poor flow through it.

 

mbrick, yes it was. He kept it for almost 2 days and he didn't charge me anything because he said "i couldn't fix the problem, so you shouldn't have to pay" He said he was pretty certain it was the oil cooler from what he could figure out. He suggested taking it to Ford, as they may have seen this before and would know right off what the issue was.

FlamingTaco, I had the engine replaced out of town as i was traveling when it blew up and i am now dealing with my local Ford dealership. I know it is covered under warranty and any work ford does that is related to the engine should be warrantied, i just feel as this may be a quick and easy fix that hopefully will not cost too much and i can get back to normal with everything. I don't want them keeping my truck to go thru all of the other things that the transmission guy already has done and start to throw $$ at issues that they think may be it and end up not being and since it is trans related and not motor, they charge me for it.
The only good thing about the engine replacement is that i have about $600 in Ford Rewards that says i can redeem at any ford dealership for parts and labor amongst other things. I am hoping to be able to use that $$ and not have to come out of pocket. I am sure they will try and find a way to get over on that as well. lol
Thanks for the input. I appreciate all the suggestions.

 

If the coolant is not making it to the cooler, then it's most likely the thermostat inside of the transmission. When they fail, they almost always do so in a closed position.

 

Twin, I believe from what he was telling me, it was making it into the cooler, just not circulating out of the cooler.
He said it seemed to be clogged or just bad.
I am sure if it is an easy fix then that won't be the issue, i seem to always have the major issues. I may change out the cooler and still have these issues and have to go into the trans. I can never catch a break when it comes to this kind of stuff. If it is on a scale of 1-10, mine is always going to be 10. lol
thanks for the info though, it is something else to think about.