Attention 2009-2104 Ford Owners

Hey everyone, I wanted to bring this to the attention to Ford owners of 2009 to 2014 trucks. Apparently there is a problem with the transmission cooler lines leaking or breaking as they age. Mine started leaking on a road trip with the family this past week to Yellowstone, thankfully they did not break and drain the transmission. The line was not leaking I before I left, I did an oil change the day before leaving and took a good look at everything. I hit a bird in Colorado and looked at the radiator to see if there was any damage and that’s when I noticed the line was leaking. It was not due to the bird, it was leaking where the connection comes out behind/under the radiator and had been leaking previously looking at the amount of fluid loss. Hopefully this Youtube link works and can explain the issue better. Being a sealed transmission I was not able to check the fluid level as I went, luckily I got the Ford dealer in Idaho Falls to top it off before heading home, they had to add almost a quart. Thankfully we made it home safe with no issues but my eyes were glued to the trans temp gauge all the way.

A buddy made me aware of this, and I now just leave the transmission temp as my main displayed gauge to keep a close eye on it, especially if towing something.

I have a 2015 with a 6 speed as well. I assume this is also included?

I wonder if it’s the supply line that is breaking. It would be the one seeing the highest temperature swings which could be contributing to the problem.

Thanks for the heads up on this. Have any of you guys replaced these lines or had it done at a shop? Wondering how much it cost to do preventatively. I have a coolant leak currently on my 2010 that I can not seem to track down where it is coming from. There is a cross member under the radiator that the coolant seems to be dripping off of.

dhpricco wrote:

Thanks for the heads up on this. Have any of you guys replaced these lines or had it done at a shop? Wondering how much it cost to do preventatively. I have a coolant leak currently on my 2010 that I can not seem to track down where it is coming from. There is a cross member under the radiator that the coolant seems to be dripping off of.

I have a 2012 and I have a small coolant leak as well that I cant find out where its coming from.

Did not know about this issue so thanks for bringing it up!

dhpricco wrote:

Thanks for the heads up on this. Have any of you guys replaced these lines or had it done at a shop? Wondering how much it cost to do preventatively. I have a coolant leak currently on my 2010 that I can not seem to track down where it is coming from. There is a cross member under the radiator that the coolant seems to be dripping off of.

Have you checked the frost plug? That is a common one too. Mine has had a small leak for a long time. I was quoted what I thought was way to much to fix it, so I just keep adding coolant.

Thanks for the heads up on this. Have any of you guys replaced these lines or had it done at a shop? Wondering how much it cost to do preventatively. I have a coolant leak currently on my 2010 that I can not seem to track down where it is coming from. There is a cross member under the radiator that the coolant seems to be dripping off of.

Have you checked the frost plug? That is a common one too. Mine has had a small leak for a long time. I was quoted what I thought was way to much to fix it, so I just keep adding coolant.
[/quote]

So you’re going to wait till it’s a BIG leak??
You might be .

Sweet. My work truck is a 2014 ford that I drive 4 hours one way for a few days a week. I’ve noticed it shifts hard occasionally from 2nd to 3rd. Dang fords.

MX1825 wrote:

Thanks for the heads up on this. Have any of you guys replaced these lines or had it done at a shop? Wondering how much it cost to do preventatively. I have a coolant leak currently on my 2010 that I can not seem to track down where it is coming from. There is a cross member under the radiator that the coolant seems to be dripping off of.

Have you checked the frost plug? That is a common one too. Mine has had a small leak for a long time. I was quoted what I thought was way to much to fix it, so I just keep adding coolant.

So you’re going to wait till it’s a BIG leak??
You might be .
[/quote]

I monitor it and the temp pretty closely. It’s not getting much worse. I ain’t too worried about it. I’m pushing 270k miles.

rjthehunter wrote:

Sweet. My work truck is a 2014 ford that I drive 4 hours one way for a few days a week. I’ve noticed it shifts hard occasionally from 2nd to 3rd. Dang fords.

As soon as it gets below 40 degrees mine does the same thing the first shift from 2-3. Shifts perfectly 50 degrees and warmer.

I did the job myself over the weekend. Parts from Ford came to $313 and I had to add transmission fluid when finished so a few extra dollars for that plus a fluid pump to add the fluid. I did all four lines that go with the transmission cooling system, I figured it was worth the extra $130 dollars or so than just doing the steel lines and I didn’t have the tool to disconnect the quick connect fittings. I contacted a local shop and they quoted me $1340 to do the job and to do the transmission flush and fill recommended at the service interval. My truck has a little over 100,000 miles on it. Transmission service was $350 of that quote. If you decide to buy the parts the dealership will need to know the VIN number, so there must be a couple different versions made.

Pretty straight forward job if you have experience working on cars but running the lines is a pain in the butt and it was messy. If you decide to do it, I found that removing the wires to the starter helps give you more room.

Transmission fluid runs through these lines so I don’t think a coolant leak would be directly related to this exact issue. I am not a mechanic so I can’t say that with 100% certainty though. I had transmission fluid running down the cooling line on the input (drivers) side and dripping off the bottom, that’s how I noticed the problem.

I didn’t mean for the original post to seem as much as a crisis as the linked video seems, but just to give people a heads up and to be aware of a potential problem and to check their truck.

Not a recall?

I’ve had every issue mentioned so far so I can provide some input.

Trans cooler line. First time doing a hillbilly fluid change, I noticed mine was leaking at the fitting. I got a new fitting and line assembly from my dealer for less than $50 I believe. Pretty easy to swap, just messy.

Coolant Leak. It’s almost always 1 of 2 things, both I’ve dealt with.

Your block heater (if equipped) will almost certainly leak. Very cheap to replace but takes time as you need to remove the alternator to get to it. Pro tip, plug where the block heater WAS and move it to the front plug on the same side. You can get to it easy if it leaks again.

O-ring on the fittings will leak over time. Best to just replace the fittings on the front of the engine and on the reservoir. Check the bottom of the fittings for evidence of water leaks. If you have an early 2011, your tank may be cracked and only leak during deep freezes. They had an issue when welding the two halves together and they can leak at the seam.

2-3 shift. One of my hunting buddies is a master tech and mentioned it’s delayed in the TCM, more apparent when cold. Not much you can do. I don’t have proof to back that claim. Mine does the same thing.

I have a 2102 that runs on trash and can time travel at 88 mph

DaveB wrote:

I have a 2102 that runs on trash and can time travel at 88 mph

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