Ford Explorer 4th gen transmission goes bad due to heat underneath the car.
My truck has been at the shop for the past 2 years due to transmission issues, heat underneath the truck was excessive and transmission has been burned up 5 times now (this happens after 2 or 3 days of use after the mechanic tells me he's done with the car and that I can drive it now), I've had the transmission replaced by the same dude (because of "warranty" on the job) and I've been telling him that the floor matts used to get really hot, he didn't believe me and always said: "That's normal, cars get hot..." to the point where my gf's purse was on the floor and at some point and her phone showed a warning message that the phone was running to hot and that it had to be turned off (this happened at 11pm on a really cold night but it was hell inside the cabin) ... anyway, realized the right catalytic converter was clogged had it replaced but the car is still running too hot on underneath the center console (where the shifter is located) ...
It runs hot after 20 mins though, and the wiring is melting I believe because the cluster is always giving me that little wrench light on the dashboard indicating that the transmission is in bad shape, but mechanically it is OK, it doesn't slip, or kick at all.... anyway,, I heard that those tubes and the catalytic converters come with some heat diffusor or something that prevents that heat from burning/melting the wiring but I'm not sure if that's true or what can I do, I've spent thousands of dollars with this rip off mechanic that keeps telling me something else happened, and something needs to be fixed and I have to pay for it because it wasn't what he thought it was, but he's made me pay 4 transmission replacements so far, and this car has stalled way waaay tooo many times in the worst imaginable places...
I'm desperate to figure this out and sell that car, I just don't want to sell it and take advantage of someone else like they did to me...
any help or guidance is super appreciated !!!
Sebastian.
It sure sounds like you need to find a different mechanic.
Something that's pretty obvious but asking here just to be sure - are the catalytic converter heat shields intact? Is the transmission cooler connected and working properly?
Also, a little more specific information about your vehicle may be helpful.
Thank you for such prompt answer to my post, sorry I did not post all the info, I did after I noticed I hadn't...
you can see the edited/updated description, I will still post this here...
Make/Model: Ford explorer 2007
Bought used
Mileage: 67k miles
OBDII codes: none, but wrench light on due to short circuit,
Unfortunatelly I can't afford to change this mechanic, I've already spent 22Million COP which is somewhat around the 5K US... Might not be a whole lot in US dollars but for a simple transmission work ??? that's wayyyy to much, I've paid for it 4 times now, and I'm really not planning on making his life easy by paying someone else to fix this whole mess he caused, but I know what you're saying, I'm only making things harder for myself... So, I'm trying to find out about these heatshields (IDK what they look like or where to buy them but I recently heard about it from someone and I've been looking for them I just don't know if it makes sense that a transmission could burn out due to excesive heat caused by catalytic converters gone bad, or whatever runs under there... I guess my question is more on the side of getting to know your opinion about this, does that make sense at all? I think that redoing the wiring and fixing the heatshields with the brand new transmission could mean a new / extended life for this hellish car, one that I can finally sell (after not even using it for 2 years because of this horrible "mechanic")..
Thanks again for your response Chuck!!
So, I'm trying to find out about these heatshields
The heat shields are just sheet metal shields, usually above the converters, that deflect heat away from the bottom of the vehicle to protect wiring and prevent excess heat from getting into the passenger compartment. They frequently fall apart on older vehicles which can result in damaged wiring and hot floors. Depending on the placement of the converters and other components there may be heat shields on the sides or even bottom of the converters.
I just don't know if it makes sense that a transmission could burn out due to excesive heat caused by catalytic converters gone bad, or whatever runs under there...
Catalytic converters get very hot, like around 1200 degrees or more internally, resulting in temperatures that can reach 400 to 500 degrees externally. Still unless the transmission is surrounded by unshielded catalytic converters it's hard to believe that would be the cause of it breaking down. It would be easier to believe that maybe the transmission cooler either is not hooked up or is clogged up causing the transmission to burn up internally.
Note that model is prone to transmission problems. It would not surprise me if it had more than the indicated 67K miles. (Instrument cluster may have been swapped with one showing lower mileage.)
https://www.carcomplaints.com/Ford/Explorer/2007/