Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting ATX overheated?...O/D light flashing

Hi all,

Well, me and the woman decided to go on a nice trip to Reno, nv this week since the hotel prices are dirt cheap. Anyway, I have to drive over the sierra mountain range to get there. When we were driving over the sierra's I noticed my O/D light flashing..but my car was acting normal. In fact, It felt like it was climbing the mountain pretty good. For safety reasons, I pulled into the first gas station I could get to. Keep in mind that engine temp was fine. I opened the hood and was surprised to smell a smell I haven't smelled before in my engine bay. Turn's out that the atx fluid was leaking from a small black hose that comes out near the battery. I checked my fluid and it appeared ok...in fact, it was overfilled. I figured the fluid was hot and giving a inaccurate reading. I let the car cool for a bit and then continued driving. Sure enough after about another 30 mins of driving the o/d light was flashing again.
I pulled over let the car cool and notice a little more fluid might have come out. Then we continued driving and it didnt' happen again. I checked the fluid the next day and noticed that the fluid was still over filled. I wonder if ford over filled my tranny at my last tranny change. The drive back was fine and it acted normal. I have heard that the o/d light flashing is a prelude to something really bad happening. Is that my case or is it that the fluid level just got too high and that is what made it blink. I am looking into at this time, installing a small tranny cooler to help with the tranny fluid temps and to help prolong the tranny life. Has anyone had a similar experience or can someone shed some light on this. I'd really really appreciate it. Thanks