the other day the trans was low 1 qt and it has alot of miles on it. well today besides the slight burt oil smell i noticed it was smoking from oil or tranny fluid leaking from somewhere down onto the passenger side manifold. i cant see where it is coming from underneath but there is fresh fluid on the side and bottom of the bell housing. does anyone have any clues?

 

Chances are it's your front pump seal. Which trans are your referring to ? What engine as well.

 

4.6 4r70w

 

almost sounds like a dipstick tube issue which is on the passenger side manifold area. Has the mounting tab rusted off and the tube come loose from the case area?

 

its hard to tell where its coming from, the manifold and starter are in the way to see much. the other side is dry. i dont beleive its the dipstick but im going out to check it out more this morning.

 

If the fluid is burnt smelling and/or if the dipstick is hot to the touch after 20 miles or so, it needs to be flushed.

Usually they won't leak from the stick port unless they've been sitting or have been over filled at some point.

Not sure how much life that trans has left in it. I mean you let the fluid get that bad and run that hot, so it's definitely on it's way out.

When the trans stick is hot to the touch, that's an indicator it's running way to hot. - Heat kills a trans, pretty quick.

Depending on what's leaking, it might not be worth trying to save. If you need a new one, go to http://car-part.com/ and locate one w/low miles in your area.

If you can fix the leak and want to try to save that trans, - let me know and we might be able to get it to last another 2-3 years.

 

still cant quite figure out where the leak is coming from except there is a rubber plug on the bottom of the trans that has shrunk and doesnt seal right. the truck is driven daily and the tranny fluid looked good when i bought the truck and was always full until last week when it was 1 qt low. it is still full now but is leaking somewhere and down onto the passenger side converter. i guess im going to drive it until it catches fire or goes out.

 

Are you saying the rubber plug where the tube goes in? If so.... spend 5.00 for a new grommet vs 2000.00 for a trans. Be Smart and find the leak... when is the last time you changed the tranny fluid?

 

there is no tube by this grommet. it is on the bottom of the trans facing down

 

Yea, that's an inspection plug. It use to be a torque converter drain plug access point. But I don't think your model has the drain plug. (?) It might! Check it, if you have one, it may have come loose. Are you a lucky type person ?

Spin the converter around while under the truck, you''ll see it if you have one, - or a hole if it's missing.

 

Jbrew... if he has a grommet there, it's possible his front seal is leaking and dripping from the hole?

 

Yea, that's what I think it is, - that was my first guess anyway. I might have a pick of it, yea, you can see the black cover in this pic -

 

Can you see it leaking when it's running?

Does it seem to leak real bad when, after driven and stop?

I have a 97, same tranny. Mine leaked really bad about 4 months ago.

Most people suggested I needed new pump seals. So I pulled the tranny out, laying on my back in an under-equiped garage and replaced the front and back seals. Put it all back together, drove around the block and it was still leaking.

My understanding was not complete, neither was the guys at the auto parts store. Sure they gave me the front and real seals, but that was not all I needed.

Go to a transmission repair shop that sells parts. They'll get ya fixed up.

There are 4 seal/gaskets that should be replaced if you're going to change the seals on the tranny.

The pump itself, the part that is inside the housing, inside the bellhousing, is the one that needed changed for mine.

When you pull the TC off (drain the TC if it has drain plug, that thing is heavy full of fluid), look at the shaft coming out of the front of the tranny, there are about 7-8 bolts:

the seal that I had to replace was behind this.

There is a paper gasket and an O ring seal.

When you pull the pump assembly, make certain that you have the transmission standing up, with the output shaft down, and the input shaft up, else you'll have bits and parts falling out that you won't know where they go.

I placed mine in a 13gallon trash-can, standing up, and pulled out the complete pump:


The paper gasket that goes behind this needs to go in a certain way, there's flow-throughs and holes that need to line up. NOTE the old one when taken out.

Then the regular seals should be replaced while the tranny is out. the seal where the TC slips into and the rear where the drive shaft slips in. Use a seal puller ($5 at auto parts store) . Don't try to use a screw driver or knife, you'll score up the aluminum and it'll leak in a new place.

When putting TC back on, you'll want to put fluid in it, about half full, before replacing. Read up on tranny repair. You'll need to ensure the TC "locks in" before continuing. A hanes repair manual is a good idea. Did I mention read up on tranny repair?

Oh, 1 small thing, if you decide to change the seals yourself. The top bell housing bolts, 2 at the top, are easiest reached from the rear after the cross-member is removed. A good long extension is good.

 

it doesnt leak while running but overnight it leaves a few drops.

 

Great Pics! Yep there's the seal. Great info.