i just had my trans rebuilt a year and a half ago and last week as i was driving home all of the sudden i notice a piller of thick smoke at the rear of my car. well i thought i had blown a head or something and as i was only two miles from my house i figured "hey its already blown so ill just try to make it home" well i finally pulled over a noticed what had actually happened was the trans was pouring fluid out onto my exhaust pipe and thus the smoke it was pouring out where the trans meets the engine. does this mean i have to rebuild the trans again or is it just a seal problem?

24 people have looked at this thread and no one has given me a reply can someone please help? i know there could probally be many different things that have caused this but i just want someone to tell me if that problem sounds like something that happens when your trans goes bye-bye or not. thank you

"I had my transmission rebuilt a year ago" posts. I know I avoid them. It is a no win situation. The front seal is probably the worst thing to get fixed an an A4LD. If you are lucky, they just didn't stake the new seal in right. More likely it is an alignment problem causing bushing wear that maybe they do or don't know how to fix. I think www.atcdg.com in the tech section/A4LD has a writeup on it. The shaft seal isn't supposed to have fluid pressure on it. It leaks when a bushing has an excessive leak. You can only hope the last rebuilder is a decent guy.

hmm im cleaning my garage as we speak and i have a spare seal some where tha i can mail you.... im pretty sure i didnt give it away yet.

its a Ford Front Seal..

jsut let me know

and ill write back if i fidn it

PEACe

A4LD + rebuild = front pump seal problems

Due to as stated above:

Failure to stake the new seal in place
Use of wrong material seal
excessive runout on converter hub

all of the above

The front pump seal causes all sorts of problems on the A4Ld..........when its rebuilt.

the more you know about it the better off you are.

basically the tranny must come out and a new seal must be pressed in place and "staked". Staking is basically using a chissel to notch around the seal, it just helps keep the seal in place.

Also I believe a bronze seal was the preferred material from my builder.

The converter hub MUST be checked for excessive runout.

The Ford automatics run in extremely tight tolerneces, if anything is off at all, it will fail and leak.

It is VERY common for a rebluit A4LD to leak at the front pump seal, eventually pouring out as you describe.
Knowing this, have it fixed under warranty.


Also just because 24 people look at your thread doesnt mean they can or will answer, especially when this question/problem is on the board just about every day.

I recommend the SEARCH button, research is your friend to get this sucker fixed and fixed properly...unless you like dropping your trannY! hahaha

I enjoy working on my truck and I can have the tranny out in about 2 hours, but that doesnt mean its always FUN!!

thanks for the info guys, do you know if there is any web pages that will give me a detailed description (with pics would be best)of replaceing the front seal?

My trans was "re-done" before I bought my truck back in May. The lady I bought it from paid $2500 bucks...for that much money, A) was this a rebuild, or a replace? I never really asked---I should have, and knowing what I know now (thanks to our site) I would have. B) If it was a rebuild---even though I have not experienced a single problem/leak with it...what should I be on the lookout for? I understand preventative maintenance (having fluid changed a few times a year is an excellent idea) is the key to getting some longevity outta these POS's.

I had this happen to me. The seal is fairly easy to change, HOWEVER as stated you need to find out why it went.