Help Identifying Transmission Leak

[BarryCarey]

Hey All,

I've had a random leak of transmission fluid that I'm having a hard time finding the source.

2003 Eddie Bauer - 5R55W I believe.

When I drive on the interstate I get a mist of tranny fluid all over the rear hatch.

When looking underneath it seems the leak is above where the tranny cooler lines are. It drips onto the lines, flows down to where they bend and then drips off.

It's hard to see above the tranny cooler lines. However, i can see where the 02 Sensor plugs into the harness is soaked in tranny fluid.

I've checked the level twice and it's fine, not over filled.

My only theory is that it's getting too hot on the interstate and venting homehow.

Does anyone have any ideas what would be causing this?

Here's a picture of the cooler lines coming off the tranny. You can see the green plug behind them. It is soaked in fluid.

Full resolution here: http://puu.sh/jrUBk/f98c8b03b0.jpg

 

[jester1023]

Under normal circumstances the cleanest spot is where the source is. I just dealt with a leak on a 2001 XLT 5.0. My lines looked corroded like yours. My leak was straight above the catalytic converter, which sped the corrosion up because of heat. The line was seeping ever so slightly, but slowly getting worse. There was no clean spot. I had to wipe everything off with clean shop towels, raise the vehicle and start it. I made sure to shift to reverse and drive, then back to park...giving it time to leak. It showed up, so I wiped it down, cut the section out, then used a pair of unions and a short 3/8" piece of metal line. Once it was all tightened up, I wiped it down again, did the same leak test as above and let it down. The last thing was to top off the tranny fluid when it was at operating temp.