Transmission Leak

[jwatkins]

Well, here are the gory details. My son bought a 93 XLT from a private owner. He drove it around town for a few weeks, very happy with the vehicle. No signs of trouble.
He took it on an extended trip (about 2 hours) and almost at his destination, realized there was smoke coming from the rear of the vehicle.
To make a long story short, in the middle of nowhere, he sees trans fluid dripping from between the engine and bellhousing. He limped to a local dealer and parked. We then loaded it on a trailer and brought it home. No fluid shows on the dipstick.
We are ready to put fluid back in it, and try to determine exactly where the leak is. My question is this - could it just have overheated and blown fluid past the front seal? Is so, and fluid doesn't pour out when we add it, what are the chances of making it for a short period of time before rebuilding the tranny?
Sorry for the long post!

 

[410Fortune]

the front pump seal is a huge problem on these transmissions

Do you have any idea if the previous owner had the transmission rebuilt?
It is very common for them to leak after a rebuild... they must be re-installed just right or they will leak.

Have you tried a seach on this?
You will find lots of information on this forum about the A4LD and the front pump seal leak...

To fix it the trans has to come out, but it does not necessarily mean it needs a rebuild, in fact IMO it kinda points to an A4LD that has been rebuilt recently....

 

[jwatkins]

Good Question

Thanks for the reply.
We don't know if there was a rebuild done. It had been sitting basically undriven for about a year while the owner was off to college. It waas started daily, and when we checked it out, the fluid was bright red. We took it for about an hour test drive and the fluid still looked clean and there was no odor to it.
Once the front seal blows out, if over heated, will it reseal? I'm trying to determine if dropping the tranny can hold out for a couple of months.

 

[410Fortune]

the front seal is pressed in place, the problem is likely the alignment of the seal with the input shaft and the bellhousing. There are many ways to ensure they are aligned properly so they seal up, once its leaking you need a new seal. Its not an expensive part, its expensive in labor.
I would not try any stop leak addatives to stop this type of leak

If it only does it when the truck is run hot then consider adding an aftermarket cooler to your transmission system to buy more time