leaking tranny help!?!

[cheapX4x4]

Tranny now has about 120,000 miles on it and it has started leaking from somewhere on the passenger side near the cats. I still have the heat shield installed, the one that goes between the tranny and the cats. Has anyone had a leaking problem from somewhere on the upper passenger side near the heat shield??

I have not started taking stuff apart yet but i wanted to check and see if anyone else has had a problem like this.


thanks,

Aaron

 

[mechanic021]

it could be a couple things leaking in that area, the dipstick tube goes in there, they have been known to leak at the case they are just a press fit, or it could be a servo cover leaking. If you look on the passenger side of your transmission there should be 2 round covers on the side of the transmission behind the heat shield, there is one right in front of the other. There is a big snap ring that holds a alum. cover in place in these spots, the covers have an o-ring that can wear over time and leak. We just had a 98 ranger in our shop that had the front servo cover leaking. I hope this helps !

 

[quicklook2]

the modulator is in that area.

 

[cheapX4x4]

thanks guys, i'll check into these tomorrow after work....i know i should check them now since its still light out but i'm just too damn tired. thanks for the info, hopefully its something simple as an O ring.

Aaron

 

[pugsy]

I have a leak in around the same area (for almost 2 years now), and same as you can't see around the heat sheild. I'm down about a quart of fluid a month...so not a monster leak, but enough to make a mess of the driveway! I have a board under it catching the drips. Would like to eventually get it fixed. Can you let me know what you find out under there?

To Mechanic021 - what kind of job is it to change a seal or repair the dipstick at a shop? Big bucks? My drip tends to slow down as the level gets lower leading me to think it could be the dipstick filler or a seal towards the top of the tranny. What you think?

Thanks!

 

[cheapX4x4]

sure thing, i'll let you know tomorrow when i'm on my favorite couch being lazy (under the truck laying on cardboard ).

Would it be a big deal to ditch the heat shield? or do the cats really heat up so much that this is not an option? any ditched it before without a problem?

replacing an O ring is the easy part, getting to it is the hard part. At worst you would have to drop the tranny, or lower the back some, to get to it. I've dropped mine already when i put the new motor in and i didn't see any leaks, thats what is so irritating is that the thing was already out and i didn't notice a problem when it would have been the easiest to fix...go figure.

 

[mikeinri]

The modulator would be the "easiest" thing to fix first (and least expensive). You can do it through the access panel in the floor without pulling the tranny. There is also a small length of rubber hose connecting the modulator to the vac line. That could be leaking too. These parts are right next to the cat, are on the top part of the tranny, and you can't see them from under the truck.

 

[mechanic021]

if its the fill tube leaking we wouldnt charge more than 25 dollars to fix it. Its not the easiest thing to get to but it can be done.

 

[quicklook2]

the cat shields do help keep heat away from the underside.

and they help when offroading.

 

[cheapX4x4]

update: sure enough the 2 covers that are hidden by the heat shield were leaking. Logic says go to autozone and get replacement o'rings prior to removing the old ones....less down time for the truck. neither autozone, advance, or napa carries these things nor could they order it. Solution: Slick 50 high milage automatic transmission treatment and a lot of prayer! hopefully it works but i'm not holding my breath.

the truck had a bad motor over the past winter so it wasn't driven, i figure the seals just dried enough to leak, hopefully they can be revived via the slick 50. honestly though i'm expecting to have to order new o'rings through a dealer to fix it.

Aaron

and yes my spelling bites

 

[pugsy]

Did you get under there your self and remove the heat sheild? Or was there an access panel in the floor as someone said above?
I've tried "stop leak" treatments in the past with no real help. Just make sure not to add to much or you'll blow the seal right out and then have a huge leak!

 

[cheapX4x4]

First I removed my cats to give me a little more room to see what is going on. From the inside i removed the cup holder/consol thing in the floor board, then removed the pannel that was under it. then i pull the carpet back so that it was hanging over my seats and then you can get to the screws that hold the actual access pannel to the floor board. once that is removed you have a 1 1/2 foot by 3/4 foot hold in your floor that give a great view of the tranny. i was able to remove the upper bolt of the heat shield through that pannel and then i could see the two covers that have the o'rings. They were soaked to high heavens with fluid. cranked the truck up and let it idle to get hot and then i could see the leak. Oh, i put that cats back on first. i did fire it without the cats and it sounds like straight a$$ if anyone was wondering. I did not connect the rest of the exhaust since it was just going to idle but it didn't sound bad with just the cats ;-) not great but not bad.

just curious, what brands of stop leak have you tried??


Aaron

 

[pugsy]

I can't remember the brand I used in the Tranny, but I used AT-205 reseal (supposed to be the best) in the power steering box but added too much and blew out the seal....had to get a new steering box!! I learned my lesson! haha
Man...all that work to get to the tranny....I think I'll bring it to a shop and see what they can determine. I'm crossing my fingers that it's my fill tube!!
If it's a big job, I guess I just carry on topping up every month. I'm only down 1/2 quart or so a month, maybe a bit more.

 

[BrooklynBay]

The servos should be replaced at the same time you replace the O rings on the aluminum covers. Keep in mind that there are 2 different springs, and servos inside of those covers. Don't mix them up. You have to drop the pan to get a special servo cover compression tool onto the covers to hold them in place while replacing the snap ring. A "C" shaped welding Vice Grip would also work in a "pinch" if you don't have that special tool. Replace the heat shield when everything is finished.

 

[cheapX4x4]

I thought this was going to be a simple "pull part off, replace o'ring, put part back" kinda job. now we're getting into special tools, pulling off the lower plate, taking this out of the inside....taking it to a shop is sounding better and better.

 

[mikeinri]

The only trouble with taking it into a shop is, I have yet to find a tranny shop that will do anything other than complete remove, rebuild, and torque convertor for any vehicle. I've been through that twice with two different shops, one was local, the other was a chain.

I hope your experience will vary, just be aware that if they tell you they "won't know what it needs until it's out of the truck" RUN!!! Or, at least be prepared to get bent over...

They usually follow that up with some line about "there's a reason those seals blew..."

Mike

 

[BrooklynBay]

Don't be afraid to tackle a difficult job on your own. This is how you get experience. It's not a major job, but it's time consuming.