leaking transmission

[hunter P.]

hi I'm new to the forum, just registered to ask this question.
so i bought a 1994 ford explorer this past Saturday it test drove really well and the Interior in like factory. i did see a small drip of transmission fluid on the bell housing and i checked the fluid and it was a little low but nothing drastic. drove it home about 40 minutes away it drove good until yesterday, i was in the store with it running and when i came out like all of the transmission fluid was on the ground haha. (obviously not all of it)
I'm thinking its the front seal on the transmission, so my question is when i drop the transmission should i change the rear seal on the engine and the rear transmission seal at the same time?
i ask because its a 25 year old truck and i could see those seals failing also in time, and i will already have it open. ah and it only has 63,000 miles on it.

*sorry if this is the wrong place to post this.

 

[410Fortune]

Ouch
The front pump seal on the a4LD automatic is a known weak failure prone point
If that trans sat for a while before you bought it, then its not surprising it let go
It could also be that the previous owner was fighting this leak for some time, hopefully they did not run any "seal swelling" treatments in the auto trans.
The next thing to check is see if there is any evidence the trans has been out recently?
With this auto it is possible the front seal has been replaced once or twice already, and the repairs are not holding.

Okay so now that you are armed with that information
Yes you can replace the rear main seal on the 4.0 IF it is leaky. Once you remove the auto trans you can see. If it is not leaky I would just leave it alone.
For the front pump and seal on the A4LD I suggest you find somebody who really knows these transmissions, they should check front pump runout and the new seal should be "staked" in place with an anaerobic sealant (never dries)
Consider having the rfont pump rebuilt and upgraded.
Also consider having the whole transmission "gone through" while it is out only if you have a good trans builder who is very familiar with these A4LD transmissions

 

[hunter P.]

thanks for the reply, and yes the seller said it been driven very seldom over the last 3 years and i was thinking that the seal dried up or cracked.
i got under there and looked at it, it doesn't appear like it was removed all of the bolts have square edges. but its might have been removed.
there are no transmission shops around here that i would trust so I'm going to do it myself, is there anything specific i should watch out for? or any specialty tools to do the job?
i did go to tec school for 3 years for automotive but dont know what pump runout is haha. would i be able to check that myself?

 

[410Fortune]

drop the trans and get some pics of the front pump seal, lets start by taking a look at the old one
You can tell alot by looking at the converter hub and the edge of the old seal

Staking it in place simply means once the seal is driven flush you use a flat dull blade and a hammer and hit the edges of the seal and the aluminum behind it at the same time in 4-5 spots around the outer edge of the seal. This helps the seal stay in place for eternity

Interesting info here:
How to: - A4LD Front Seal Info

I have a 2000 E350 7.3 diesel van with only 66K miles on it, we bought it fixed it up and drove it around for about 2 months before we sold our house and moved 4 states. The van was all set to tow a trailer across 4 states and my buddy was going to drive it for us. The night we went to go pick him up so we could all leave in the am the van decided to dump all of its ATF from the front pump seal.
The van had SAT for much of its life. The old seal was dry and cracking.
We replaced and rebuilt the front pump, replaced the old seal and it has been good for 2+ years now.
The van did not make that trip instead it had to wait, I had to drop the trans, fix the seal and get it ready for the next trip. That was fun.
They do dry up when they sit, and as soon as you start using the truck again the seal will leak and eventually fail.... I'm thinking that's what happened to you.
Hoping a new seal fixes you right up!

 

[hunter P.]

ok so i finally got the transmission down, i was reading another post and they were saying to check the condition of the bushing, would that be just visually or some how measure the roundness?
and i broke almost all of the bolts for the exhaust haha.