Trans Leak

[98 Xplorer]

My 98 has had a trans leak since the reverse valve was replaced in it at 9,000 miles. I waited until it had about 34,000 miles on it to have the leak repaired (my fault for waiting so long after the rebuild), they replaced the pan under warranty (it didn't look new). It has continued to leak and now at 50,000 miles is out of warranty.

I took it in the beginning of this month and had to explain the history that it has leaked since the rebuild, but they said it was out of warranty and I would have to pay. So I went ahead and had them look at it anyway, they replaced the gasket and tightened the trans lines for 400 plus dollars (pretty expensive for a basic trans service). It has been back in two more times in the last month. The second time they said some of the bolts where stripped on the pan (they repaired them) and added dye to the fliud (no charge). A week later took it back in and I am not sure what they did this time (the wife picked it up). I checked it last night and its still leaking. It appears to be leaking around the pan gasket. Tonight I am going to wipe down the trans clean and run it for a week to see where it is leaking from.

Any opinions on what may be wrong? warped oil pan, stripped bolts or housing, or warped housing.

Thanks,
98 Xplorer

 

[John 333]

What exactly did they do for $400? Is this a repair shop that you can trust? I'm having trouble with my 95 Explorer too. It also has developed a transmission leak. I was told that it's probably a pump seal. They told me that Ford has a big problem with this seal. The price quoted me to fix this was $300. This price was to drop the tranny and replace the seal. Did they have to drop the tranny to fix yours? Just curious.

 

[98 Xplorer]

John,

No, they didn't drop the tranny, all they did was replaced the pan gasket and resealed the trans. cooler lines.
It is a Ford Dealer that has done all the work. Basically they did a trans. service for $400+, which should normally run about $120.
I crawled under the Xplorer last night and wiped the tranny clean and it looks like it is leaking out of the filler tube (dipstick).