Solved Where's my transmission fluid going?

[Jgaryarnold]

Greetings: I am the proud owner of a 1995 Aerostar Van. She has a 3.0 liter engine, with the A4LD Automatic Transmission. I bought this vehicle used from a friend, with approx. 75,000 miles on the odometer. At that time, he told me that he had to add a quart of trans. fluid between oil changes, about every 5000 miles or so. There were no visible leaks to be seen, so I just accepted it for what it was. Well now this vehicle has a little over 123,000 miles on her, & her thirst for transmission fluid has grown to about 1 quart every week or two, (about every 200 - 300 miles). There now is a little more spotting of trans. fluid on the driveway than there used to be, but it is just that - spots, not massive quantities on the ground. So to say the least, I have been rather perplexed about where the tranny fluid is going. The engine does not appear to be producing any visible smoke out the tailpipe. Although I realize the cat. converter is capable of burning up some exhaust waste that would produce smoke out the rear, but I don't think it could handle large quantities of tranny fluid without clogging. That is if there was a route for the missing tranny fluid to make into the exhaust flow. I know years ago on one of my old '63 Chevys with a power glide tranny, if the vacuum modulator developed a hole in its' diaphragm, the engine would suck trans fluid up into the carburetor & the car would blow blue smoke like crazy, & it would not shift out of 1st gear. But alas, no similarities here. The van runs well, no missing, rough idling, excessive fuel consumption, etc. So yesterday while performing routine ritual of adding needed tranny fluid, I also checked my engine oil level, & to my surprise the crankcase was significantly over capacity. I drained the engine oil pan & there was more than 10 quarts of oil/whatever in the crankcase!!! I'm positive i have NOT overfilled the engine crankcase with engine oil. So now I'm wondering, Is this where the missing tranny fluid is going? Is there a route, such as a vacuum line, or otherwise, that could provide a passage way for tranny fluid to be sucked into the crankcase? Does anyone out there have any knowledge or advice on this subject they could share? Any info to help me get this problem rectified would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Gary

 

[Bobmbx]

Are you sure you're putting tranny fluid in the correct fill tube? I gotta ask.

If you still have the oil you drained, let it settle. Tranny fluid and motor oil have different densities, and will separate eventually.

It could be the vacuum modulator diaphragm in the tranny is bad. Follow the vacuum line from the tranny to the engine, and pull it off there. If there is tranny fluid there, thats the prob.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! It sounds like the vacuum modulator is bad. This part is located on the passenger's side of the transmission in the middle.

 

[Jgaryarnold]

Epilogue to "Where's my tranny fluid going?"

Hello Again: First of all, let me thank you folks for this Forum & the people who navigate here, or should I say "Explorer Here." I truly appreciate your responses as well as your advice. It was very helpful & this morning I crawled under the old girl and started poking around the Modulator Vacuum Line, & sure enough, when I pulled it loose from the Mod. Valve Inlet Tube, tranny fluid began pouring out of it as well as out of the Valve itself. I went to my local NAPA Store & they had it in stock, & they also recommended I not only go ahead & replace the old fatigued rubber Vac. Line, but replace it with rubber fuel hose for added durability & longevity. So I did just that, & it is working beautifully. Total for parts - around $26.00. What a deal. Again, thank you for your good advice. Knowledge is priceless, knowledge from experience is superior. Happy motoring to all!!!

 

[BrooklynBay]

Thanks for the update! I'm going to mark this thread solved for future reference.

 

[Chrisman889]

Question, How did you get to the modulator? I have a 93 Explorer and I was told to go through the floor board panel.

 

[mmerlinn]

Question, How did you get to the modulator? I have a 93 Explorer and I was told to go through the floor board panel.

Modulator is on the side of the transmission just above the oil pan. Access it from underneath with the Aero safely on jackstands, NOT just a jack.

 

[Jgaryarnold]

Hello Chrisman889:

I found the modulator on the passenger side of the transmission, toward the rear of the tranny case. It is kinda tucked away, but it is accessible on my Aerostar with a little effort. As previously mentioned by other members, put the vehicle up on jack stands for safety as well as to give yourself improved accessibility to the area to be worked on. It was tricky getting to the retaining bolt that holds the modulator to the tranny. But with a little patience & effort, it can be reached for removal. It's been a little while now since I changed the modulator & vacuum line on my Aerostar, & I'm happy to report it is running well & the increased consumption of transmission fluid has diminished. Again, thanks to all on this Forum who helped me with their advice to fix my Aerostar. I hope my comments may help someone else.

By the way, some time ago I was having a problem with not being able to get the tranny shifter to shift out of "park" & into gear. At first, I thought it may be a faulty brake light switch which prevents the shifting out of "park" until you put your foot on the brake pedal & depress it. But, after replacing it, the problem still persisted. After much pondering & head scratching, I found some mounting bolts under the dash around the area of the steering column that supports the shifting mechanism had worked loose & was allowing the shift assy. to wobble around & not engage properly. I removed the bolts, one @ a time, applied some blue "Lock Tite" to each bolt & reinstalled them. The shifting then worked as new. Sometimes, it's the simplest of things that can cause the most problems. Happy Motoring to All, Gary.

 

[Jgaryarnold]

Oh by the way, my problem finding the problem with my shifter, was before I discovered this Forum. So now I know a better source for trouble shooting car problems other than pondering & head scratching!!!