Transmission Leak?

I finally finished my roll bar and bikini top conversion, and after taking the rig out for a ride I noticed the oil pressure was jumping around as I was driving. I didn't think that was normal so when I got home I climbed underneath it to find quite a bit of fluid leaking. The fluid in the driveway was red and was dripping at a pretty rapid rate. I just replaced the transmission pan gasket a few months ago, and by looking under the truck it doesn't seem to be coming from the pan. I am worried I have a leak from the front seal. I have a few pictures if anyone could help me identify where the leak is coming from I would appreciate it, and what steps need to be taken to fix the issue. Thanks!

 









Also figured I would mention I do have a rear main seal leak, but it isn't terrible. However I don't believe this is engine oil.

Hi PJ..,

I think you're on the right track.  That's not eng. oil, it's trannie juice.

Hardly an auto trans guru here but.., RU sure you didn't over-fill the trannie aft. pan removal?

(I've heard they will puke out juice when over-filled)

As to failure.., there's the torque converter in the bellhousing that could poss. fail.

And, as you stated, the shaft seal on the front.

Any history on the trannie fr. the previous owner..?

Unfortunately no past history on the transmission. I'm fairly positive it wasn't overfilled, I made sure to slowly add until it was full according to the dipstick. Plus I did the pan gasket replacement a few months back. Is there anything I can do to diagnose the torque converter or seals? Short of dropping the transmission? I have taken off the metal sheet between the transmission and engine and there was fluid at the bottom of the housing. I'm honestly thinking of dropping transmission and pulling engine to do a full overhaul because I'm certain almost all of the seals need replacing and I'm sure it could use it. Just never done anything that big before. Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

These engines are pretty easy to remove.., I've done several here in my garage using a cherry-picker & the ***** type eng. balancer.  (A-frame & hoist works great as well outdoors)

Basically remove a few parts, unhook/mark/lay-back a few wires, unbolt the mounts & bellhousing & slide'er forward-n-out.

The first time it's best to make a log as to the order you remove/do things.  Then reverse the order on reassembly/install.

Another need is the hood out of the way & plenty of room above the grill. You have to lift pretty high to clear the radiator support. Airing down the tires can help. You need room to roll back with the cherry-picker as well.

The trannie needs a jack under it or it will fall once seperated fr. the eng.

Once seperated from the eng..., the trannie will come out pretty easy. (leave trannie attached to the transfer & remove as a unit)

This is a basic description & you should go by the book on this & get some tips from some local shops.

I would do a compression test on the eng. & other tests to be sure it needs freshening up. No need to go thru all this with no gain.

Safety is #1

Taking the trannie/transfer out  (& in) with eng. in place is a chore but doable. (A lot of under the truck work)

HTH

B

Does anyone have links or books they would recommend for replacing the seals on the transmission and engine?

I have been looking up different videos about replacing the rear main seal, and it seems many people recommend using a sleeve before putting the new seal in place. Does anyone have any advice or experience with this? Also any recommendations on a brand?

Hi PJ..,

Sleeves are commonly used in several places on vehicles..,  like the dr. shaft yokes for example.

What happens is the seal actually wares a groove in the shafts, etc. and even a new seal won't stop the seepage.

However, if there's NO groove.., then no sleeve is needed.  Also.., a slight groove wouldn't need a sleeve.

If you stop by your local machine shop, they could show you the difference on some of their parts, usable & scrapped.

You might ask them if there's such a thing as oversized (actually an undersized hole) seals available.?

They would know which brands work best.

FYI.., Machine shops even put sleeves in eng. blocks with a bad cylinder wall. Works fine.