dubga

iTrader: (8)

The pan on this car has leaked since I got it over a year ago. I have tried to stop it but have only managed to make it worse. I have searched and read eleventy-billion threads about this and am out of ideas. Here is what I have tried.

Three different types of gaskets - the rubbery one that the parts store always gives you, the fiber kind that I got from the tranny shop, and the old-fashioned cork ones.

Each of these gaskets I started out torque setting of 7 lbs,, then incremented by 3 lbs after a few days driving when it was still leaking, stopping at 20 lbs.

Bought a new aluminum tranny pan with the drain plug in case the old one was warped. If anything it got worse with the new pan.

I have spent enough money on tranny fluid refilling it to have bought a new transmission. I am about ready to weld the freaking pan to the tranny.

My only idea left is to use gasket sealer to seal the gasket to the tranny. Anyone else have any ideas??

sjsingle1

iTrader: (1)

i use the red tack spray on my tranny gaskets..........even tho they say not to........go straight silicone???

FLT

iTrader: (1)

I have seen this time and time again. Another thing to look at is if you have a temp gauge sender in the pressure port. This will leak pretty good while the vehicle is running. Vince

dubga

iTrader: (8)

That Fel Pro number is the one they gave me at the parts store first. I have actually tried 3 of them. The first one I torqued to 84 in-lbs, then 96, then 108, then 120. Leaked each time. After that I started increasing in increments of 2-3 ft-lbs with the rest of the gaskets. I don't have anything in the pressure port. At one time I hooked up a pressure guage in that port to check the pressure, but put the plug back in. I see no signs of leak there or from anywhere else.

I can give it another try. I haven't tried degreasing the pan or rail before so I will try that. I also thought about using some fine sandpaper to rub over the rail to make sure there aren't any bits of old gasket left that I haven't noticed.

tee-boy

iTrader: (8)

torque it. run it and get it hot. torque it again after it cools.

dubga

iTrader: (8)

I did that with the new aluminum pan. The bolts had actually loosened up a good bit with that pan. I never re-torqued with the original pan, but when I would remove the pan it never seemed like it had loosened noticeably.

I am going to put the original pan back on because it seems this aluminum pan has been more prone to leaking (I have no idea why, it feels much stronger and more sturdy). Although I will miss having the drain plug.

omcar

iTrader: (10)

I have a factory pan off my '01 formula in perfect condition if you want to go back to factory equipt.
Pm me if interested..

jimmyblue

iTrader: (11)

Are you convinced it's the pan/gasket and not something
like a cracked tailhousing?

I had some leak problems with a chrome pan and cork
gasket but none on the stock cast, or stamped steel
truck pan.

dubga

iTrader: (8)

Bro, I understand what you mean about focusing on one thing to the point that you overlook everything else. I crawled under it again tonight and rolled all around under there with a light. I don't see any other places above the pan that is wet.

I will say this. I stated earlier that I had tried the felpro gasket. I said that because I had bought the gasket at AZ and when I looked up the tranny pan gasket on their site, it showed me the felpro, same part number called out above. I went by AZ this afternoon and asked for another gasket, the guy brought one out that was part of a gasket/filter kit, same as he gave me before, and I asked if it was felpro. He said it was not. So I tried Napa and they did not have the felpro either, but ordered it for me. It should be here tomorrow and I am going to give it a try. I am also putting my stock pan back on since the problem got worse with the new pan. The aluminum pan is stamped as 700R4, but the guy who sold it to me said it would fit the 4L60E as well. It seemed to fit other than having to use hex-socket screws because the heads of the standard hex-head screws were too big and bumped up against the edge of the pan. Maybe something else doesn't quite match up well.

If it still leaks I am taking it to a tranny shop. If they tell me that the leak was elsewhere, I promise to post back up here and let you know so you can give me a big "told you so". I appreciate all the feedback and I am listening, I just can't find any signs of fluid coming from anywhere else.

joecar

Are you good with a camera, can you take good close ups on all 4 sides of your pan...?

Ok, understood, no drip on bottom of bell housing.

Is the trans case dry above the pan line...?

Is the case's gasket surface good and smooth with no damage...?
What about pan's gasket surface...? Do the bolt hole edges stick up...?

dubga

iTrader: (8)

I will take some pics tonight. I drained the fluid and removed the pan last night and left it on jack stands while the new gasket comes in. If it arrives today I will be back under there tonight and snap some pics.

Yes, the case above the pan line is dry. THere is a very slight bit of grease around the tail, but it is dry like a very slow seep that gets soaked up by road grime faster than it comes out. I didn't pull the tc cover off last night to look up in there, but I have done so in the past and saw no leaks. I will pull it again tonight and take pics there as well.

I see no damage on the case gasket surface. There are a few places where some very small bits of what may be old gasket material exist, but they are at the outermost edge of the case. I plan to try to scrape every bit of that tonight. Pan surface is clean. I laid my old pan inverted on the garage floor to see if it was warped (I did this back before I ordered a new pan) and it rocked just a bit, but when I got the new pan it did the same thing, so it may be that my floor is not smooth enough to test that.

Bad30th

iTrader: (13)

Maybe also try laying a flatedge along the pan and the case mating surfaces and try shining a light through from the other side, to be sure they are flat and making a good seal ?

Good luck...

Rob (Bad30th)

dubga

iTrader: (8)

Well I think I found out why the leak was so much worse with the new pan. I laid them side-by-side to compare. There is a little hole along the inside edge of the case mating surface on the passenger side between the front bolt and the next one. I don't know what it is called but it looks like it lets fluid drain back into the pan. The stock pan has a relief cut out to go around this hole...the new pan did not have this relief, so it was covering that hole with the gasket. Most likely fluid was seeping out there with the new pan making the leak worse.

Anyway, I scrubbed the mating surfaces of the pan and case with fine steel wool to remove any little spec of anything I could find. I cleaned both surfaces with brake cleaner sprayed on a rag, then put the felpro gasket on. I torqued each bolt to 100 in-lbs, and kept going around the pan until every bolt made the wrench click without moving a bit. I cranked it up and let it run about 15 minutes to heat things up. So far it is bone dry, but I am not taking my tube of blue silicone sealant back to AZ for a refund yet.

I took pics and will post them tomorrow.

dubga

iTrader: (8)

That's a good idea...why didn't I think of it. If it still leaks I will give that a try...unless I weld the pan to the case and just drive it til it blows up.

dubga

iTrader: (8)

No joy. I went outside and looked under the car. There is a small wet spot under the front of the tranny pan near the passenger side. Looks like it dripped off that tab that points down from the front edge.

I went around and tightened the bolts to 130 in-lbs and will check again tomorrow. Below are pics I took last night. I tried to get pics showing the upper part of the tranny, but they did not turn out too great. Keep in mind that I was rolling around under a car sitting on jack stands, so I didn't have much room to move my camera and was in many cases taking blind shots. I tried to take shots of the areas above the pan mating surface, as well as the mating surface itself. Now that I look at them, some of them I am not even sure what they are shots of. But here they are. If anyone spots something that could be causing a drip from around my pan, I will be happy to hear it.

TXCAMSS

iTrader: (60)

I bet if you put RTV silicone on the bolt threads when you install it next time, it will seal just fine unless your bolts are too long. It's not uncommon for the casting inside the threaded holes to allow leaks. The RTV seals everything off.

Just a thought.

G/L

dubga

iTrader: (8)

Bro, I've been thinking about your idea about something else leaking. I finally remembered that not long after I got the car and I was having the catback installed, I asked the guys at that shop to take a look at the tranny leak. They aren't a tranny shop, but they replaced the pan gasket and the "shift seal" (at least that's what I remember him calling it). He said the leak looked like it was coming from the front and thought that could be the cause. I remember now that the leak was actually worse after that. Any idea what he could have been talking about, and if it is something a dumbass redneck like me can do himself?

You are right, I have tried every combination of gasket/pan/torque there is, so it may be time to try something else.

Bad30th

iTrader: (13)

^
|



Anyone got a pic/description of where this seal is ? Might as well learn something while I'm in here...


Rob (Bad30th)

dubga

iTrader: (8)

I just got married 3 weeks ago. Even in the south, we don't usually start beating the wife for a few months. So maybe I should take it to a tranny shop and let them fix it. I have probably spent enough on gaskets and fluid to have paid for it to be fixed already.

If they say they have to pull the tranny to fix it, I may say "since you have it out, how about sliding on this Yank converter that's been sitting in my garage for 6 months because I've been too chicken to pull the tranny myself."

dubga

iTrader: (8)

Working on headers this weekend and got a better look at the passenger side of the tranny. Looks like the dipstick tube is leaking. Is that something I can fix myself while I have it up? Did some searches but keep finding threads about removing the engine oil dipstick tube.