Greetings my 87 GN is down for the count. This morning was nice and cool so I went for a Sunday drive, parked the car and noticed a lovely puddle under the car. I moved the car and checked, red trans fluid. This trans was rebuilt early 2001 by Adi here in Dallas and I had no other problems with. If it is a major repair the GN may have to sit awhile (daughter birthday trip a priority). Is there anything you folks would have me check/ look at? I have a floor jack, etc. Put some fluid in it to get it home but it just pours out
If the ATF is coming from the torque converter cover, I'd hazard a guess that the front pump seal may have backed out. There is a TSB or "fix" that most good tranny builders should know to prevent this from happening again.
Good luck, and hope it's something simple and cheap to fix :^))
Dwight Hayden
Dwight, I got a floor jack and lifted the car when I put the fluid in. All I could really tell was the fluid was coming from the area of the trans pan (car was not running I did not have a lift). The trans coolant lines looked ok
I wonder if the trans builder will stand behind it, problem is the previous owner rebuilt the trans over 1 year ago. How hard is it to check the front pump seal, can I do this with floor jack & stands or do I need a lift.
I would get the car on jack stands, take some rags and carb cleaner or solvent and wipe off all the atf you can. Then remove the torque converter cover. Now have someone start the car while you are underneath and look for where the oil is coming from. (Naturally be sure the jack stands are placed properly, and don't get your jimmy caught in the spinning torque converter :^O )
If you have no one to assist you. Try putting a pc of large cardboard under there, crank it up for a few seconds, then look at the atf spot on the cardboard and directly above it should be where the leak is. It may just be a loose pan, and you might be able to just snug the bolts up evenly and fix it. My guess will still be with the front seal pushed out though. Since you bought the car from someone else, and you didn't deal with the trans builder yourself, I seriously doubt that over a year later he will want to eat this job. He "may" be willing to work with you on it at a reduced rate. If the front seal is blown out, the trans will have to be removed to fix it. Make sure who ever does the fix knows how to prevent this from happening again.
One other thing to check, You didn't happen to over fill the trans fluid recently did you. Any more than a half to a pint over fill and when the fluid hets hot it will expand thru the overflow tube and run down all over the case making a big mess. If it is over full, it will eventually find it's correct level by spewing excess and then quit leaking. Just one more thing to throw into the hat.
HTH,
Dwight Hayden
If its spewing fluid like you say it is probably the front seal. I had this happen to me on the highway. To prevent this from happening again( if its the front pump seal) the drain back hole in the front pump needs to be enlarged to allow more trans fluid to flow back to the trans pan and prevent the pressure build up. Hope this helps.
this afternoon I called the shop that built the trans. He said he thought it might be the pump seal, and offered to fix it on the side for a good price (sounds like he is going to stand behind his work, not for free but reasonable). I will ask him about enlarging the drain back hole in the front pump. I'm tempted to try to do this myself, problem is the car is in a apartment garage,
thanks for the replys will let you know how it turns out
(oh I did not add any trans fluid, I do check the level when I check the oil. Haven't had to add trans fluid since I put the external trans cooler on 4-5 months ago)