Fed up!!

[badblu97]

I have been working on my 66 from the day I got it. I love this truck, but I'm done. I have bought literally gallons of transmission fluid, only for it to leak out in a few days. Each time we think we have fixed the leak, but it starts again. New front and rear seal, new pan gasket, the lines are tight and brand new, and the dipstick is one of those cheap chrome ones (I was given the transmission with no tube or dipstick) so I just bought one, thinking it would be fine. The last time we "fixed" the leak, it was the tube. I just went to my mechanics where the truck is and lo and behold, there's another $30 on the ground. I have replaced the engine, transmission, did a 5 lug disc conversion, power brakes, power steering, all for this. I am a single income family of 3(with one on the way) and don't have the money to keep throwing away. I am done.

[glos55]

WHOA!!!! Don't throw the towel in yet! Maybe you have to much in the tranny and it's leaking from the overflow? What about it guys? Any suggestions out there for a fed up brother?

[awbrown]

Gloss and I will come down and take that evil thing off your hands forever ... problem solved.... I do know how you feel , I have had a few stump me like that .. on one it ended up being a plugged vent , that's right they need to breath ....also get a factory dipstick asembly , the after market ones are rarely correct ...

[jchav62]

What trans are you running? The best dipstick to use is the late 80's, early 90's type that have the "boot" seal rather than the o-ring type. Also, make sure that the speedo gear housing and gear are sealed. I've over looked that many times. Good luck and don't give up!! JC62

[CVA59]

Hang in there. I too was just recently in your situation. I wanted to chunk it all and get rid of it. However, with the help and support of these guys on here i stuck with it, solved the issues i had and i am very happy i hung in there. I would NEVER EVER buy one of those cheap chrome aftermarket tubes again. They are crap and i have been on the butt end of that 1-2 times. Go to a wrecking yard and find you a factory one like "jchav62" is talking about. Start there first, then try the other things that have been suggested. This can be fixed. Not sure where it is but i can be fixed just short of a busted case.

Couple items to check:
1. Are the seals that were put in the correct seals FOR SURE?
2. Check the pan, is it bent or warped in anyway? Does it have a drain plug? is it leaking?
3. Change the dipstick tube!
4. Check modulator valve (if it has one)
5. Check the speedo gear

Is the truck worth chunking because of the tranny problem? Do like i did and still doing to some degree, park it, cover it up and leave it sit until you feel like messing with it again. This was some good advice given to me recently about my truck. I am glad i took it.

I would swing by a car wash and clean the tranny REAL GOOD. Go straight home, get under it and stay there until you see leaks.

[MikeN]

What type of transmission? Maybe the case is cracked?

[Clyde65]

I will agree with everyone here, I would suspect a cracked case, I had a PG do that and it was the case, seemed to only leak after it was warm though.

Anyone in Florida that could help this brother?

[jchav62]

Originally Posted by CVA59

Hang in there. I too was just recently in your situation. I wanted to chunk it all and get rid of it. However, with the help and support of these guys on here i stuck with it, solved the issues i had and i am very happy i hung in there. I would NEVER EVER buy one of those cheap chrome aftermarket tubes again. They are crap and i have been on the butt end of that 1-2 times. Go to a wrecking yard and find you a factory one like "jchav62" is talking about. Start there first, then try the other things that have been suggested. This can be fixed. Not sure where it is but i can be fixed just short of a busted case.

Couple items to check:
1. Are the seals that were put in the correct seals FOR SURE?
2. Check the pan, is it bent or warped in anyway? Does it have a drain plug? is it leaking?
3. Change the dipstick tube!
4. Check modulator valve (if it has one)
5. Check the speedo gear

Is the truck worth chunking because of the tranny problem? Do like i did and still doing to some degree, park it, cover it up and leave it sit until you feel like messing with it again. This was some good advice given to me recently about my truck. I am glad i took it.

I would swing by a car wash and clean the tranny REAL GOOD. Go straight home, get under it and stay there until you see leaks.

6. The kick-down cable (if it has one).

I just remembered, I dealt with the "hidden trans leak" in the past, and it ended up being that.

[forestb]

Also try the speedo cable.

[badblu97]

Thank you everyone. I still havent got the patience to look at it yet, but I am going to go over it with a fine tooth comb when I do. I cant find a factory dipstick tube locally. Ive checked local transmission shops, local guys that hot rod, and the local yards are being rude about it. SOOOOOO Im kinda stuck about that. Im going to go back to the shop tomorrow and start on it. Thank you guys again. If anyone has a factory tube for a decent price let me know!

[A.T. RockDriller]

Dear Fed Up....(BadBlu)

Aint that enough to frost your a$$.
Somewhere in these brothers replies lies the answer.....I'm sure.
Take a deep breath and smile 'cause you have folks all over the world concerned about your tranny leak and how it "makes you feel".

That sure does beat all.....don't it....?

A dental mirror, a can of brake cleaner, a few clean rags and a good light source
should be all you need.
Drive it onto some ramps...(or if you're me....get your "tallest" creeper) and lay down on the cool concrete and relax.
When you come to again, start at the vent....or the highest point of suspicion... and start eliminating these possible points of leakage...
Like Clyde said, have the oil somewhat warmed up....in case it's a casting failure or a crack.
I'll bet you find it.
Sometimes even the best mechanics will miss something simple....lots'a times simply 'cause they make a hasty diagnosis....because there is tranny blood all over everything and it resembles a massacre under there......and so forth and so on and ya' know what I aint sayin'...
Whatever.

So thanks to all the Dear Abbys on here willin' to get greasy with you if you weren't so dang far away.

Don't say it, Blu.....
Don't say yer done.

[padresag]

Originally Posted by badblu97

Thank you everyone. I still havent got the patience to look at it yet, but I am going to go over it with a fine tooth comb when I do. I cant find a factory dipstick tube locally. Ive checked local transmission shops, local guys that hot rod, and the local yards are being rude about it. SOOOOOO Im kinda stuck about that. Im going to go back to the shop tomorrow and start on it. Thank you guys again. If anyone has a factory tube for a decent price let me know!

what trans is it
is it a p/glide?
ron
there are a few more things that can give you a problem and that is the hub on the convertor;how was it when you replaced the frt pump seal. if it was worn or cracked, a new won't help. the other is the trans yoke(d/s). if it was worn (grooved) or rusty when you replaced the rear seal; a new seal will not have helped you much.
how did it shft when it shifted , harsh?

[64fleetside]

On mine the mystery leak turned out to be the front pump O-ring.

[JRBECK64]

Is it possible that the Torque Converter is leaking? That thing holds a crap pot of tranny fluid.

JRBECK64

[YBNORML]

I once had a similar problem with TH-350. It turned out that the pump was warped. I put in a new one and had no problem. ( I think that's what it's called anyways) I hope this helps.
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[Slow Build]

My T350 leaks from the speedo and the dipstick (maybe other places too). If I start it every couple of days it doesn't really seem to leak but after sitting for awhile it will leak. But the most mine has leaked is about 2 quarts and that took some time. I was told it takes some time for the TC to drain down into the pan and when started often enough it keeps the fluid in the TC so it keeps the level below those seals. Sounds like your situation is more complicated than mine if you are leaking as much as you say.

Which trans do you have? Does it leak all the time, only when running, just after shutdown or after sitting for awhile?

[Rannos]

Is it a t400? If so what did it come out of? I have seen alot of ppl get up set with t400s leaking to find they cracked the case by putting a t400 that had a bolt on yoke in their weekend toy with a slip yoke. The output shaft in the T400 with the bolt on yoke has step in the splines for the yoke to butt up to. With a slip yoke it hits the step and torques the back of the tranny up. If the tranny mount fails and the tranny continues to torque up it cracks just behind the bell housing and can be very hard to see when not leaking. Hope this isn't the case with your truck and good luck finding your problem.

The same thing can happen with any tranny if your drive shaft is to long.

['63GENIII]

I had a mechanic replace the front pump seal on my 400 twice only to find out that the original one (which leaked from a rebuild was too small) and the one he replaced it with were both too thin. He got it on the third try but it was still leaking. Turns out it was leaking from the gear selector shaft (and real bad at that. It took six mos., alot of money and alot of cursing to figure out that the main problem was that 59 cent seal. I didn't find it til I sprayed it down real good with that engine cleaner and then hit it with 5$ at the coin op car wash. The leak was so easy to see after that. Step away from it, get some cleaner and a little patience.

[badblu97]

Its a th350, and the front and rear seal and the trans pan have been replaced recently. They tranny itself was rebuilt about 4 years ago and sat. Thats why I had the seals and gasket replaced. Im thinking the leak is the chrome POS dipstick and maybe a bent pan.

[awbrown]

I have had a few that threw me for a loop .. spray the whole trans down with brake cleaner.. run it with out driving it and see if it leaks, put some card board on the ground .. if it wont leak standing still running then take it on a short run around the block then park it and see if it leaks ... keep doing it til you get it to leak .. then if you cant see where it is leaking blow some powder on it ,( fine dirt , talc or what ever) that should make it so you can pinpoint it...sounds foolish , but sometimes you have to think outside the box....

[PGSigns]

JW Performance transmissions is near CoaCoa beach and has what you need to seal it up. If you need a dip stick tube they will have a good one. I use there stuff in my drag car and it has always been good. 321-632-6205
Jimmy

[low79fx]

If your leak seems to come from the dipstick,clean your tranny really good on that side then run it till it warms up check for leak around the actuator cover just to the rear of dipstick on the same side as dipstick.Looks like a 3" dia. bearing dust cover.I had a leak similar to your description could not find until I did as described above after running truck hot parked it placed a clean cardboard under truck came back and traced to that cover.My truck also sat for about 10 years when I finally got it running I think it may have taken a hard shift and what resulted was a shatter shift actuator spring behind this cover.This spring acts as back pressure for shift piston behind cover also provides back pressure on cover from the inside to allow cover to seat on o ring to seal cover to actuator bore.Check this and see if thats where your leak is coming from.If it is all you need is a replacement spring if yours went like mine and a new o ring and maybe a replacement actuator cover if the spring shrapnel gouged a hole in yours.I got all these parts for less than 20bucks from a local tranny repair shop.They have tons of these laying around.That leak I also thought was my dipstick and or dipstick seal.I also had another leak that I thought was coming from rear tranny seal that one ended being a hole in the center of the trans drive shaft yoke,fixed that one with a 7 dollar seal also provided from tranny shop.Forgive me for sounding long winded but I totally understand your conservative angle especially with a little one on the way.I hope this helps don't give up and congrats on your new addition.Good Luck!!

[jmedero]

Dude it was great seeing you today. I am amazed how far you have come with my old truck in such a short amount of time. Look at that pan and that seal cap we looked at today. I think that pan is your problem.
Take care and get busy putting those new springs on the rear.
Layer brother!!
Posted via Mobile Device

[Blue Heeler]

Chrome suck's!!!!! send it to me in the mail and i'll put my swenson to work!!!

[badblu97]

Juan, I really appreciate it, wish you could've stayed longer. Ill work on the rear end for now(already have all the brake parts) and Ill throw the springs in while Im there! Ill have to wait to buy any more parts, cheap or not, IM BROKE!!

Blue Heeler, that's a beautiful piece, but my clunky ole Glock is going to work!!