losing tranny fluid from dust cover drain hole

[moto058]

I am losing tranny fluid from the small drain hole in the dust cover just behind the oil pan on an 01 F350. Does anyone know what would cause this ? I was towing 2 sea doo skis and where I backed them into my driveway, I have lines of tranny fluid. Is it hard to repair or really expensive if I get a dealer to do it ? Thanks for the help

 

[JRJ04]

are you positive that it is transmission fluid? that area is a very common place for engine oil to drip down and accumulate.

if it is tranny fluid, my first guess would be to pull that cover off and inspect the drain plug on the torque converter. make sure it is snug.

if its not that....maybe you over heated the tranny and it puked some fluid? if thats the case, change the fluid and keep an eye on it. does it shift fine?

 

[moto058]

It was shifting fine, I didnt notice anything out of the ordinary. The fluid had a red tint to it like tranny fluid and it was not oily when rubbed between fingers. I did go out and look at the road and my driveway again and it seems as though it only leaked in reverse as I did go from forward to reverse a few times to get the trailer just right. I had the tanny rebuilt 5 years ago and since then when its put in reverse there is an 8 second pause before it engages. I thought I would get some info from here before I started taking it apart. There is a factory drain port stamped in the dust cover, was that put there for tranny fluid or oil ? Or just whatever accumilates there ?
Thank you so much for your help

 

[JLDickmon]

It was shifting fine, I didnt notice anything out of the ordinary. The fluid had a red tint to it like tranny fluid and it was not oily when rubbed between fingers. I did go out and look at the road and my driveway again and it seems as though it only leaked in reverse as I did go from forward to reverse a few times to get the trailer just right. I had the tanny rebuilt 5 years ago and since then when its put in reverse there is an 8 second pause before it engages. I thought I would get some info from here before I started taking it apart. There is a factory drain port stamped in the dust cover, was that put there for tranny fluid or oil ? Or just whatever accumilates there ?
Thank you so much for your help

oh hell no...
that's got a problem

 

[BJS]

well trans fluid leaking from the dust cover is usually caused by a failed (overheated likely) torque converter seal there are two varieties and the factory one tends to leak because it gets brittle after getting warm.

As for the 8 second delay before engaging reverse you have some problems with your trans potentially only in the valve body however likely more widespread than that.

 

[CHPMustang]

I knew my TC was on the way out as when I go to accelerate normally from a traffic light the RPM's would go up and the vehicle speed would go down,the RPM's increased with a hissing/grinding sound and trans fluid started leaking from the dust cover drain hole.

Solution:

New BTS transmission and TC to be installed next week

For a dealer to install a stock rebuilt transmission with a 1 year,12000 mile warranty is probably in the area of $3,000 give or take.

 

[trackspeeder]

well trans fluid leaking from the dust cover is usually caused by a failed (overheated likely) torque converter seal there are two varieties and the factory one tends to leak because it gets brittle after getting warm.

As for the 8 second delay before engaging reverse you have some problems with your trans potentially only in the valve body however likely more widespread than that.

X 2

8 seconds is way to long. This problem and the overheating in reverse could be related.

 

[Racinghcr]

Tranny leak

I'll bet you over heated your transmission and caused some of the boiled trans fluid to push out of the overflow on top of the Tranny. If it shifts ok,change the fluid,add a quart of LUCAS Trans Conditioner. To prevent this over-heating when towing -add a Finned aluminum over sized Tranny oil pan holding 4-5 qts more fluid (Hughes makes great pans) with a drain plug with magnetic bolt. Not sure what the late reverse engagement could be--may be linkage ?? You should add with the larger trans pan some trans temp gauges to monitor the heat so this issue will never happen again. Good luck !!

 

[AKTIVE1]

hello, i had this issue a few years back with my 99 f350, but only the leak part, turns out that the torque converter started to develop hairling cracks because i tow quite often to different races. i did not have a shifting issue , just the leak problem. 700.00 dollars later no more leak.

 

[moto058]

Now the fluid is pouring out

Thanks to all for help, I did all recomended and it was fine for a few weeks. Now the fluid runs out of drain hole in dust cover, not drips when running motor. Are the TC seals expensive to have replaced? I have taken out manual trans. before to replace clutches before, but dont know if I should attempt this one myself
Thanks for all the help