'92 Explorer 4x4 Transmission Leak

I had a local shop replace the main seal on the engine. It went out at 91,000 miles. The shop had to drop the tranny to perform the work.

Right after getting the Explorer back, the thing started leaking transmission fluid. It had never leaked before. I suspect that when the shop put the tranny back in that they messed up in getting the tranny affixed to the engine, and the leak might be coming from around the spacer plate. The leak does appear to be coming from near that point.

Just as an FYI, I did rebuild the transmission at 75,000 mile. So most seals are relatively new. It now has 93,000 on it.

Any opinions about about the situation?

Reply to
RN
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I would return to the shop and have them check the problem..... likeliest cause would be a loose trans cooler line or perhaps dirt in the flare fitting - be nice but be firm, these are people too. Other possibilities include damage to the trans pan from the jack.

OTOH, there remains a slight (though unlikely) chance that something has failed in 'happenstance'. If your shop is a keeper, they will be quite gracious about rectifying the problem and even use the experience to improve their operating procedure.

I must say that I'm disappointed since your shop had performed a repair that should have included a post-repair road test and re-inspection to verify that their repair (and, the initial diagnosis) were accurate and successful. This is where any trans leaks from their actions would have been detected avoiding customer dissatisfaction and trepidation regarding future repairs.

Bear in mind that shops that fix it right the first time are usually spendier than average shops...... unfortunately, spendier is not a sure sign that a shop has the 'firtft' mindset.

HTH

-- Jim Warman snipped-for-privacy@telusplanet.net

91,000 miles. The shop had

transmission fluid. It had never

they messed up in

from around the spacer

seals are relatively

Reply to
Jim Warman

Jim, thanks for your response and advice.

Well, I do have to admit that I'm not convinced that the shop is a keeper. It took them two trys to get the valve cover gasket replacement right. Of course the thing went out three other times while it was under warrenty, so I suspect that we have a bad design problem as much as anything else.

It also took them two times to get the main seal right, with the transmission leak happening on the second attempt.

Reply to
RN

Missing or damaged fasteners are a sure sign of shoddy workmanship.... tightening two fasteners side by each is a far stretch when trying to analyze a failure, though. All too often we hear horror stories if techs using the bellhousing bolts to pull the transmission up to the motor - a technique destined to cause damage 99% of the time and which may be misconstrued as tightening two adjacent fasteners.

As for the convertor/seal damage, I must ask if the pump is also damaged. If the torque convertor is not bottomed in the pump at the time of installation, the drive lugs may not be engaged. When the tech proceeds to pull the trans in with the bolts, a tremendous amount of pressure is transferred through to the convertor and pump - early failure results.

I haven't yet seen any particular factory recommended tightening sequence but common sense does indicate that we should tighten the housing to the motor evenly.

HTH,

-- Jim Warman snipped-for-privacy@telusplanet.net

to shift and that the

Specifically they say:

but bolts next to one

that this is impossible.

tranny at any time.

Reply to
Jim Warman

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