Transmission Leak ???? TH350

I'm not "absolutely, positively" sure,but I think there is a soft plug in the aft end of the yoke to seal off the splines.

Thanks for the message and I will have to pull it apart to see what is going on but trying to determine if it is a 30 minute job or 4 hrs. Another note is the fluid is constantly dripping and the car hasn't been driven in a couple of weeks. I've pulled the drive shaft on Fords before and no fluid ran out. Is Olds (GM) different or is there a seal in the tail section that has failed and letting the fluid to the spline in the first place?

If the check valve that keeps the torque convertor full doesn't seal properly the transmission will gradually overfill as the torque convertor drains down thus causing the output shaft splines to be submerged in fluid where they are normally only exposed to splash. If you start driving this car daily you may not have significant leakage from the transmission tail. There is no seal to keep fluid out of the tail housing. There is a plug in the yoke. Sometimes it is vented, sometimes not.

Don

Don,

Thanks for the note. I assume this check valve is in the torque converter so the fix is to replace torque converter? Also, is there a problem sealing the end of the yoke (not sure how to do this yet as I haven't pulled it apart yet but I'm sure it is possible).

Several weeks ago, the car was a little low on fluid (on the end of dipstick) but took over a quart to get back to full. I don't check this very often so not sure how long it has been there but when starting from cold, it acts like it is low on fluid as it takes several seconds to shift into reverse or drive the first time. Shifts fine after that. Maybe this is another symptom of bad check valve?

Thanks, bobby

The yoke probably should be "vented" so that air does not get trapped inside the yoke making it transfer shock between the drive shaft and the trans tailshaft. Fluid should not be high enough to leak out the rear. Splash is about the only lube there should be back there. Some of the tail shalves have an "O"ring that the front of the yoke slips over to keep any fluid from the spline area but, I do not recall if that is the case on the THM350. Make sure the trans is not over full which will do this. The torque converter may be draining back but, it can only drain about

3-4 quarts at most this way. This should not be a problem if the vehicle is sitting on level ground but, if it is parked with the nose up in the air, it could be if the trans is overfull a bit.

Lugnut