Hi,

This question is about my daily driver 85 Chevy Caprice V8. It has a trans leak, I think in the front pump seal, and the leak stops after the trans is a quart low. Any fluid I add eventually ends up on my parking spot. It's one quart below the "add 1 pint" line, when warm, so you might say it is really 3 pints low, in relation to the "full hot" line.

My mech said I could run the trans 2 quarts low without damaging it ! I guess some guys will say he is on acid. Just want to get some "second opinions". But I hope he is right, because then I could stop filling the trans up to "full", and seeing it on the road the next day.

It'll cost 2 or 3 hundred to have the mech replace the front pump seal, so I want to avoid that cost on such an old car.

Thanks for any input !

 

If it leaks sitting still, it's not the front pump seal.

More likely, it's the fill tube O-ring.

I wouldn't drive it low of fluid.

Look at it this way: $1.29 for a can of red juice, $850 for a rebuild. Hmmmm...... {RB makes weighing gesture with his hands} $1.29, $850.... $1.29, $850.... I'm struggling here. Can I step out and consult my financial adviser?

Or, better yet, $0.75 or whatever it is, for the little seal thing for the fill tube. A little more work, but probably a better idea in the long run.

 

could also be the seal on the TV cable, when mine went it dripped like a bastard when the car sat..

 

Disconnected my tran line from the rad to swap rads yesterday and the tran line was hanging down and drooling fluid a while before I noticed it. Drove it home and it wasnt shifting right a few times. I lost at least a quart or two. I would say you shouldnt drive it when its low. I think your mech is on acid...I see a new tranny in your future and so does he with that advice. At least I got this in before the lock....

 

Hey thanks for the advice, guys. I am glad to hear you think it is NOT the pump seal, RB, since that is the megabucks fix. I'll look at it again, for a leak at the filler tube gasket, or the TV cable ( wherever that is).

One more question what info can I gain from removing the inspection plate in front of the converter ? That would be the front pump seal area, right ? Everything else leakable is outside the inspection plate, right ?

Thanks

 

TV cable = Throttle Valve cable

It's the one that hooks up to the throttle and tells the trans what the driver is doing. It's also on the right side of the trans near the front, a little above the fill tube.

Yes the front pump seal is behind the inspection cover. If you pop the cover off and it's dry in there, it's not the seal.

 

I rechecked all the external seals. No leaks. Removed inspection plate. Wiped it dry in there and waited. Took a few hours for the TC to drain into the pan. Is that normal? Level went up very slowly after shutting down engine.

Eventually got trans fluid gathering at bottom lip of round flat plate behind TC. Plate just above the wet spot was dry, though, so fluid must be coming down the side(s).

Is the round flat plate the pump ?

Sound like the big round seal at the edge of the pump is leaking ? Cracked pump ?

And where is the overflow tube? Didn't see it.


Thanks,

GTA88

 

Sounds like the front seal for the torque converter. So you need to yank the tranny either way. You then may need a new TC if the nose/hub is nicked up or worn well, as it will just make the new seal leak. Been there n done that, pulling the tranny the 2nd times is just annoying. Especially on a 4x4.

Though I worked in a TC shop and long as the hub is not worn much. We just used emery cloth to polish it smooth again while it spun on the lathe. [ya cut them open on the lathe] The metal you take off is fine. The seal you get takes account for this and all they need is a smooth surface to seal.

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I can not say for sure 100% but have been told many times its better to run low then over full on a tranny. If your to low it will just stop working, as long as your not trying to make it keep going. your fine. But over full is a disaster waiting to happen.

 

Thanks.