hey guys,

my buddy and i changed my trans fluid and filter in my 700-R4 the other day. the rest of the day it ran great, but when i went to get in the car for work i noticed it was leaking trans fluid. we used permatex make a gasket and the cork gasket that came with the purolator filter kit. the permatex was used on the pan side to hold the gasket on the pan so it wouldn't slip off when we put it back on. the bolt torque according to the GM service manual says the bolts should be torqued to 8 foot pounds and he torqued them to 10 because his wrench didn't go down past 10. it's leaking on the back side of the pan facing the back of the car.

 

When you torqued them down, did you do it in a criss-cross pattern or did you start at one corner and go around the pan?

 

if i saw him correctly he did it in the criss cross pattern like on wheel bolts etc...

 

Why didnt you put any gasket sealer on the other side? not a lot, just a thin glaze with your finger. Always worked good for me, at least I have never had one leak.

 

Might want to just recheck the tq. I just put my gasket on yesterday, and I noticed it had leaked some overnight. I checked the bolt tq, and they were all backed off 1/4 turn. Retorqued them, and no more leaking.

 

my problem is that neither of my 2 torque wrenches goes down that far (20 lb/ft minimum). is there a way to gauge it by hand?

 

Just finished a rebuild last night. According to the Haynes manual, the torque setting for the pan bolts are 26 ft#.

Maybe Trickster could deny/confirm that number in his shop manual. 8 ft# was for the valve body and accumulator bolts.

Adam

 

Okay I went back and checked the servicing section of the Service manual for the 1988 700R4 automatic transmission. The torque value for the transmission oil pan bolts is 15 foot pounds and not 96 inch (8 foot) pounds. I checked with a buddy who does all the transmission work at the local dealership and he confirmed the 15 foot pound setting. So I was off on my original post also, sorry.

 

update: it seems the torque wasn't a problem it was the crappy gasket that came with the filter. we dropped the pan again and it had huge tears and holes all over and the corners were ripped. we then resealed the pan with permatex copper sealant. not a drop to be seen! crazy gaskets...

 

Start with all of the bolts just hand tight, then torque to 65 - 75 inch pounds, that is all that is needed. You should see how many transmissions come in with over tightened pan bolts (stripped holes). Make sure that the pan mating surfaces are clean & flat, then use the Duraprene pan gasket with "no" sealer.

 

 

Yeah, the cork ones work with RTV, but they don't work out as well as they should.