I have an 84 Z28 which I bought about a month ago that has the stock 700R4. When it was delivered to my house, the owner said that it had a small transmission fluid leak. I parked it into my garage and started working on it over the past month mainly doing wiring and I never saw any transmission fluid on the floor. I checked the transmission fluid last week and saw that there was absolutely none since I needed to pull the car out and it wouldn't move when put into reverse. I went and bought some fluid and filled it up to where it needed to be which then got the car able to move a bit, but once pulled out of my garage it wouldn't stay put on my driveway when I shifted it into park (my driveway is an incline). I pulled the car back into my garage and stopped for the day. Over the next two days as I left for school and passed by the car in my garage, I noticed that it had leaked almost all of its fluid that I had just put in when the car is not running. I have noticed that the tube for the trnasmission fluid does kind of feel loose, but it's not like the fluid is puring out right as I put it down the tube. I'm not sure if the little plug for the TCC could leak this much without it running, or if the pan is just loose/has a bad seal, or a cooler line is loose/off.

Another thing, does there need to be the cover underneath where the torque convertor bolts up to the flexplate on the engine?

Any help with what this could be would be appreciated. I'd like to get this car on the road soon and this is my main obstacle at the moment.

 

When I got my '91 V6 it was leaking transmission fluid as well. While changing the starter I decided to check the torque on the pan bolts and found a few that were finger tight. Torqued them to spec and my leaks went away. The flywheel cover is a nice thing to have. Keeps things from flying into your flywheel. Good luck.

 

Just to clarify your story, you fill the car up, go for a drive, and the trans fluid is low afterwards? If so a few problem areas to check are the front and rear pinion seal and pump seal. Another possibility is a cracked torque converter but you would probably notice a spray pattern behind you or smoke from under the car while driving.

 

I just reread the first post, transmission fluid has to be checked when the car is hot. Did you check the fluid while the car was hot or after it had been sitting for a while?

 

I haven't driven it anywhere, I only moved it out into my driveway. It has leaked while it's been sitting in my garage, not running. And yes, I have made sure to check while having the car running.

 

Did you say "park" would not engage?

 

Sounds like the front pump seal. Its a common problem on a car that sits. Trans has to come out to fix it.

 

Yes, if I were to take my foot off the brake while my car is in the driveway in "park" on the shifter, it would freely roll down the driveway. Also, when I bought the car the ECM was pretty much cut out of the car and I'm not sure if the previous owners ran the car without the TCC hooked up.

 

Gotcha, now that I understand the story since it sounds like your inspection cover is already off, check for fluid residue near the bolts that hold the pump on. If there is residue on the pump or near the bolts the trans has to come out. But to make lemons out of lemonade, removing the trans is a great time to slip in a higher stall converter.

 

Alright, I'll make sure to check around the front pump tomorrow and a higher stall converter would be very nice if I need to remove the transmission Thanks for the help so far!

 

Clean EVERYTHING under there and find out where it's leaking. Then fix that.

If the park pawl did not engage with the shifter, try engaging it manually at the transmission by pushing the trans lever full forward. If manually engaging it works, the most likely cause is a bad cable. This has nothing to do with fluid level.

 

The common places transmission leaks occur:

1. Transmission pan
2. Dipstick tube o-ring
3. TV cable seal
4. Extension housing seal
5. Cooler lines
6. Manual shift shaft seal

Check these locations first before pulling the transmission to change the pump seal.

Since the inspection cover is already missing, crawl under there with a flashlight and look for signs of fluid inside the bell housing and on the converter.