Transmission Fluid leaking

Lumbeeindian17

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So the LS has a transmission leak down the passenger side of the vehicle falling onto the headers. It only leaks under heavy load. (launching from a stop). Anybody have any suggestions on where it could be coming from exactly? It's not coming from the center so I don't think it's the rear seal. The valve cover gasket on that side has already been replaced. Thanks for any help.

2005 Lincoln LS V8 Sport
 
Well, if you are positive that it is transmission fluid, and it is on the right side, it should be one of the transmission cooler lines.
That said, be aware that the engine mounts are fluid filled, and the fluid in them is a dark red color. I've had three of those to leak so far (two LSes). Look and see if the stains lead up to the mount on that side.
 
Im with joe on this. I went back to the guy that did my tranny when my car was smoking thinking he might have developed a leak. He proceed to show me NO tranny issue all dry. He proceeded to show me the potential culprits - A/C compressor and/or the valve covers. I mention the covers because I had a receipt showing the gaskets were changed less than 10k prior. What it ended up being was a hack job, and the only way to fix was a full replacement of the covers. I was also told the plastic valve covers warp with heat, and a replacement is the only way to fix that if that has happened.

Best hunt down the real source when its up on a lift.
 
The only reason why I'm so confident that it's transmission fluid is because I'm very familiar with the smell of burning tranny fluid. I've never heard of engine mounts having fluid in them that's pretty crazy. But how much fluid can be in there? it's been like this for about 2 years now. It's definitely not a motor oil smell, I'm positive of that.
 
There's a lot of fluid in each one, but shouldn't be enough to leak for years.
Anyway, it's simple enough to get under there and see what is coming from where. It's pretty hard to tell by smell since their all just variations of synthetic oil. If you are only going by smell and it has gone on for two years, I suspect that it is really an engine oil leak. Two years of a transmission leak would probably have operational symptoms way before now.
 
Yeah well, keep in mind. It only leaks under heavy load. I don't drive it hard often, but when I do, that's when it leaks.
 
When you say heavy load, do you mean towing something? I am not an expert, but I do know towing vehicles always had beefier drivetrains. Some years of towing on this vehicle and I am sure its due some love.
 
Sorry for the confusion. When I say heavy load I mean taking off hard from a dead stop. I have to put a big strain on the engine/transmission for it to leak onto the header and they obviously smoke.
 
I'll bet that this debate/question could be resolved in five minutes by taking the bank 1 coil cover off...
 
Yup. Thats the side of mine that was hacked worse, I would see a constant stream of smoke at stops. Sounds like your might be collecting, then dumping.
 
That's possible. I'll check it by the end of the week and let you know. Probably looking like Wednesday.
 
Thanks, I got a few days off. I broke one of the connections on my water outlet yesterday. While I'm at it is wanted to check into that leaking issue. The transmission hashop been shifting kinda funny when child the last couple months.
 
20170104_190708.jpg
20170104_190708.jpg
Dry as can be

20170104_190708.jpg
 
Dude, you need to pull the coil to see into the plug well. Also, that is some pretty gnarly rust on that hardware.

The oil could be leaking out of the side of the actual valve cover.
 
Yeah not sure why there is rust. I didn't know I needed to pull the coil out. I'll do that possibly tonight. Do I need to check all 4?
 
Yeah not sure why there is rust. I didn't know I needed to pull the coil out. I'll do that possibly tonight. Do I need to check all 4?

Probably should check all. It's fairly clear from the stains and rust that water has been getting in there.
 
At least your going down the right path to search for it. If you can get it up on a lift, two things to look for. If its the valve cover leaking, then there will most likely be a straight stream of oil on the corner of the engine going down, right in front of the cats which then will cause the smoke when oil drops hit. The other thing is if the A/C compressor is leaking, it will also cover the underside of the engine, blow back on cats and smoke.
 
Lumbee,

Just out of curiosity,,, have you pulled the inspection cover on the bottom of the transmission bellhousing. I know you said it's not wet underneath, but I'd be curious to know if any transmission fluid dribbles out the inspection cover hole.
 

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