Transmission Fluid leaking

My neighbor has some ramps that I can borrow to try that out. Might be a week or so before I can get around to it.
 
If you put the car on ramps,,, you'll angle the bellhousing leaning back... so if there is fluid in there it might not run out. Use or borrow a good jacxk and jack stands too. You want the car close to level... or leaning forward, (downhill), to the front.
 
I've been meaning to get a set of Jack stands. I only have one. I'll let you know when I check that out.
 
What were the symptoms of the leak on the engine mounts?
 
theg1ft said:
What were the symptoms of the leak on the engine mounts?
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It's a red fluid. There's enough to make a spot on the floor a few inches in diameter, and to blow back on the exhaust under the car. From underneath, you can trace the fluid stains back up to the motor mount on whichever side is leaking. It seems like maybe the passenger side is more likely to go first.
 
joegr said:
It's a red fluid. There's enough to make a spot on the floor a few inches in diameter, and to blow back on the exhaust under the car. From underneath, you can trace the fluid stains back up to the motor mount on whichever side is leaking. It seems like maybe the passenger side is more likely to go first.
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Guess I'm wondering what that eventually impacts.

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theg1ft said:
Guess I'm wondering what that eventually impacts.

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Well, eventually (long time after the leak) the mounts collapse causing a lot of vibration especially at idle, or tear apart allowing the engine to dance around and tear itself and other stuff up.

The engine mounts are what attaches the engine to the car. If they fail, you are left with just the transmission mounts holding on for dear life.
 
joegr said:
Well, eventually (long time after the leak) the mounts collapse causing a lot of vibration especially at idle, or tear apart allowing the engine to dance around and tear itself and other stuff up.

The engine mounts are what attaches the engine to the car. If they fail, you are left with just the transmission mounts holding on for dear life.
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Wow. I wonder if transmission issues at the torque converter could impact the motor mount or visa versa?

I sometimes feel a slight rocking of the chasis of my 2004 v8. At first I thought I was crazy. By now, I'm positive I am feeling a rocking motion. Always wondered about these mounts.

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Shouldn't be too hard to tel if it is a motor mount issue. Might depend on if the mount has completely failed or not.

Get a buddy you TRUST with your life,,, that is familiar/experienced with working on vehicles. One of you needs to get into the car... and put it in gear. Then lightly "power brake" the engine to about 2000 RPM. Do this in both forward AND reverse. If you see excessive "twisting" of the engine... then same person needs to crawl underneath and look at both motor mounts,,, while doing the same proceedure. Just make sure that the person underneath... is on the opposite side of the direction of the front wheel is going to go.

I know sometimes people on this forum think I recommend proceedures that are risky. Sorry,,, but I'm "old school",,, and the most practical way to find a bad motor mount... is how I described above. I've done this with my son in years past, (though I was leery), on a manual PT Cruiser, to find a bad motor mount. He was green and only 18 at the time. My point is,,, it takes good communication to do this safely.
 
Since for some reason I can't edit the post above... here is the edited version.

Shouldn't be too hard to tel if it is a motor mount issue. Might depend on if the mount has completely failed or not.

Get a buddy you TRUST with your life,,, that is familiar/experienced with working on vehicles. One of you needs to get into the car... and put it in gear. Then lightly "power brake" the engine to about 2000 RPM. Do this in both forward AND reverse. If the OTHER person sees excessive "twisting" of the engine... the person OBSERVING the twisting,,, needs to crawl underneath and look at both motor mounts,,, while doing the same proceedure. Just make sure that the person underneath... is on the opposite side of the direction of the front wheel is going to go.

I know sometimes people on this forum think I recommend proceedures that are risky. Sorry,,, but I'm "old school",,, and the most practical way to find a bad motor mount... is how I described above. I've done this with my son in years past, (though I was leery), on a manual PT Cruiser, to find a bad motor mount. He was green and only 18 at the time. My point is,,, it takes good communication to do this safely.
 
So I am back with good but maybe bad new. Found the source of the leak. Can I get to this brrather hose without dropping the whole engine and transmission? I got it zip tied out the way so it doesn't drip on the exhaust.

20170119_210758.jpg
 
I'm sorry, what is a "brrather" hose? Whatever you are talking about, I don't think it's supposed to be there. Does it just end there where it is tied? Is this picture taken from the driver's side? Can you locate the other end of the hose?
 
Screenshot_20170119-225730.png
This is the hose that came detached. I ordered the hose today. Just don't know if I can do it in the yard.
 
Okay, the transmission vent hose.
I don't know if you can do that without dropping the transmission (the engine does not have to be removed to drop the transmission).
Another member cut a hole through his floor to get access to a connector, but I don't know if that would work for this, and I don't recommend it.
 
I really only need the transmission to drop far enough to get my hand in there. If I remove the cross member and the driveshaft it should drop a couple inches shouldn't it? I don't think I want to cut a hole but man would and access door be awesome.....
 
I don't know how far you can drop it without have to disconnect the linkage (or damage it), but they have to have allowed for some movement.
 
Interesting. Maybe someone else has had this happen to them. I did go ahead and order it from Ford so maybe by the time it get's in I'll figure it out. If I can get to the linkage I should be able to get to the hose. (I would think)
 
Umm... to pull the driveshaft,,, you have to pull the back half of the exhaust... then pull the belly pan... then unbolt the center driveshaft support. By that time you should have no trouble getting to the cross member.

You could slowly lower the tail of the tranny, (don't forget to plug it), while watching clearances underneath. Might not hurt to have another set of eyeballs on top too,,, watching for things to go "crunch".
 
IIRC... this "breather" tube,,, is also meant as an "overflow" if someone overfills the tranny when doing a fluid change. The excess fluid will drip into the bellhousing... and if enough will leave a spot under the vehicle where the inspection cover is.

Therefore... you probably don't want to plug the hole. There are other reasons too.

I might get questioned or ridiculed about this... but ANY oil expands when it gets warm/hot. The idea behind the breather hose/tube on the 5R55 tranny venting to the bellhousing,,, is that it is protected from the elements... while still letting air in and out of the tranny. Remember,,, in the "old" days... transmissions had dipsticks and dipstick tubes. They weren't fully "sealed" as transmissions are nowadays... and allowed air to vent through the dipstick tube, (while still being sheilded from debris entering the transmission.

Thing is... fluid still expands when warm/hot,,, so there has to be a "breather/overflow" to let air move in/out with expansion/contraction of fluid.

Short answer... if you try to plug the hole,,, it will eventually shoot/push the plug out of the hole... letting in dirt, water and whatever else back into the tranny.

Soooo... what seems a simple fix by buying the part from the dealer... takes a considerable amount of labor, (and cautiousness), to install properly and fix the problem.

I'm not being a "jerk' about this... but rather being "straight" with you about the issue. Another way to look at this... is to be glad you found the problem now. Imagine driving down a road with "high water"... and sucking or pushing some of that water into the tranny. What would be the end result of that??? Most likely a trans replacement or rebuild to the tune of $1500-$3000. So be glad you found the issue now.

One last thing I forgot to mention before. IIRC... the rear rubber driveshaft assembly, ( "guibo" ) is supposedly a "balanced" assembly... so you want to make sure that when you tear it apart,,, that you get the same bolts and steel bushings back into the same holes in the flange on the rear differential,,, otherwise you may have a vibration in the driveline.

Another last thing... "If you decide to accept this mission", (think Mission Impossible movies) :D ... then you might want to consider replacing the center driveshaft support assembly "as long as you're in there". It's roughly another $100 for the part... and if you have a local shop that balances driveshafts,,, you could have them install the part and rebalance the driveshaft assembly for about another $50-$100.

Not trying to scare you into spending more money. But there used to be a reason for professionally trained mechanics. They were taught to look at EVERYTHING. And when presented with replacing a part,,, they would look at milage and wear on a vehicle...and could tell when they were replacing something,,, what other problems could arise or be a problem in the near future.

I can say,,, that I made the profession of an "automotive technician"... an honest trade for many years. I still have people coming to me,,, because they trust me,,, even my ex-wife... who has always commented that I was very "thorough", (when working on cars at least) :D They know I have enough knowledge and time behind my years... to know that if I want to replace something "now",,, instead of going back in a second time, (costing more labor)... that I wouldn't suggest it unless benficial to them.
 
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Sorry for the confusion. I meant what should I plug the rear of the transmission with so fluid doesn't come out. But I'm always up for the challenge.
 
Ok... so you are asking what to plug the "Tailshaft" of the tranny with... to keep fluid from running out. Correct???

Basically... anything that you can find,,, that won't damadge the rear tranny seal. Over the years... I have collected a number of plastic inserts from radiators, trannys... and other parts replacements,,, that have made my life as a mechanic easier. Worst case scenario... (when all else won't work), you could "duct tape" the tailshaft on the tranny, (with several layers) to prevent fluid loss while lowering the trans... to do the "work" you are trying to do.

My bad... on misunderstanding your question.
 
That duct tape idea sounds wonderful. I'll probably go with that. I may give this a shot next weekend depending on how I'm feeling. I'll definitely post and update on how it went. Good or bad.
 
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