Ok title pretty much says it all at the moment, came home and parked the truck and got out to my truck essentially pissing all over the drive way...(thats not what Fords do, they are proper trucks...) anyways the fluid looks to be a brownish colour, I am thinking transmission leak at the moment, but since im not entirely familiar with these trucks and there pattern failures yet I wanted to get second thoughts as this is a working truck so I need to sort this out as quickly as I can and I am hoping is a quick simple fix, so if you guys and gals could kindly assist with identifying the area/parts that are needed that would be great.

based on what I saw it is a plate of some type with 4 (maybe?) bolts, one on each corner where the leak is coming from....as far as the leak it only seems to present its self when the engine is running after its been warmed up, I know it wasn't doing this this morning or afternoon (time of post), the truck was ran pretty much the entire day non stop as well so im not sure if that will have any bearing on the situation or the diagnosis...











anyways thanks for the help and this is a bit of a lousy way for things to go the eve of my birthday...but meh...

PS:if this is too much info or too much like a technical read I apologize :!

 

Bump for quick answer....

 

What does the liquid smell like? Is the lifter valley dry?

 

it smalle a bit like either trans oil or oil, hard to tell, as for the valley I will have to try and look when I can...I would say it is dry because the leak is coming from the part I took a pic of, and I don't know how well the picture shows it but I took the pic as the leak was going on (continuous stream)


EDIT: I just checked what I think your refering to and every thing top side is dry as a bone from the looks of it, coolant has its usuall coolant smell, no burning or any thing like that, the leak is coming from the area described, if needed I can take further pics

 

Crawl underneath the driver's side and look up at the oil filter with a light. Look and feel around it and the filter housing for any oil leaks.

It could be a failed oil filter gasket if it is oil.

More likely it is transmission fluid.

There should be 2 steel lines going to/from the trans from the cooler. Look for leaks at the end, pin holes, or breaks in the line.

See if you can find the *highest* spot that is leaking. It may be running down the side or somewhere and collecting on the pan and bolts.

If it is leaking from the transmission pan, there should be a gasket there, but I don't know if it would weep or spray as you mention

If you end up dropping the pan, be sure to replace the filter and clean the pan and magnet (including all the metal fuzziness).

You can probably check your oil level at the dipstick and your transmission fluid. One of them will be quite low

 

Ok I stopped driving the truck when I saw this going on so once day light comes around I will be checking both (letting the engine cool from the days use...) I just hope me driving all day didn't cause harm as there were a few times where the engine was abruptly started (as if it was a gasser) where my friend didn't let the glow plugs heat up to full temp....and other times where we just left the truck ideling away while we ran into places (was also rather hot out)


oh and Ex if you look at the last pic it should be evident that the spot where the spate and trans meet is the source, as it looks like it is coming out there, and I did look when we had day light and that appears to be the highest point that I can find just being on my back, is there a gasket that goes between the 4 bolt plate and the transmission? whats the name of that plate (as seen in the picture with the bolts)? I am going to get a new one with gasket if there should be one...

 

seal on the transmission....or rear main seal.... you said brownish oil.... i say trans.

 

It is common for the factory transmission pump seal to get hard and leak when the seal gets old and overheated. It will leak through the inspection cover as it looks in your pics. There is an updated pump seal that is made from a different material that shouldn't do that. If your transmission fluid is any color than red it should have been flushed and new fluid installed long ago. My transmission pump seal leaks when hot enough. I installed a 6.0 Trans cooler and my fluid has never heated up enough in the last 100k miles of use since I installed the cooler to do it again, not even a drop. If my Trans gets above 160 it leaks like crazy through the pump seal and out the inspection cover. My new 6.0 transmission cooler never lets my Trans temps get above 150 even when towing and weighing in at 25k lbs. The 6.0 cooler was only a temp fix for me because I now at 280k+ miles I am now in the market for a new transmission. Depending on your miles on the transmission you could just replace the pump seal and be fine. You need to check and see if it is in fact the pump seal that is leaking. Clean the area and confirm where it is leaking to be sure.

 

gunk heavy duty gel and a high pressure hose works well!!!! gunk and a 2000psi electric washer works awesome too!!!

 

If it is the inspection plate seal leaking as seen in pic will this be an rad fix? Also if I pill the plate will I puke tons of fluid out?

 

Have you looked at the lifter valley yet? Leaks up there will make their way out of a drain hole at the back, run down the engine block on the inside of the bellhousing and exit through the inspection cover.

 

Check your oil level. If it's really low, get a flashlight and verify the engine valley is dry. The valley drains leaks to that spot. This could be as simple as an HPOP fitting or hose.

Check your transmission fluid level.

Is any fluid falling on the front axle?

 

will attempt to take a look, but when I went out side (about 30 min ago) and started the truck it was all dry as a bone as far as the leaking went, not a drop that I could see and I let it run for about 5 minutes as I layed under the truck (wheels chocked) watching for fluid to drain or leak as for the HPOP I have not a clue what that stands for (this is my first diesel and I am still reading posts and my chiltons/haynes books on it...


oh and Tugly I got the Buck$zooka ready....


EDIT: front axle seems for what I can see dry as a bone also

 

Dipsticks! Check your dipsticks!

The very first step is determining what kind of fluid it is. With the amounts you show, either oil or trans will be low.

Oil, fuel, mixture, etc from top runs out the back of the valley as stated and can even run down the side of your oil filter, so be vigilant when looking.

Trans fluid smells...really terrible.

IMHO, it looks like you have enough to start identifying and isolating your leak- hopefully!


Let us know what you find and the brotherhood can help you figure out the fix

 

There is no seal on the inspection plate. The plate is just there to keep rocks from getting into the bellhousing, it is not designed to hold fluid in. There should be very little fluid that will come out if you take it off.

Your leak is almost certainly have a bad torque converter hub seal. To replace the seal the trans needs to come out. While replacing the seal, also replace the bushing that's right behind it. The new seal should be an aftermarket seal made from a material called Viton. Also carefully inspect the polished end on the torque converter. If there is ANY damage the new seal will leak, too.