Well, i just replaced the pan gasket (actually not done yet, medical reasons), and i've found out apparently there are several other leaks. Mercon V ATF is rather expensive around these parts, and i seem to be missing more than 75% of it (which of course will kill my tranny rather fast if i do nothing). Are there any other spots where i should be looking for leaks?, my torque converter seems to be pouring ATF also...

 

So you have fluid running out of the bell housing?

 

If you are losing ATF from the inspection plug in the bell-housing, you've lost the front seal around the input shaft. Unless the casing has cracked, its the only thing up there to leak.

 

Apparently i do, Bashby. Grey, do you have a part number for that seal? it seems like i will be having to replace it (procedure? is it too hard to do?)... The casing is in fine shape, no visible cracks.

 

Encho, have you removed/replace your torque converter lately? Often the TC seal gets snagged or torn when installing the converter. This would also cause a leak in this area. One other idea would be a leaking drain plug in the converter itself. Not all TC's have them but it might be worth a look before going too far.

 

would be nice if it was a cooler line that was dripping down the bellhousing, huh?
I know every single leak towards the front of my truck ends up coming down there. Blamed a big leak on a rear main seal that ended up being a valve cover gasket, freaked when I saw powersteering fluid dripping out of it (hose came undone) and now I'm leaking perfectly clean radiator fluid out of the inspection plug.

Also, if it matters, the stock pans bend up pretty easily. I couldn't seal mine no matter how hard I tried. Lost a seal from tranny to transfer case, and it still leaked out the rear when fixed. I ended up buying a BWD Pan and I don't leak a drop of fluid at the pan.

 

FUN FUN FUN! The drain plug on the TC was as dry as a bone in the Sahara and i got the gasket properly installed... So my next guess is on the front seal... i hate it when it's the "worst case scenario" regarding seals at least... But anyway, i think i'm up to the task, i'll try to tackle this the next weekend and share the results.

 

I only own a bottle jack and a couple of jackstands, but i can get help from a friend, my thoughts are: using the jack stands on both extremes while i disconnect the tranny, then using the bottle jack and stands to lower the tranny (one notch at a time) enough to gain access to the front. If there isn't enough space then i'll have my friend help me to get the tranny on the floor so i can slide it from under the truck. My main concern so far is the pan, that cookie will bend if i put any pressure on it, so placing the jack under it is a no-no. Any ideas?.

 

Encho my friend, you're gonna hurt yourself. You really need a transmission jack. See if you can rent one somewhere. It's like a super floor jack, with a big flat plate that will lift the trans under the whole pan. The strength of the pan is in the vertical walls, so by lifting under the whole pan, the force is distributed to the pan walls at the edges, not caving in the pan bottom.

Also, the trans jack has tilt adjustment front-back (and some have side-to-side tilt too) that you will need to get a flat lift on the pan. And it has chains or cables that go up and over the trans to stop it from falling over sideways off the jack. Remember, you are lifting from the bottom, and the center of gravity of the trans is well above that - unstable!

You will need the tilt adjustment and the precise lifting to get it back together. With the torque converter properly seated in the trans, you have to inch up the trans and move it forward, to get the TC into the pilot without ramming the TC back into the trans housing, and have to get the case up to the block then nice and even all around. You have to do this very carefully. It is the step that is most trouble-prone, where people can really screw it up.

Another problem people have, is they either don't seat the TC properly into the oil pump, or they do, but in moving the trans up into position, the TC slides forward some, out of position. But they don't know this has happened. BAD! A good trick to prevent this dislocation, is after the TC is properly seated, select a box-end wrench, and use a bolt, flat washer and nut to bolt one end of the wrench into a trans case hole on one side, on a side that you can easily reach. The other end of the box-end wrench offsets to the inside of the trans case and presses against the front of the TC. So while you muscle the trans onto a jack and tilt it and drag it around, etc., the wrench keeps the TC seated. Right as you get the trans case flange parallel to the block, you take the wrench off.

After the TC is seated into the pilot, the TC lines up with the flexplate holes, and the case is then all bolted up, the crank has to be turned to reach each TC to flexplate bolt. If there is any binding, STOP! Something is wrong and needs to be solved. Same thing with bolting the trans case to the engine, if there is a space between them, and the trans doesn't want to go forward to close the space, STOP! Do not try to "pull it in with the bolts", that's big mistake #2. Back it all off and verify that the TC is seated, lined up with the flex-plate holes, etc.

I've pulled, rebuilt and re-installed big-block C6, but not an E4OD. But they will be similar, heavy!

 

Hey guys, i had to delay the work on the truck since i don't have it parked in an even surface and am lacking the engine's rear main seal (since i'll be already there and it's leaking, i should replace it, right?), so i have 2 important questions:

1.- Will i be able to put the truck in neutral to move it around? (the tranny and TC have been drained already) I suspect i will, but would like to be sure.

2.- The correct Motorcraft part number of the rear main seal on my truck's 302/E4OD combo is 6424?. I did a search on their site but it says M/T somewhere, that has me concerned...

 

Hmmm... Anyone?.

 

Take it out of Park and push it to where you need it. The film of ATF remaining on bearings and bushings will be OK for that, if you're just pushing it around a parking lot. If you need to tow it somewhere else with the rear wheels in contact with the ground, then I would put ATF back into it and run it for a bit and shift through all positions before towing.

But I assume you just want to roll it to somewhere real close by.

I looked up on fordparts.com, all they give there is the generic base number, 6701, which is probably the generic base for rear main seals. Their system must put together the complete part number for the order process, but we can't see that from this side.


Part Name: Engine Crankshaft Seal
Part Number: 6701
Part Description: 5.0L; One piece-dual lip (Rear)

 

Encho, are you using Mercon V in your E4OD?

 

I was using Mercon V, yes, since the rebuild, so all the fluid was new (it has 33k miles now) and was Mercon V.

 

Take pics for us please! I don't have anything helpful to add that hasn't been said already. I would prolly drain all the fluid out first, from both the pan and the TC to help with weight. I know its expensive tho.