1990 Ranger, bought used at city water district auction, 23,200 miles. automatic trans on 2.9L engine.

had to make a cross town run a few days back, and within a mile of the exit to return home, i noticed a slight haze of blue smoke behind me in the rearview(thought it was just smog, thats how slight it was). noticed it again, but thicker, after making a turn, but it went away by the time i pulled in my driveway. several hours later i went out and noticed a small wet spot underneath. got down to look and it looks like a film of some sort of oil on everything from the tranny back. and some had dripped on the exaust (explaining the smoke).

i wanted some input before i take it to a mechanic. to me, it seems like maybe the gasket between the block and the trans (since there is no nothing on the engine block, and the tranny is covered.). also, i checked all the fluid levels, all seem okay, except that the tranny fluid is a bit runnier then i remember.

i didnt notice any change in driveability at all, no sign that anything might be wrong (though a small leak would take a while to completley drain to the point of damage anyway)

has anyone else ever had this situation in any vheicle (i'm sure the cause would be the same reguardless of make/model)? or does anyone know of any thing i should check for loseness/detached hose/etc... i have a feeling that replacing that gasket is an engine pull... not looking forward to that bill.

 

Is it engine oil, ATF, or other? Is the tranny over filled? BTW, there is no gasket between the engine and the tranny (no need since it's not a sealing surface). I'd say the next step is to find the leak source. You may have to hose it all off, with cleaner, then go for a drive. Stop now and then or come home and check for the leak source. You can also park on newspaper after you get it all cleaned up; sometimes this helps to find leaks.

 

Check the transmission cooler lines.

 

just got back from the store with a gallon of industrial purple (degreaser), was about to hose it all down b4 i checked the forum. buncha mind readers 's what yall are! hehe

thanks for that info CowboyBilly, i thought there was a gasket there.. i would have sounded like an open bank account walking into a mechanic talking about a transmission gasket! (how does on open bank account sound? eh, whatever)

the cooler lines was gonna be my next stop on the inspection, but i gotta clear out a large enough level aera so i can jackstand it safely. dont know when i'll have time. the Rangers not really a daily driver, so sitting a few days while i get around to it wont hurt too bad. i'll get back to the forums with the results of a more detailed inspection...

(btw: the tranny may have been overfilled, come to think of it. when i bought it, and checked the fluids, the tranny juice went a bit farther up on the dip stick then i thought it should have. in hindsight i probably should have had the fluid and filter changed, but they said that all that had been done 2000 miles ago.)

 

An overfilled A/T can be a messy thing. The extra pressure can blow a pan gasket, or seal. I am no A/T expert, but is there a front seal on the shaft that goes into the tq converter? Since you said the fluid was all over the trans and back, I am trying to think of leak sources from the converter back. I have never had this happen to me, but I have heard guys say they blew a tq converter.

 

Keep us posted. BTW, I threw in the "check the tranny fluid/overfill" since many trannys need to be checked with the tranny warm. In such cases, checking and filling when cold can result in an overfilled condition; some vehicles will blow the excess out the dipstick tube. Maybe before doing anything else, pull the dipstick and see if it says "check with warm engine" or the like. If not, determine if it needs to be warm. Then proceed to check the fluid. Perhaps you have no real problem at all, other than an oily mess to clean off. If overfilled, do make sure you remove the excess fluid as this can cause slipping and shorten tranny life.

BTW, and on a side note, with the 2.9L engine, make sure you never, ever overheat it. They are prone to cracking heads if overheated.

 

cooler lines check out okay. i need to go get an engine cleaner gun so i can more throughly degrease the parts of the tranny from the top (between the firewall/floor hump and tranny).

after the cleaning its still dripping, even though very slowly (2-3 drips an hour, maybe more), so i think the dipstick leak can be ruled out.

tell me more about this torque converter symptom though... cause it still seems to me that the leak is coming from between the engine block and the tranny. would a "blown" torque converter cause any change in driving? (i'm assuming it would)

oh, i have done a comparisen and the leak is definatly ATF, (compaired the drip on a sheet of white poster board to all the fluids i could get a sample of.)

i dont know a thing about trannys, but is there a pump inside that pumps while the engine is running, or does it only circulate while driving? because my next plan of action before giving up and taking it to a mechanic is to clean it all really really good and run the engine to see if i could see the leak coiming out anywhere. is this a waste of time?

i'm hoping that this turns out to be something simple, or if i cant fix it my self, that its something a mechanic can do for not much $$... got the truck for a steel, hate to turn around and put more money into one part of it then i paid for the whole thing ($1500)! but such is life i guess.

more details when i have them.

 

Check the torque on the transmission pan bolts. Sometimes they will loosen up and leak around the pan. Don't tighten them too much or you can snap a bolt or warp the pan. About 15 ft/lbs max unless it is an A4LD then only go to 10 ft/lbs. Start in the middle of the pan and alternate back and forth to each end. If they just changed the filter, my guess would be the pan gasket. That is the easy fix. Otherwise, you are probably looking at replacing a front seal, which means removing the transmission. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

its not the pan, nice and clean and dry all around that. i've already talked to a buddie that just so happens to know that that type of leak is from the front seal, and knows how to take everything apart. he just did it a month ago on his explorer. done it atleast 6 times in the past on his other vehicles. said he'll help me drop the tranny and stuff. i'm gonna go ahead and change the rear seal and the fluid/filter/pan gasket while i got it out.

mystery solved eh? i'll get back to the forum with the results of the seal change. might not be till this next weekend though.

 

Make sure you drain the torque converter and dump a quart of fresh ATF in it before installing it. Also a good idea to flush the coolant lines. You can get a can of flush for a few bucks that will get all the gunk out.

 

Good luck with the repair, make sure you let us know how it goes. And tell your buddy to keep in mind the following, just as an FYI: