My dad was driving the truck a few weeks ago and he noticed the transmission fluid leaking out as he was driving. He went to Autozone, bought some fluid, and said that it was pouring out as fast as he could fill it up.

I just got time to check things out and the only place I see where the fluid could be coming from is the front of the transmission where it attaches to the engine. I bought a 4 quart bottle of trans fluid and poured it in. Nothing was leaking that I could tell - it definitely wasn't pouring out. But no fluid shows on the stick. You have to rev the truck when you put it into gear before it will finally catch and move. Sometimes it won't move until you let off the gas. Is this from the low fluid level?

My dad said he thought maybe the transmission filter was plugged, but would this cause these kinds of problems. I bought a new filter and gasket and figured I would start there. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Rebecca

 

How could your dad notice the trans fluid leaking out "as he was driving" a few weeks ago? There is no way as far as I can tell that that can be. My advice, based on what you explained in your post, is to not let your dad touch your truck let alone drive it. I also recommend your taking the truck to a professional tech, someone who is a trusted or highly recommended tech not some flyby operation.

As well, his claiming it was pouring out as fast as he poured it in? Never heard of or experienced such a thing from an auto trans that has been takin care of properly, Ford or not. Unclear based on your post as to what happened to cause fluid to "supposedly" pour out.

Hopefully you put in 4 quarts of the proper type/make of fluid. You should be aware that Ford tran's take Mercon fluid, so you should check in your Ranger's manual or with your local Ford parts/service for the "recommended" type per your trans.

What year is your Ranger? Do you know the model of trans in it? You should never rev up the engine if the trans doesn't engage at idle. If it doesn't, don't drive it! Slamming it into gear by revving it up will make matters worse if not cause the original damage to begin with. Trans fluid should be checked w/trans warmed after driving 20 miles or so, after which put the truck in Park w/engine running @ idle - then check fluid level staying well clear of all moving parts in the engine compartment.

 

yeah, lets start with a year, motor and tranny combo and go from there!

 

Fill the trans until it shows to be in the hatch marks on the dip stick while idling in park. Don't operate truck while low on fluid it will cause damage. I have seen several Ford Trannys that leak like a sieve when they got hot and then not leak a drop when cool. It usually occurs when idling for extended periods of time during hot weather. The cats are very close to the bell housing and I believe there added heat aggravates this condition. They make upgraded front seals for these trannys that will cure this problem.

 

Sorry! The truck is a 1991 with a 3.0L and automatic transmission.

 

The A4LD is noted for puking fluid out the input seal if it gets really hot (especially if the front bearing seat has not been line bored).

They will hold fluid back when cooled, beware the fasted way to destroy the tranny is operating with low fluid.

 

Could it be a leaking gasket around the filler neck?

 

Quite likely.........But I would say the damage here is already done, might be time to consider a rebuilt A4LD or cutting your losses at this point.

 

Well lets think about this some more.

If the fluid isn't even showing on the dipstick after adding 4 qts, the tranny fluid IS low & that sure will mess with shifting.

Seeing as how a tranny doesn't consume fluid while doing it's thing, that fluid had to flow out somewhere!!!!

Seeing as how If you've not reported having a tranny fluid leak, or shfting problems before this event & your not observing an obvious fluid leak now & this is a vintage ride, maybe the cat converter heat shield rusted out & dropped off while Dad was driving it in hot weather & the tranny got hot, the fluid got hotter & expanded & flowed out the tranny vent.
After cooling down it would be difficult to find the cause of the fluid loss.

SO, right now that leaves us looking at a tranny thats low on fluid & isn't shifting right because the fluid level is so low the pump can't get a steady supply of fluid.

I'd maybe try adding some more low cost multipurpose fluid, (that says it meets Fords old Mercon specification) maybe WalMart Super Tech brand, until it begins to touch the bottom of the dipstick cross hatch, then see if it'll shift ok, if so, drive it around some until the engine warms up & see if the tranny leaks any.

If it leaks, take it to a good tranny shop for a diagnosis on a repair as has been suggested.

If it's not leaking & since you have a new tranny filter & gasket & maybe the tranny over heated the fluid, maybe go ahead & do a pan drop & filter change, then refill the pan with a good quality multipurpose tranny fluid that says it meets or exceeds Fords old Mercon specification, then remove the tranny fluid return line at the tranny cooler & continue on with a full system fluid pump out, so you get all of the old fluid out of the valve body, torque converter, cooler & lines.

There is a "how too" at the bottom of this forums Tech Info page that would be helpful if your of a mind to do this at home.

If you don't want to do this at home, then take it to a trusted shop & have them do the pan drop, filter change & tranny fluid pump out.

EDIT: If the tranny cat converter heat shield is damaged, or missing, put it right before driving, or your probably gonna have more problems.

A bunch more thoughts for consideration. Let us know how it goes.

 

I had a similar problem on my 93, 3.0 and it turned out to be the trans pump seal.

 

I finally got a chance to look at the truck last week. I got it up to operating temp to check the trans fluid level and there was coolant spraying out of one of the heater hoses. I bought new heater hoses and put them on today.

Do you think that this could have caused the trans to overheat? I think there are trans cooler lins running through the radiator, right? If the coolant was low, it would affect the trans cooling. The thing is there was coolant in the radiator at the time the trans leaked, but the overflow bottle was empty.

The trans seems to be working fine now. I haven't driven it yet, but you can feel it engage when it's put into gear. There are no leaks that I can see. Should I still be looking for a trans problem?

Thanks,
Rebecca

 

Make sure you Tranny fluid is up to the full/hashed mark before driving. Check colour and smell fluid, is it burnt Brown? If yes get it changed.

 

Good to hear you got your heater hose leak fixed.

Yes the tanny has it's hot output fluid line running through the cold side of the radiators coolant tank & some also have an auxilliary tranny cooler in front of the A/C condenser, for extra cooling.

Do you suppose it was leaking like this while your dad was driving it & the engine overheated????

If so, that too could have caused the tranny fluid to overheat, expand & come out the tranny vent & be difficult to detect a leak location later, as it would stop when the tranny cooled down.

So bring the tranny fluid level up so it touches the tranny dipstick mark & drive the vehicle to see if it's shifting ok.

If so & seeing as how you suspect the tranny fluid has possibly overheated, drop the pan to clean it & the pan magnet, inspect for untoward debris that might give a clue if internal damgae has occured, replace the tranny filter, replace & refill the pan with new fluid & disconnect the tranny return line at the cooler, to continue on with a full tranny fluid pump out, as outlined at the bottom of the "Tech Info" thread.

Let us know how it goes.

 

I know it's been a long time, but I just wanted to give an update.

After changing out both heater hoses and refilling the trans with fluid, everything seems to be working fine.

I'm still keeping an eye on it, but it seems like the leaking hose was the problem!

Thanks for all your help.

 

Do you know when the transmission fluid and filter were last changed? It still may be worth your while to do the full fluid pump out and put a new filter in.