Hello, recenlty bought a 2000 Jeep Wrangler Sahara Sport (auto), but it has a leak which at first I though was a rear main seal leak, but at closer inspetion it seems to be a tranmission fluid leak. It seems to have another mild leak where you would expect between the transmission and transfer case, which there are plenty of youtube videos on, but this other leak seems to be right at the rear main seal which has me confused because I'd expect there to be oil there, and not ATF. This leak is much more serious than anywhere else on the car. I get a small but noticeable puddle of ATF underneath it when I turn on the car. I am not home for the holidays yet (I am a college student and I bought this jeep back home and had my parnets look at it for me) so I can't really diagnose it myself just yet, so I was curious if anyone else had seen this. Im thinking: if the tranmissio output seal is common, maybe this is the transmission input seal that has gone bad, but I don't know if that is even a real seal and I haven't seen anyone else with the same problem. Thanks, I'll try to get better pictures of the actual puddle it leaves because these are jsut from when I first noticed the leak. (lets call the pudlle at least 10 drops though)
Unusual Transmission Fluid Leak
- Thread starter alejad
- Start date
Yup, this is likely the front pump seal, which seals the torque converter input hub. Its also possible its the pump seal itself, but this is usually just a front pump seal. @hear will chime in eventually, and he knows all too well about this seal. Anytime I pull a transmission out, I always replace the front pump seal and the output seal, even if I don't touch anything else.
Edited to make this more clear: the front pump seal, which I would imagine is your issue, is a press in seal that seals the torque converter hub to the pump. The pump itself is also sealed to the case in the bellhousing, and it can also leak, but in my experience anyway, this isn't usually the issue.
Edited to make this more clear: the front pump seal, which I would imagine is your issue, is a press in seal that seals the torque converter hub to the pump. The pump itself is also sealed to the case in the bellhousing, and it can also leak, but in my experience anyway, this isn't usually the issue.
Awesome, thank you! The previous owner mentions they think they might have topped up the transmission fluid just a little bit too much when prepping the car for me, so thats likley what popped the seal. I am going to ask my parents to not drive it until they can check the dipstick and see how much transmission fluid there is in there. Seems as though I'll have to by a transmission jack and drop the tranny in order to get at the seal. While I am at it I might as well replace the transmission output seal, transfer case input seal, and the transmission oil pan gasket and filter. If anyone thinks it is anything else or has any good advice I will happily listen of course! Thanks!
if you don't have a leak at the tcase/transmission, and you are not going to split them when you remove them, then i would not replace that seal. If you are going to split the transmission and tcase, then i would do the transmission output shaft seal. You really don't need to do the tcase input shaft seal unless its leaking as it won't be disturbed by splitting the tcase/trans. Definitely do the filter and gasket while you are there. Also, *IF* you have the right tools, you should do the band adjustments as well. You need a proper inch lb torque wrench, and you need to pay attention to what you are doing when tightening things up so as not to lose the adjustment.
Also, the transmission fluid level has to be checked in neutral, not park. This is very important as it will read higher in park than in neautral.
Edited again to add: check around the transmission linkage when you have it out to see if there are any leaks here. This is another common place for leaks and it's alot easier to deal with when the trans is on the floor than in the vehicle.
Last Edit: Since you say you have a Sport, you should have the 4.0l and the 3 speed 32rh auto transmission.
Also, the transmission fluid level has to be checked in neutral, not park. This is very important as it will read higher in park than in neautral.
Edited again to add: check around the transmission linkage when you have it out to see if there are any leaks here. This is another common place for leaks and it's alot easier to deal with when the trans is on the floor than in the vehicle.
Last Edit: Since you say you have a Sport, you should have the 4.0l and the 3 speed 32rh auto transmission.
Awesome that is super helpful, and I would have totally missed that. I do think I have a leak at the tcase/transmission interface but it is much less that at the transmission input. I should have the tools necesarry for the band adjustment, but if not I will make sure to get them! Thank you so much!
The best bet is to dry it off and keep an eye on it. There are a handful of places it can be leaking from inside the bellhousing: pump seal, the pump o-ring, the kickdown lever pivot rod.....and the breather vent. You said the PO may have overfilled it a little, which was honestly my first thought when I saw how little had been leaking. It's always super likely I'm wrong, but the test is to see if it keeps leaking. If it's the pump seal you'll just continue to have the drip forever (or until it runs too low). If it's the transmission burping through the vent because it is overfilled, it will stop eventually, or maybe even already has. But there will be some residual fluid that may make its way down over the next few days. It should be less and less...presuming it doesn't have to burp any further.
But yeah, it's either that or the pump seal.
If it's the pump seal, you have to drop the entire transmission, and sometimes you have to take the pump out to get the seal out (ask me how I know). And if you have to do that, you're well on your way to the whole rebuild. And then you can think about re-locating the vent, too.
But yeah, it's either that or the pump seal.
If it's the pump seal, you have to drop the entire transmission, and sometimes you have to take the pump out to get the seal out (ask me how I know). And if you have to do that, you're well on your way to the whole rebuild. And then you can think about re-locating the vent, too.
Hey, so I was finnaly able to get my mother to check on it again. I still have about a month left before I can go see it myself. she turned it on and far less tranmission fluid came out this time, so I think it is that it is bleeding out of the breather vent. I also had her check the transmission fluid level in nuetral with the engine warm, and it was very very overfilled as you can see in the pictures. the red line marks where the fluid level was when she removed the dip stick. Should I ask her to get it flushed and refilled at the proper level before she drives it to avoide issues? I'd rather not cause further damage. Thanks!
I have taken fluid through the fill tube with a vacuum tank. The tranny really likes the proper level! Mine will behave badly when either low or high. It will cause issues apparently if run for a long period out of range by causing air to mix with the ATF.
If it's low it will usually be slow on the shifts because it takes longer to build up the necessary pressure. I've maybe never run mine high enough for it to cause a problem, other than to puke. How high did you have it and how did it behave?
Yeah, that's pretty overfilled. looks like about 1/2 pint or so i'd guess. I wouldn't worry about flushing it, but I'd want it reduced to the proper level. There are a few ways to do that, none I'd ask my mom to do tho lol.
If you have some kind of fluid pump, like they often use to change oil in boat motors with a long small tube, it could be pumped out that way
You could disconnect one of the fluid lines at the radiator and put a pan under there and start the motor, tho i guarantee that will be messy lol.
Of course you could drop the pan and do a transmission service. If it hasn't been done as far as you know, this is the way I would go. Just bring it to a reputable mechanic, I wouldn't trust Jiffy lube and the like to do it. Or just wait till you can do it yourself unless your mother needs the jeep to drive.
Edited to add: I think this was mentioned above, but these transmissions seem to want to be filled right to the max w/o going over. Mine was a little underfilled after I did my engine/trans swap, and the shifts seemed a bit sluggish/slow. Once I topped it off it was great.
If you have some kind of fluid pump, like they often use to change oil in boat motors with a long small tube, it could be pumped out that way
You could disconnect one of the fluid lines at the radiator and put a pan under there and start the motor, tho i guarantee that will be messy lol.
Of course you could drop the pan and do a transmission service. If it hasn't been done as far as you know, this is the way I would go. Just bring it to a reputable mechanic, I wouldn't trust Jiffy lube and the like to do it. Or just wait till you can do it yourself unless your mother needs the jeep to drive.
Edited to add: I think this was mentioned above, but these transmissions seem to want to be filled right to the max w/o going over. Mine was a little underfilled after I did my engine/trans swap, and the shifts seemed a bit sluggish/slow. Once I topped it off it was great.
Excuse my ignorance on the Chrysler Jeep automatics but isn't that an after market pan with a drain plug?
Update: The transmission was leaking from both the output shaft/transfercase input shaft, and the bell housing. I went ahead and replace all input and output seals, and the transmission pump seal/gasket. That resolved the issue entierly!
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