Is it done for?

[79Camaro]

Truck is a 94 B3000 automatic.

I was driving home today on the highway, doing about 60mph. I hit a bump that spanned the whole road and not avoidable. As soon has I hit it I looked in my rearview mirror and see smoke everywhere. I pulled over and went under the truck and see ATF dripping quite a bit. It was falling on the exhaust pipe(causing smoke). I only had at the most a mile till home so I sat for a moment and drove it home. I didn't feel any problem in the shifting during that drive. It now sits in my driveway with a puddle of fluid under it. After going back under, and getting a better look, it seems to be coming from where the trans/engine meet. What is wrong? To say the least I am pissed

 

[koda6966]

Depending on whats broke it might be okay, it's hard to tell.

I ran mine BONE try once. For months. Dead serious. Just hesitated at stops.

Don't get your hopes up though, I think I had god on my side on that one.

 

[koda6966]

Best thing to do is fix what's wrong with it and DON'T drive it in the meantime. If it looks like it's going to screw you over if you fix it, replace the tranny. A4LD tranny's are a dime a dozen.

 

[79Camaro]

Thanks for the reply!

Is there any way to figure out what it is that broke(seals or what not), before I go ahead and pull the tranny? As of now the only thing I know is that its leaking.

 

[Heavyfire14]

pictures would help. it could be just the seal

 

[koda6966]

If you hit the bump hard, it might be a line that got pinched. Follow the lines back from the radiator, and check the pan for leaks as well. You might have bumped it and caused a hole or tear.

 

[koda6966]

Also, how far has it been driven since the incident?

 

[modelageek]

Thanks for the reply!

Is there any way to figure out what it is that broke(seals or what not), before I go ahead and pull the tranny? As of now the only thing I know is that its leaking.

I hate being the "master of the Obvious" but you need to check the ATF fluid level and then crawl under the truck and LOOK AND SEE IF YOU CAN SPOT WHERE ALL THE ATF IS COMING FROM. it could be a line going to the radiator or a hole in the pan........however you will not know until you crawl under there and LOOK........

 

[modelageek]

To answer your original question. If you figure out that the leak is coming from the bell housing then I would assume you blew out the tranny seal or the torque converter

 

[79Camaro]

The bump wasn't even that bad, not even noticeable in other cars, its just the truck needs new shocks. After it happened I drove it a little less then a mile home. I just went back under and the cooling lines are good, aswell as the pan. I am pretty sure it is coming from the bell housing. I checked the fluid level and it was still full, but that was with the truck off and cold, so...not accurate.

Heres a photo of where I think its coming out of between the two. (Oil pan on the right, Bell housing on the left)

 

[modelageek]

Are you sure it is ATF?

Is it coming out from the top of at all?


We can only help so much online you need to start it up and find out exactly where it is leaking from. Maybe if you had someone start it while you looked?

 

[modelageek]

I did a little research for you. It appears the failure of the front seal on your tranny are common. I read something about the TC bushing possibly going bad and causing the issue. If you end up dropping the tranny I would consider replacing the rear main seal on the engine.

 

[79Camaro]

Thanks for the help!

I just started her up and let it idle until it was up to temperature. I saw no leaks at all. So I took it around the block and noticed a strange sound and then the tranny began slipping, but then it went away and didnt do it again. Although I could only take it to 15mph on these streets. Parked it back in the driveway, ran it though all the gears, put in in neutral, and when I checked the fluid level, but it didnt even register on the dip stick. I guess its not leaking because it has nothing to leak.

I have never done any transmission work, other then putting a torque converter in my camaro SBC 350/Th400 setup, if you even want to count that haha. Can the seal be replaced or do you think my best bet is to find a used tranny and swap it? as well as replace the rear main seal as you mentioned.

 

[79Camaro]

*Update*

I don't know whats going on. Today I poured a bottle of tranny fluid in and it brought the level to full. I took it for a test drive on back streets and even on the highway and it seems to be acting/shifting better then it ever has. Before this problem the truck would jerk under hard acceleration at 35mph from a stop. Now its barley noticable and the truck seems alot faster then before. The part that really gets me is that I see NO leaks anywhere, how does it go from a good sized leak to nothing? The only thing I can think of is the temperature outside when this happened was about 100 degrees and now its in the low 80's. Could this cause the malfunction

 

[modelageek]

*Update*

I don't know whats going on. Today I poured a bottle of tranny fluid in and it brought the level to full. I took it for a test drive on back streets and even on the highway and it seems to be acting/shifting better then it ever has. Before this problem the truck would jerk under hard acceleration at 35mph from a stop. Now its barley noticable and the truck seems alot faster then before. The part that really gets me is that I see NO leaks anywhere, how does it go from a good sized leak to nothing? The only thing I can think of is the temperature outside when this happened was about 100 degrees and now its in the low 80's. Could this cause the malfunction

that can happen.........if I was you I would drop the pan and change the filter....then pump out the remaining fluid so you have all new atf in there. the new fluid might bring some life back to the seals,,,,,,,,,,IMHO