trans leak

[altbob]

hello all, looking for help with a leak. my 94 ranger with automatic trans has a bad leak. I power washed it to find it. on the passenger side right above the pan on the side of the trans on the front part of it are two round things with caps on them held in by circlips I think. they are about 1.5 inches in diameter and in front of the vacuum diaphragm. they look sorta like freeze plugs. one of them has popped out of its seated position and is still stuck in about halfway. thus causing a bad leak. I think I can get it out. the truck drives fine as long as i top it up with fluid. it leaks like heck when it starts up for about 10 minutes then it stops leaking after it's warmed up and topped up. what causes this? maybe just a bad circlip? or is this an indication of something worse? this does not appear to be a moving part or a wear item. any ideas? should I just pull it and replace it?

 

[khooper]

Sometimes the oil drain holes in the cylinder head can clog from lack of oil changes. You need to remove the valve cover and see if oil pours out from under it. If so, there are drain holes in the front and rear of cylinder head that can be opened up with a coat hanger. Then wash it all down with a couple cans of carburetor cleaner.

Then change the oil and re-install the valve cover. The other side may be clogged as well. Just a thought here, if you remove the oil fill cap and look in the hole you should not see oil in a puddle. This would be a quick way to check if that is the problem.
__________________
Autopartswarehouse

 

[gotmudd]

Sometimes the oil drain holes in the cylinder head can clog from lack of oil changes. You need to remove the valve cover and see if oil pours out from under it. If so, there are drain holes in the front and rear of cylinder head that can be opened up with a coat hanger. Then wash it all down with a couple cans of carburetor cleaner.

Then change the oil and re-install the valve cover. The other side may be clogged as well. Just a thought here, if you remove the oil fill cap and look in the hole you should not see oil in a puddle. This would be a quick way to check if that is the problem.
__________________
Autopartswarehouse

dude,he's working on a transmission, not a motoras to your problem bob ,not sure but i think it might be a pressure valve, i would check a tranny shop to be sure

 

[cocoasranger]

Those are the covers for the servo pistons. One is for 1-2 shift and the other is for 3-4 shift. You are looking at the end cover held in by a circlip. If you remove the clip you can remove the end cap and slide out the piston from it's bore. You might get lucky and be able to replace the neoprene o-ring in the outer cap yourself without pulling the trans or going to a shop. That would be a sweet and easy fix. I have a spare A4LD trans I could steal the caps off if yours is damaged and you need the part. Good luck.

 

[#1 U.S.A.]

Coco is right you have to remove your exhaust and reseal those piston covers. make sure to put them back correctly and replace the servos too.

 

[altbob]

thanks fellas, I will try today to get it out again. but I think that cat. converter is gonna completely fall apart when I do. I was able to get the circlip back into the bore, but not in the groove that keeps it there. I can't seem to force that cap back in all the way. I wish I had a miniature bottle jack that I could put sideways in between the frame and the cap and use it to press it in, just not enough room. can't even hit it with a ball pein hammer, no swing room. oh, well if I end up dropping the trans. to fix it, I might as well have the trans shop give it the once over to make sure its o.k. thanks

 

[cocoasranger]

You might want to try tapping the side of the protruding cylinder which the cap and circlip fit into. Repeated sharp taps may walk the cap right out when other more extreme methods fail. Be sure to soak the cap area with kroil or pb blaster (not wd-40) a couple times before trying this. On my 89 Ranger there is a ton of room and the cat does not need to be removed. If the cat is like mine it has flanges on both ends and is easy to remove. Those cats are stronger than they look; it should come off ok. GOOD LUCK.

 

[altbob]

thanks for the tips. I tried like heck and just could not get it. I topped it up and drove to my local trans shop. two hours later they called me back and said come get it, it's fixed. 83.00 bucks. no more leaks, running good. I could not get it out cause the circlip or snapring broke in half. half sticking out, half sticking in behind the cap, this is why I could not seat it all the way down. I thought it was still in the groove, but could not see it. oh well, live and learn I guess. at least the old bunghole ain't so puckered up anymore worrying about having to rebuild the trans. they were able to remove both pieces and put in a new one, along with a new seal and cap. makes a big difference when you got a lift and can see things better. thanks again.

 

[offroadwannabe]

Question

The same thing happened to my tranny the other day, except it cracked the housing that the cap screws into, any idea if this problem could be fixed or if the whole tranny needs to be replaced.

Thanks for any help

 

[altbob]

you might be able to clean it with some strong solvent, then pack some jb weld into the crack. it might or might not work for you. depending on how much pressure is behind it. I used it on an aerostar oil pan leak that was about 1/4 inch in diameter a year ago and it is still holding today, it has lots of heat and oil on it regularly and does not leak. make sure you don't force it in to far, and wipe the area with rubbing alcohol after you clean it with solvent, make sure it's dry before applying the jb weld.