new to forum, trans pan leaking bad

[97pstroker]

hey guys im new to the forum, i have a 97 f350 reg cab auto 4x4 with 160k. i bought a dorman replacement trans pan and gasket after my original pan started to leak a bit. i had a shop install the new pan and gasket and within a week it started to leak. and being so busy i just kept my eye on the fluid level and ignored it. ,but now its leaking real bad from around the gasket all around the pan? all bolts are tight as i can get them and fluid is right on level. any suggestions on how to make it stop leaking for good its getting really annoying it leaked out about 2quarts from 8pm last night till this morning.

Any help would be awesome thanks guys

 

[littleredstroker]

That's a lot of fluid. Are you sure its your pan and not something else.? Tranny cooler lines could be leaking or your dipstick tube, wich would run down on the pan and look like the pan is leaking

 

[97pstroker]

positive leaking from the end closest to the transfer case right at the edge of the pan where the bolts are and gasket. i think im gonna just buy a new rubber gasket and a good BD diesel trans pan. dident wanna spend the 300-350 but if it solves the problem them im ok with it. should i use some gasket make as well? last time i only had the rubber gasket thats it?

 

[onebad7.3]

positive leaking from the end closest to the transfer case right at the edge of the pan where the bolts are and gasket. i think im gonna just buy a new rubber gasket and a good BD diesel trans pan. dident wanna spend the 300-350 but if it solves the problem them im ok with it. should i use some gasket make as well? last time i only had the rubber gasket thats it?

Rubber gasket should be all you need.

 

[97pstroker]

ill start there, its only a few months old but maybe the shop set it wrong. btw only when i park my truck down hill this happens but it will start to leak a little around the trans filler where it enters the pan at the passenger side front. do you guys know where i can get that replacement part? it looks rubber but its a hard material where the tube meets the pan?

 

[chromehound]

What happened to the factory gasket? I've rarely gotten any other gasket to fit as well and not leak as the factory style one. Have you tried pulling the pan bolts one at at time and re-installing them to make sure they aren't cross threaded or stripped? My '96 had several that would bite and hold the pan on but you couldn't torque them because the threads were shot and it leaked a little.


For parts try searching on RockAuto - I've had great luck getting good quality stuff from them.

 

[97pstroker]

stock gasket got replaced bye the shop and i tried rock auto for that tube no luck.

 

[chromehound]

If it were my truck I'd pull the pan and see how the gasket is installed (tears, straight, flat, etc) and even see about getting an OEM one and the seal for the tube from Ford if all else fails.

If you want to go to Advance Auto (if theres one nearby) and ask them about this it might work
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/we...lp_89025023-P_N3412_T|GRP2083_____#fragment-1

The best non OEM gaskets I've gotten to seal are Pro-King. I've tried others on several years and even other transmission mfgs but the Pro-Kings worked the best IMO.
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/we...Kit-Pro-King_5152577-P_1158_R|GRPFILTAMS_____

 

[91turbogsx]

I bet it's not the gasket...check the output shaft housing gasket.

:edit I also recommend using the OEM gasket for the pan.

 

[littleredstroker]

I don't know for sure but could you rtv the pan?

 

[zilla68]

racerx has a 4r100 pan and factory gasket/filter set for a great price, and the 4r100 pan gives you the drain plug the e40d doesn't have.

 

[97pstroker]

Where's the output shaft housing gasket?

 

[91turbogsx]

The transfer case bolts to it. I've had my gasket blow out somehow and did all the things you have done with new pan gaskets, new pan, etc. If it's leaking heavily from the rear I'd strongly consider looking there. But I would throw an OEM pan gasket back in there too. Far superior to all the other ones I have saw.

 

[97pstroker]

I thinks it's all dry up there but I'm gonna check again and I'm also just gonna but eather the bd diesel big pan . Only bad thing is its almost 400 bucks

 

[91turbogsx]

They will leak right at the bottom at the edge of the pan. To give the illusion the rear of the pan is leaking. It's just something to look into.

 

[97pstroker]

is there a way to tell if its the output shaft seal leaking oppose to the pan gasket, without just replacing the output shaft seal?

i really appreciate the help guys thanks

 

[91turbogsx]

Not very easily. I just did the process of elimination when I did mine. I bought a new OEM gasket and pan. Found out that did not fix the problem but was able to pinpoint it was coming from the rear. Once I took the output shaft housing off I noticed I had about an inch of gasket missing somehow that blew out on the bottom.

And it isn't the output shaft "seal." It's the gasket for the whole housing that I replaced. Just to correct you so people don't get confused if you try to order parts. I would recommend swapping to an OEM pan gasket first as that is the easiest to do.

 

[97pstroker]

i was thinking about buying the bd diesel deep pan and an oem ford gasket? whats your opinion on that?

 

[Pstroke96]

they might have just crushed the gasket. they are not supposed to be super tight the torque is something like 20 ft/lbs if the bolts are super tight and its leaking i would bet you tore the gasket

 

[91turbogsx]

they might have just crushed the gasket. they are not supposed to be super tight the torque is something like 20 ft/lbs if the bolts are super tight and its leaking i would bet you tore the gasket

This is true. I suppose I was giving the shop who did his work credit that they torqued them to spec. If they used a cheap gasket like I have saw before it is very possible to crush it. If they used the OEM gasket they would strip the threads before crushing the gasket.