Transmission Pan Leak?

[mavrikjc]

I've tried to do my due diligence and read through as many threads as I could regarding transmission fluid leaks and "think" I know what's up but wanted some input.

After dropping $500 at Jiffy Lube to have the Front/Rear Dif/T-Case/Oil/Transmission fluids all changed (yes I know I should have gone to dealer but I had to speed up my move from Washington, D.C. area to Dallas up by a week since the folks that bought my home wanted to close early and no dealer could get me in) and after driving from DC to Dallas, I started noticing a fluid leak under my 2009 H3T Alpha (just broke 70K miles). I've (surprisingly?) never had a drop of fluid underneath my truck before that and I park on fresh concrete so it would show up pretty clearly if I did. I'll note that after I noticed this leak I have checked my Engine Oil & Transmission Fluid levels in exact accordance with owners manual and I'm in the correct range but slightly lower on Transmission Fluid so I'm "thinking" it's that.

After I noticed this issue, I pulled off the mid skid plate (see below photo) and noticed pretty bad pooling of fluid in the bottom right corner (passenger's side). Also, my front drive shaft was throwing fluid up all over the place so whatever was leaking was directly dripping there.

I wiped down the entire underside - specifically all components that had been sprayed with fluid and left the skids plates off.

I ran the vehicle in park with the nose lower than the tail for 30 minutes - no fluid appeared. Repeated the process for 30 more minutes with the nose higher than the tail (my driveway slopes down from the garage so I just turned her around) - no fluid appeared.

Left the skids off (to not collect fluid) and drove it for about 15 min and I'm seeing fluid collect on the bolts at the front-passenger corner of the transmission pan.

After reading other threads mentioning transmission pans, I checked the bolts that weren't blocked by my drive shaft and they were all WAY looser than the 12 ft lbs mentioned as proper torque. Before I drop the drive shaft to get at 'em (as I believe you are supposed to tighten them all in an alternating sequence and can't get to them w/the drive shaft attached), is this common? Anyone else have this issue? Want to make sure my rear main seal isn't at fault (though when i feel up there along the side that's leaking I see no visible drips just spray from the shaft).

Thanks in advance for any input.
Any thoughts? Loose transmission pan bolts common?

 

[woodwardsh3]

what color is the oil drips is it pink = trans fluid

 

[Best4x4]

If it's a weird brown color it's your front driveshaft CV with a cracked/dry rotted boot that slung all it's grease all over the place. Replacements are around 55-100.00 for the front driveshaft CV. You can fix that at the same time you drop the pan and replace the gasket/filter. You can try tightening the bolts first, but normally once it leaks it'll be hard to stop it from leaking unless the bolts are really that loose.

 

[amrg]

I once had a leak (pinkosh fluid). Toghtened the oil pan bolts, one was really loose, no issues afterwards.

 

[mavrikjc]

Thanks for the tips folks. It is kinda brownish/red but I'm wondering if I've got both an transmission oil pan and driveshaft CV issue and they are getting mixed up together... I'm gonna order parts so they are waiting when I get back from a work trip this Thursday and see what the outcome is after I do new CV.

I'm guessing my parts list looks like...

Front driveshaft CV
Transmission oil pan gasket

There's grease around the rear part of my driveshaft where it connects to transfer case but no dripping or buildup. Should I do that while I'm down there too or is that normal?

Any other fun things to fix while I'm at it?




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[mavrikjc]

12 ft/lbs of torque my a$$... This is just awesome.

Tried to get the pan tightened up and this was the result at 10 ft/lbs (well less - torque wrench wasn't even clicking and she snapped right off).

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[mavrikjc]

On the bright side I now know this is what was leaking as I can watch it bead up now that the bolt snapped off.


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[mavrikjc]

$250 later I no longer have an transmission fluid leak. My local shop was able to get the bolt out w/o drilling out and did the filter/gasket kit on the transmission oil pan. They also verified that all the transmission oil pan bolts were very loose - claimed some unscrewed with their fingers... either way, for posterity's sake, if you're reading this thread and want to know the end result - the bolts on the pan were loose. If I had to do it over again I would have dropped the drive shaft, got a 1/4 drive torque wrench at Harbor Freight, and tightened them up and saved $250. On the other hand, $250 repair is cheaper than a new transmission so I guess I shouldn't complain too much