After the car is sitting for awhile, where under the transmission is the puddle?

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85 300D Turbo

No leaks were evident under car but by the time I parked she was two quarts low. Only drove her a mile after adding 2 new qts so will see if any puddles have formed when I get back next week.

2 Qts to lose is one heck of a leak...I would think you'd at least see a spot on the ground if not a trail if it was losing it out the bottom.

Not sure if the car has a vacuum modulator but if so that can be the source of tranny fluid leak. I'm not exactly sure where the fluid would end up in a diesel...I am guessing it would get sucked through the vacuum system to the pump itself eventually...but if you see no sign of a leak and it is still missing the only places it can go are out the modulator or cooler lines.

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Marty D.

2013 C300 4Matic
1984 BMW 733i
2013 Lincoln MKz

not significant to the tranny leak, but it looks from the pics that the A/C is over charged. i don't think you should beable to see the frost on the lines outside of the evaporater.

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-Trevor

OBK #12
1980 300SD 333,XXX miles - Totaled
1986 Mazda RX-7 212,XXX miles - impounded and auctioned off
2005 Jeep Liberty CRD Limited 33,000- SEGR, Provent, Fumoto

Unforunately, it will be at least a week before I can even try to solve the mystery. The coolant overflow tank looks like clean antifreeze (green or yellow, I do not recall). If 2 quarts were sucked into the cooler lines I would think you would see it in the overflow???

If a defective vacuum modulator was causing ATF to be drawn by engine vacuum into the intake manifoldcI would expect to see lots of white smoke, almost like steam, from the exhaust. AT least this is what happens on a gasser. I do not see any smoke at all from the tailpipe. Also, in many cases a bad vac modulator results in bad shifting and she was shifting very nicely.

My 100 mile trip was on the highway so I would not have noticed a trail if there was one. I did notice that engine is essentially off the right motor mount. One theory is that this would misalign the rear drive shaft causing a leak at the seal, mostly while in motion. I hope that theory proves true since a rear diveshaft seal is an easy fix and I ordered new motor mounts.

I am not rejecting the theory. Just trying to talk myself out of anything that requires removing or rebuilding the tranny!!! I will sure be happy if I do discover a leaky cooler hose!!

Thanks. A few folks pointed that out and I have been offered three theories:
1) A/C is undercharged.
2) A/C is overcharged.
3) Bad evap core temp sensor.

That will be a spring-time project but comment from any A/C gurus is certainly welcomed.

if any charging is off it should be overcharged. sealed systems are set up to keep the refridgerant liquid up to the evaporator. then at the evap the refridgerant expands and cools significantly causing frost. then by the time it reaches the other side there should not be anymore cooling and therefor no frost on the lines afterwards. a good charge will frost the whole evap and nothing more. over charging will burn out your compressor faster and under charged (significant) will not let the compressor run. I work for an appliance repair place and that is where i got my refridgerant info from.

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-Trevor

OBK #12
1980 300SD 333,XXX miles - Totaled
1986 Mazda RX-7 212,XXX miles - impounded and auctioned off
2005 Jeep Liberty CRD Limited 33,000- SEGR, Provent, Fumoto

Good news. Drove her home today (she had been sitting at work). Got her up on ramps and there was no question that tranny fluid was leaking from the tranny cooler lines. There is no way on earth that seller could not have known they were leaking but such is life.

Replaced lines, changed ATF and engine oil. No more leaks of any kind and she is running as she should. This weekend I will tackle all the fuel lines and motor mounts. I do not have an engine hoist, any hints on raising the engine enough with a floor jack in order to replace the mounts.

Cheers.

on other vehicles, i ahve used a 2x6 scrap and a bottle jack to lift the engine. one could also build a cradle out of wood to hold the engine up.

\____/
...T
...ll

good fortune on the lines...

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1984 123.193 372,xxx miles, room for Seven.

1999 Dodge Durango Cummins 4BTAA 47RE 5k lb 4x4 getting 25+mpgs, room for Seven.

For info, sources, and classified adds for heavy duty running gear like the Dana 70, you gotta visit the M715 Zone at the URL below:

http://www.m715zone.com

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Bama1


2008 SLK 280, Firemist Red - "Hurricane"
2001 F150 Lariat 4x4, Black on Black - "Badboy"
1982 240D 4 speed survivor -"Pearl" - Donated to Vietnam Veterans
1962 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 -"Gertrude"

1954 model original owner - ~2.5M
Gray softtop/solid exterior/modified chassis

Well I've spent the last month diagnosing my 190d issues and it sounds like you may have a few common problems with yours, fuel "line" oozing check the distribution valves on top of the injection pump. Transmission leaking check the pan seal. Those were two of the most common problems I found in searching this site and others, mine has both problems and they are on my todo list for this weekend.
Cheers

The bad motor mount may have loostened the tranny cooler lines. Be sure to check the other mount too as its bolts may be worked loose from the other mount being duff.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

His last activity on the forum was over 5 years ago!!

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Jimmy L.
'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
'95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black
'85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White
'80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed
'81 300TD 240K "Smash"
'80 240D 230K "The Squash"
'81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John