91 300SE transmission problem
 

My transmission worked fine, but then I started hearing a whining sound in nuetral or park. I suspected low trans fluid. It was a little low, so I added about half a quart. The whining continued and then it started leaking heavily in front of the transmission, through the grill from the torque converter area. Is there seals or something I can try to replace, or is something broken that requires major overhaul? What do you suspect. Car has about 130K miles
Thanks for any help.
Jerryb1

Right off the top of my head, check that the filter isn't plugged, as it will cause fluid starvation in the pump and also often start leaking; I'll look up the symptoms when I get a free minute. Front pumps are very durable, but starve them and they're very unforgiving.

Other less obvious problems are usually caused by starvation, which would go back to plugged filter, but occasionally a bearing/bushing/hard part will wear/break and allow wear that will allow rubbing/grinding that sounds like howling from the transmission. It has to come out, and someone reliable and trustworthy needs to give it an eyeball. Hopefully your filter isn't busted, and this would be a good place to start to eliminate a bad/busted filter (each causes different symptoms)

Sometimes the torque convertor can be the culprit; I've seen them with a busted tooth or cracked neck do something similar, and internal damage is also going to cause similar symptoms. Just make sure your tranny jock is good at what he does; the problem should be obvious enough when you disassemble it.