Transmission leak stopper?
 

Does anyone recommend using an additive in an automatic Mercedes transmission to help reduce or eliminate gasket seepage? I'm thinking of Lucas' transmission additives.

Hmmm
 

Well i'm thinking new oil pan and new gasket, if you overtighten the oil pan it will start to leak and never stop. save yourself alot of time and transmission fluid.

When I have the car on the hoist, I see a drop hanging from each of the 4 bolts on the pan, the cooler lines and around the inspection hole. not really losing it onto the ground though, and have only had to top up once, last week, in the year or so it's been installed. I do also have a moderate PS leak on the low pressure hose. I'm waiting on pressure washer parts so I'll tacke those when I steam the engine.

It's possible that the fluid is coming from somewhere above on the transmission housing. I have something similar happening on mine; it's leaking through the seal around the shaft of the TV sensor linkage. Wierd things happen to rubber during the winter, especially if the car is not being used. In my case, some of the fluid is backing out of the torque converter into the box, causing the level to be higher than normal. Rather than remove the transmission to completely dissasemble it in order to replace the leaky seal, I'll just start driving the car again as soon as all the salt and acid is off the roads. Leaks have a tendency to "fix themselves" once the car is put back into regular use.

PanzerSD, I would never use any transmission additive to stop leaks. Repair the leaks properly with a new gasket/seal. Any stop-leak additive is likely to create other problems with the proper operation of the transmission.

Your car is over 30 years old; forget the additives and do a reseal of the transmission. You'll find many seals that have become rock hard and have to be broken out of their places and no stop leak additive will help with this.

This.

Please people, stop giving forum advice you wouldn't take yourself. It's transmission fluid seepage on an old car. There's a 95+ percent chance that an $8 can of stop leak will stop the leak for years without harming the transmission in any way. Lucas Oil has an NFL football stadium named after them - somebody's buying the stuff and using it. A person would have to be nuts to pull a transmission on a 30 year old car to do a reseal. Pretend it's your money at stake.

I just resealed the trans in my '85 BMW, I guess I do not take my own advice. :rolleyes:

This would be the same as using something to thicken the oil to help a leaking front or rear main. Just change the damned thing.

I agree with Deanyel: If the transmission is only leaking a bit--not slipping or failing--I would give the Lucas a try. I don't have the tools or expertise to pull and reseal a transmission, not to mention set it back up to where it shifts at the correct points. My transmission has been leaking for over a year, but transmission fluid is less than $4.00 per quart. As long as it's only a slow leak, I will continue to throw a quart in every 1,000 miles.

a qt per 1k seems like a lot.

i would try the sealer

That's not the same at all. If it required engine removal you could argue it was similar.

And just how do you know I wouldn't take this advice myself? There's a 95+ percent chance the front pump O-ring is rock hard based on what I have seen in all four Mercedes transmissions I have overhauled. That O-ring is way past the point of a seal conditioner being able to be of any help. My experience with the "quick fix in a can" stuff has been that at best it's a temporary "fix", and at worst you threw your money away for something that did nothing and end up having to do the repair work anyway. Having your name on an NFL staduim doesn't mean diddly squat except the company paid for the name rights. When my money is at stake I prefer to do the job right to start, and that means overhauling a 30 year old transmission to insure it's good for the next 30 years hopefully.

if you can't do this job yourself....what would one expect to pay... that may answer the question

It was $600 to have my 190E 2.6 transmission resealed locally. Probably a bit on the high side of the range...

As far as the OP is concerned, I'd just save up the money for a reseal. It doesn't need it now. Its barely leaking. A few drops on the bolts/line..heck could be a line or gasket..

I dont know how much I'd trust those additives and such, it could cause something break loose (somehow) and then hinder the transmission operations...

I was leaking from the servos/piston seals on mine. It would leave a large puddle in the driveway all the time. Then the head gasket on the motor went and it was blowing oil out the #6 cylinder..so I had a new motor put in ($500 low milage 3L m103) and redid the trans at the same time..