Originally Posted by tan man

Happy Holidays to all.
For years I have been finding trans fluid on the garage floor in the spring when I uncover my SL. All these years I attributed this to a rear trans seal leak. Word on forums is when the car sits for long periods and the seals are old, they dry out and allow fluid to seep out.
As long as the car was used every 2-3 weeks there were no leaks but when I let it sit for a month there would be some light drips on the floor. After letting it sit over the winter I found about 10 ounces worth of fluid on the floor .

Well, I think I just had a "Eureka" moment.
When I last drained and filled the trans, I drained the fluid from the pan and the torque converter. I believe total capacity is around 9.5 liters and I probably got 8.5 out of it when I drained. When I re-filled, at the 6 liter point fluid overflowed the pan and I had a nasty puddle on the ground. The overflow did not occur at the fill tube, It came out somewhere above the pan, must be a safety valve/release. To distribute fluid to the torque converter I had to run the engine and shift the trans thru all gears. Then go back and fill to capacity.
So it only makes sense that if the car sits for an extended time, the fluid drains out of the torque converter. When it reaches a point that the pan can't hold any more fluid, the excess spills out on the floor.

Make sense?

1985 380SL