Just Discovered a Small Tranny Leak????Advice Please... - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

regsatx · #1 12-19-2005, 11:18 PM

I park my 85 300SD in the garage. On Friday morning when backing out, I noticed a quarter-sized spot. It was ATF. I wiped it up and when I got back home, I placed cardboard under car and for several hours...no leak. Just before bed, I went out and found a nickel-sized drop of ATF...by the next morning, it was about quarter size. It's obviously a very small leak. The car has about 230k on it. I had the tranny serviced last October (new fluid, etc). It shifts great.
I am wondering whether to watch this a while or do something that may make a small annoyance worse and turn into big $$$. By the way, this morning, there was a nickel size drop only. The fluid level looks proper...between top and bottom lines on dipstick after a freeway drive.
Advice welcome.

#2 12-19-2005, 11:29 PM

Can you eyeball under the car and see specifically where it is coming from?

sailor15015 · #3 12-19-2005, 11:36 PM

There was a slight leak on my wrecked '85's tranny that I couldn't track down. It wasn't quite that bad but there was some red fluid trapping dirt on the underside of the car that I noticed when I replaced the neutral safety switch. I figured it was probably the pan gasket since it was mainly situated on the bottom walls of the pan.

regsatx · #4 12-19-2005, 11:40 PM

passenger side of tranny near middle to back of pan. But I don't think I can pinpoint unless car is in the air.

JamesDean · #5 12-19-2005, 11:55 PM

perhaps the pan gaskget needs replaced? the drain plug is on the passenger side of teh pan...perhaps its not sufficiently tighetened....or the pan might not be tight enough....ive heard of leaking coming from the kick down solenoid...not sure where that is thou...

i have a leak at my front seal..but a bottle of no-leak seemed to work well on it...i havent seen anything from it in quite some time...might try that if the above arent true...

kris

regsatx · #6 12-20-2005, 02:59 PM

Is there a chance the leak will stop? It's been going on 4 days now and is quite sporadic. This morning it was only a dime size spot????
What are repurcusions of letting it go and watching it? My fluid level has not changed at all.

Pete Burton · #7 12-20-2005, 03:33 PM

Skip the stopleak-clean the exterior of the transmission first. So much easier to find leaks that way.

phidauex · #8 12-20-2005, 05:04 PM

Yeah, clean up the pan really well, then keep a close eye on it over the next day. In that region of the transmission, passenger side, around the pan, there are four places it could leak from, that I can think of offhand...

The dipstick tube. Its on the front right corner of the pan, just above the gasket.

The cooler line. Its held on with a 19mm banjo bolt, right next to the dipstick tube, above the pan gasket.

The gasket itself. Rubber gasket all around the pan, can develop leaks around the pan.

The drain plug. Located about 3/4 of the way down, about an inch in from the passenger side of the engine. Its a 5mm allen head plug, with a crush washer. It can leak too.

I'd get under there, give all the pan bolts a half turn, snug up the drain plug a bit, snug up the 19mm banjo bolt a bit (don't overdo it on the banjo bolt). Then clean everything up, and watch closely.

peace,
sam