Transmission filler tube seal leak

[joshwilson3]

I've got an 89 auto. I've noticed I've got a transmission fluid leak where the filler tube bolts to the case. It is leaking from under the rubber grommet/gasket thing and leaking down to the tranny pan and dripping on the ground.
I see the grommet is only $10. How do I pull the transmission filler tube to replace the grommet? I think I've read there is one bolt holding it on, but I really don't know where that is at. Seal part number: 1259475.

 

[toptechx6]

The bolt that holds the dipstick tube is one of the bolts between the bellhousing and the back of the engine on the right side of course. It can be difficult to get to but not impossible, you can try looking from the top behind the intake manifold, but will probably not have much success.
If that fails you will need to get under the car using a swivel socket (think it is 9/16") and a long extension. You may need to remove the exhaust and disconnect the C beam so you can lower the rear of the transmission to gain access, not fun.
Once you get the bolt out be sure you drain the transmission before removing the tube, pull it straight up, wiggling it helps, good luck.

 

[joshwilson3]

The bolt that holds the dipstick tube is one of the bolts between the bellhousing and the back of the engine on the right side of course. It can be difficult to get to but not impossible, you can try looking from the top behind the intake manifold, but will probably not have much success.
If that fails you will need to get under the car using a swivel socket (think it is 9/16") and a long extension. You may need to remove the exhaust and disconnect the C beam so you can lower the rear of the transmission to gain access, not fun.
Once you get the bolt out be sure you drain the transmission before removing the tube, pull it straight up, wiggling it helps, good luck.

Oh, if you have to drain the pan I'll let someone else do it.

 

[toptechx6]

Oh, if you have to drain the pan I'll let someone else do it.

Don't let that step stop you, dropping the trans pan is way easier than removing the tube!:L
You can replace the tube with draining the pan, but doing so will likely save a lot of mess.

 

[joshwilson3]

Don't let that step stop you, dropping the trans pan is way easier than removing the tube!:L
You can replace the tube with draining the pan, but doing so will likely save a lot of mess.

I'll probably still make a mess of dropping the pan. I have no room to work. I've layed up under there and I don't have any room to move my arms, let alone getting all the bolts out and not spilling anything. How much fluid comes out if you don't drain the pan? A couple of ounces or quarts?

I really think doing things like dropping the tranny pan or changing things like oil pan gasket needs to be done on a lift so you can stand up.

 

[vetteoz]

I really think doing things like dropping the tranny pan or changing things like oil pan gasket needs to be done on a lift so you can stand
up.

Your a softy .I do everything lying on my back with the car on jack stands and I won't see 45 again. You haven't bonded properly with your car until you have a couple of pints of warm trans fluid running down your arm ;squint: .
No $$$ for hoist

 

[joshwilson3]

Your a softy .I do everything lying on my back with the car on jack stands and I won't see 45 again. You haven't bonded properly with your car until you have a couple of pints of warm trans fluid running down your arm ;squint: .
No $$$ for hoist

It still is a tight fit trying to hold the pan with one hand while you unscrew the pan with the other hand. Do you fill the pan back up before you bolt it back, or do you install the pan dry? And what tranny fluid do you use?

I'm thinking it would be best to drain the pan as I say that grommet needs to be installed dry.

Though, I do think I've bonded pretty good. I've probably spent at least 40-50+ hours finding firewall and A pillar water leaks. I still don't know where one of the firewall leaks was coming from. But it was on the passenger side leaking in the firewall and running under the carpet. It was a pretty good leak coming in around the dam inside the cowl. I had the blower motor out sticking my hand in and whatnot and couldn't find where the leak was coming in at. So, I just decided to seal up all the seems around dam, and that fixed the leak. I spent a many 8 hour nights out there. I spent probably 20 hours just removing, stripping and painting the valve covers. And lots of others things I've done and more yet to do. I was supposed to of had this thing painted and sold a year ago, but I got behind with needing to fix the water leaks, and other stuff still keeps popping up to do. I did notice alot of black sludge around the U-joints.

 

[tcxd40]

Josh,
Make sure you verify that the drain tubes in the cowl are not clogged.

 

[vetteboy86]

Your a softy .I do everything lying on my back with the car on jack stands and I won't see 45 again. You haven't bonded properly with your car until you have a couple of pints of warm trans fluid running down your arm ;squint: .
No $$$ for hoist

I've used tranny fluid as conditioner in my hair ad

When you pull the pan, I dont know how much it equates too, but it makes a damn mess. Not above your abilities I gather from other posts.

 

[joshwilson3]

Josh,
Make sure you verify that the drain tubes in the cowl are not clogged.

Yeah, that is the first thing I checked. All drain tubes were clear, and the evap box drains were clear. I stuck a hose and placed it inside the cowl at the dam and ran the water. And I'd still get a water leak coming in at the heater drain tubes at the firewall inside. Never could figure it out and was thinking of doing a heater core job so I could find where the water came in at.

I knew the water was getting in at somewhere at the dam. So I sealed up the seams at the dam that run the firewall, and I sealed up a couple of rivets that were there too. And that fixed the leak. I've never before heard of a water leak coming in from the dam before. My guess is a seam opened up from body flex just enough to let water in, but wasn't noticable by looking at it. Here's a pic of the sealed up dam:

I also had a leak coming in running the side right in front of the door sill at the passenger side as well too. I pulled the side rubber cowl seal thing and I noticed up in the corner under the windshield at the cowl that there was a small hole in the seam. I stuck a pick in there to make sure it was a hole and not a shadow. I sealed up the whole corner with Urethane sealer, and that fixed that leak. I'm hoping when I pull the carpet I don't find anymore leaks. I think I have them all, but you can't be for sure till you pull the carpet and recheck as the carpet blocks some of your view of the floorpan even if you pull it back some.

Another way you can get a leak is if water gets past the hood seal where it sits at the evap box. If the sealant is worn through, water will get in the heater box and drip on the carpet. My leak wasn't coming in there as it was leaking when I stuck the hose inside the cowl. But I did notice water getting in past the hood seal into the engine bay in a few places. So, I pulled the hood seal, cleaned up all the old sealant, put it back and resealed it with my Urethane sealer.

What I may do on the dipstick grommet, is after I get the rest of the stuff put back on the engine, I'll be taking it in to get a new tire put on. I may just see while I'm there how much it will be to put the grommet on. If it is cheap, than I'll probably let them do it. I did call around and everyone said I'd have to bring it in for them to give me a price on replacing that grommet. Does the grommet need to be installed dry, or could you put the grommet in the hole even if it is full of tranny fluid?

 

[vetteoz]

When you pull the pan, I dont know how much it equates too, but it makes a damn mess.

Take out all the bolts leaving one in each corner. Loosen 3 of the others then carefully prise the pan down in one corner so all the fluid above the pan drains out .Then slowly undo remaining bolts so pan drops at a angle ; leaves very little to balance in the pan.
Need BIG (wide) container underneath as you can never be sure what point fluid will actually run from.
Pan goes back empty.If you don't know when it was last changed, throw a new filter in while you have it apart.

 

[joshwilson3]

I ended up getting the seal from the dealer. It was only $3 and they had it in stock.

I had washed the engine a few times. I'm pretty sure I sprayed water around the tranny where the filler tube goes in. Do you think water could of gotten past the seal? I haven't started the engine since I washed it.

Though, with regards to dropping the pan. I got to thinking what would the point be? You'd be releasing fluid by dropping the pan, which the same would happen if you pull the filler tube out. So, you're gonna lose tranny fluid anyways. And if you drop the pan, then you have to deal with cleaning it up and getting a new gasket installed. So, what is the advantage of dropping the pan vs. just pulling the filler tube out and replacing the seal?

 

[tcxd40]

Yeah, that is the first thing I checked. All drain tubes were clear, and the evap box drains were clear. I stuck a hose and placed it inside the cowl at the dam and ran the water. And I'd still get a water leak coming in at the heater drain tubes at the firewall inside. Never could figure it out and was thinking of doing a heater core job so I could find where the water came in at.

I knew the water was getting in at somewhere at the dam. So I sealed up the seams at the dam that run the firewall, and I sealed up a couple of rivets that were there too. And that fixed the leak. I've never before heard of a water leak coming in from the dam before. My guess is a seam opened up from body flex just enough to let water in, but wasn't noticable by looking at it. Here's a pic of the sealed up dam:

I also had a leak coming in running the side right in front of the door sill at the passenger side as well too. I pulled the side rubber cowl seal thing and I noticed up in the corner under the windshield at the cowl that there was a small hole in the seam. I stuck a pick in there to make sure it was a hole and not a shadow. I sealed up the whole corner with Urethane sealer, and that fixed that leak. I'm hoping when I pull the carpet I don't find anymore leaks. I think I have them all, but you can't be for sure till you pull the carpet and recheck as the carpet blocks some of your view of the floorpan even if you pull it back some.

Another way you can get a leak is if water gets past the hood seal where it sits at the evap box. If the sealant is worn through, water will get in the heater box and drip on the carpet. My leak wasn't coming in there as it was leaking when I stuck the hose inside the cowl. But I did notice water getting in past the hood seal into the engine bay in a few places. So, I pulled the hood seal, cleaned up all the old sealant, put it back and resealed it with my Urethane sealer.

What I may do on the dipstick grommet, is after I get the rest of the stuff put back on the engine, I'll be taking it in to get a new tire put on. I may just see while I'm there how much it will be to put the grommet on. If it is cheap, than I'll probably let them do it. I did call around and everyone said I'd have to bring it in for them to give me a price on replacing that grommet. Does the grommet need to be installed dry, or could you put the grommet in the hole even if it is full of tranny fluid?

I had a leak at the cowl area just beside the hood latch area. there is a seam there that as time went on it had shrunk. Pulled the old seam sealer and resealed it ,no more leak..

 

[joshwilson3]

I had a leak at the cowl area just beside the hood latch area. there is a seam there that as time went on it had shrunk. Pulled the old seam sealer and resealed it ,no more leak..

Do you have a pic of where it was leaking in at on the seam?

I think I know what you are talking about. It bends at a 90 degree angle? I did check mine out, and they looked okay, I think I may have ran some sealant at the top as I think there were some gaps, but wasn't sure if the gaps were in the seam or beside it as the hood latch was right next to it.

 

[Schrade]

Your a softy .I do everything lying on my back with the car on jack stands and I won't see 45 again. You haven't bonded properly with your car until you have a couple of pints of warm trans fluid running down your arm ;squint: .
No $$$ for hoist

Your ARM??? Try your teeth, hair, and coffee.

I got some good pics somewhere; I deleted them from this thread after 'bannage'. Still a funny read said one reader...

 

[joshwilson3]

I think I'm gonna try replacing the seal without dropping the pan. Just waiting for it to stop raining.

I got to thinking, that I really didn't see the point in dropping the pan as you're gonna loose fluid anyways. Plus, if I dropped the pan, then I'd be looking at another $35 for the several quarts of fluid and a gasket.

If I jack the front end up, would that be less fluid will come out of the tranny filler tube hole vs. just leaving the car level?

 

[joshwilson3]

Ok, I got the filler tube out and half the seal was on the filler tube, and the rest still in the tranny. So, that means I'm gonna have to drop the pan. I'll probably get the cheapo Felpro gasket. I could probably reuse the old GM one as I've only driven it 3-4 times since I had the filter/gasket replaced, but I figure I'll go ahead and replace it.

While the pan is off, is there anything I need to look at while I'm under there? I did have a shop install the new filter, so I guess I can look to see if it is installed correctly, but I really don't know what I'd be looking for. Anything else I need to look at?

There is a dent in one of the lower corners of the pan. I wonder if it would be worth it to try banging it out?

 

[G Winter]

I really don't think that piece of rubber in the pan will hurt anything. Not likely that it will block the filter and it sure isn't going to melt. If it were mine I think I would leave it.


Glenn

 

[joshwilson3]

I really don't think that piece of rubber in the pan will hurt anything. Not likely that it will block the filter and it sure isn't going to melt. If it were mine I think I would leave it.


Glenn

Nah, the grommet broke off and is still in the filler tube hole. I can't get the new grommet/seal piece back in with the old one still there. Though, even if it was laying down in the pan, I think I'd still pull the pan, not worth it to risk it. But in my case, I have to drop the pan to remove the old grommet from the hole or I can't put the new grommet in.

Advance was supposed to have some Felpro tranny gaskets in stock, but they didn't when I showed up. I already have it on jack stands and all my tools out there, so I'm gonna go ahead and get it done tonight. I'll try resuing the old gasket as I've only driven on it 3 times, so hopefully it will come off in one piece so I can reuse it as long as the shop didn't use sealant on it.

 

[G Winter]

I change oil and filter in the overdrive trans in my 95 GMC tonight. The gasket came off on the pan in one piece . I know it had been there awhile from the looks of the oil. Really nasty looking , hope the trans survives.

Glenn