# Transmission housing leaking... difficult to fix? 2001 Mercury Grand Marquis.



## tireshark (Aug 17, 2014)

https://i.imgur.com/g2ocp91.jpg?1

My mom noticed a puddle coming out from under the car today. Crawled underneath and it appears to be coming from this housing, around the area where it joins. I'm assuming it's a bad gasket where it bolts on, or something?

I've done a bit of work on vehicles, but I have never messed with a transmission. Is it a big deal to fix this? I have a lot of tools and ramps, but I've always heard that dropping a transmission (if that is what's required) can be pretty difficult.

I'm just now starting to watch videos and read up on it, but I thought I would throw the question out here so maybe people can tell me if it's something I could handle, with the tools I have.


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

In plain talk.

NO, you don't have the tools.

Without seeing what you have and going by the vague description, what you have is a bad front seal, this requires removal and disassembly of the front of the transmission. 

It's common for a Merc of this age to have this problem, and if it is not fixed soon, you risk burning up the whole thing, if it is not too late now. 

Your best fix is to get to AAMCO, or another decent rebuilder. 


ED


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## Brainbucket (Mar 30, 2015)

It's either front seal or pump o-ring. As De-Nagorg said, it requires removal of transmission. Big job. If ya haven't done this before, don't start now.:vs_cool:


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## Oso954 (Jun 23, 2012)

> I've always heard that dropping a transmission (if that is what's required) can be pretty difficult.


No, dropping a transmission is easy. One moments inattention (or if it overbalances or slips off your jack) and they hit the floor real fast. 
They are heavy and you are often in a position of muscular disadvantage if laying under the car.


Once the tranny is pulled, what’s your action plan ? 
Just slap the seal in and reinstall, or complete rebuild ?


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## iamrfixit (Jan 30, 2011)

What color is the fluid? Hard to tell from your pic.

Red would almost certainly mean a transmission seal. If it looks like engine oil then it's possibly a rear main seal or could be the oil pan gasket. Your leak almost looks like it could be coolant, that would be orange or green and a thinner consistency, more like water. A coolant leak could be many things but probably coming down from above.

Any fluid that comes from the top of the engine can run down around or seep through the joint between the engine and transmission and drip from the flywheel housing. Might be an oil leak from the valve covers or rear of the intake manifold. Lots of possibilities, I'd look it over thoroughly before just tearing into it. A couple drips of oil can spread out to a fairly large spot that will look like a huge leak, especially if you park in the same spot and it accumulates over several days without noticing.

For just a few drips of oil I'd put cardboard or something on the garage floor to catch them. A bigger leak can often drip from several places, because oil blows back all over everything when driving, you'd even have to add oil to make up for the leak. That type of leak is gonna need immediate attention. 

Any coolant leak, even a small one needs repaired right away. These can get worse quickly or if the system is allowed to get low it will eventually allow air pockets in the cooling system and impede proper flow. This can lead to overheating and damage to the engine.


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## tireshark (Aug 17, 2014)

iamrfixit said:


> What color is the fluid? Hard to tell from your pic.
> 
> Red would almost certainly mean a transmission seal. If it looks like engine oil then it's possibly a rear main seal or could be the oil pan gasket. Your leak almost looks like it could be coolant, that would be orange or green and a thinner consistency, more like water. A coolant leak could be many things but probably coming down from above.



You were 100% right. I took a closer look at the fluid today, and it appears to be brake fluid. !!!


It is clear and has a slight tan/yellow tint... and it has a VERY strong and unpleasant taste, like brake fluid. Trans/PS/oil all had an oily feel, with little to no taste.

Trans/PS/oil levels all check good in the car. Brake fluid does, as well.

Weird... I guess it is running down and dripping from that location? I will have to put it on the ramps and take a closer look to see where it's coming from. Brake light and ABS light have been on for a while... not sure if related to this or not.


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

The plot thickens.

Check the proportioning valve in the brake system, and all the brake lines for abrasions and leaks. 

Pull the trans dipstick and see what color your fluid is, it might be contaminated, or burnt, and can be the odd tan color.

When was the last time that you had the trans filter and fluid changed. 

They are not a maintenance free item , you know.

ED


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## tireshark (Aug 17, 2014)

de-nagorg said:


> Check the proportioning valve in the brake system, and all the brake lines for abrasions and leaks.



You might be on to something with the proportioning valve. I haven't found much information online about this valve on this specific model, but researching that part on other vehicles, it sounds like it could be the culprit.


I'll have to crawl under the car later and see if I can figure out where it is physically located.


Also, apparently it contains a switch that can cause the brake warning light on the dash to come on if the fluid pressure changes... and that light has been on for a while (along with the ABS light).


Thanks for the input.


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## tireshark (Aug 17, 2014)

Someone said an ABS system means there is no proportioning valve. If that's the case, then this must be coming from a brake line or the main cylinder or something.


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

The ABS valve, is the proportioning valve also.

Therefore the sensor in the valve could be bad, making the light come on, and if it leaks, it is definitely bad . 

Look at the master cylinder, it has lines from it to a block assembly, then to each wheel. 

The block assembly, or very close to it is where you look for leaks, bad wires, unplugged wires, or other troubles. 

This is general directions, each manufacturer had different ways, but are similar .


ED


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## tireshark (Aug 17, 2014)

Weirdest thing... I put the car up on ramps and got under there... traced brake lines to the ABS unit and out to the wheels... no visible leaks anywhere. All fluids in the car read normal. Took some greased lightning and paper towel and cleaned up the area where it was leaking. Drove it around for a while, and let it sit overnight, and there is ZERO fluid dripping from that location.

Also the brake/abs warning light on the dash, that has been on for probably a year, went off.

We all know that leaky fluids and warning lights generally dont 'fix' themselves... so dont really know what happened. I'm just going to slowly back away from the car and pretend nothing happened, I guess.

The one fluid I didn't previously consider was coolant. When I checked the reservoir it was similar in look/feel/taste to what was leaking, so I cant say for sure if it was brake fluid or coolant, but it was definitely one of those two.

Being that all the brake lines, the ABS unit, and the master cylinder did not show signs of leaks, I'm thinking that it was coolant. Maybe something caused the coolant to overflow the reservoir? Why it spilled out of the reservoir all of a sudden one day, and then stopped, I dont know. The day it happened, nothing unusual was going on with the car.

Dunno. I'll keep my eye on it.


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## iamrfixit (Jan 30, 2011)

The 4.6 in your grand marquis had a plastic intake manifold, and like the many other plastic intakes, those were also known to eventually give trouble. Over the years and thousands of heat/cool cycles they eventually begin to fail. The manifold can crack or warp and cause leaks. There's also a heater hose fitting at the rear that screws into the manifold and the threads will loosen and seep. Leaks might start slowly at first, it may only happen on and off, but it will eventually get worse. The best fix it is to change out the intake with a cast aluminum version. 

I did suspect coolant when I first looked at the pic, but very hard to tell for sure with the one pic. Your brake fluid system has a small capacity so even a tiny leak will show up real fast as a low level in your master cylinder. Your cooling system on the other hand, easily holds a couple gallons so a few drips here and there would take a lot longer to noticeably drop the level.


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## 123pugsy (Oct 6, 2012)

Sorry, but taste? You mentioned two different fluids and taste.


Stop it! lain:


We'd enjoy several more posts from you well into the future.




.


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## Bigplanz (Apr 10, 2009)

123pugsy said:


> Sorry, but taste? You mentioned two different fluids and taste.
> 
> 
> Stop it! lain:
> ...


Yeah, "taste"? WTF?


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

Automotive fluids are toxic, so do not make it a common practice " tasting" them. 

That said, many auto techs have had events where the fluids have gotten tasted, by mistake, and do know what it tastes like. :vs_laugh:

The best that you can do is to keep watch, to find the source of this leak, maybe there was something in the road recently that splashed up there, and got confused with being from the car itself.

The coolant reservoir can leak at times and drip, causing the drip to fly back and get on something in the back of the car, maybe there was a small overheating situation, that happened, like idling at a stoplight, AC on, that made the overflow drip. 


Many variables to consider.


ED


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## papereater (Sep 16, 2016)

best/easiest way to differentiate brake fluid from Trans fluid is to see if it is WATER soluble. Touch it with your finger, then rub the finger tip onto another finger, assuming you have an extra finger, *(like index finger and thumb), then submerge it into water and ruba a dub dub the 2 "greased" fingers together. If they clean up fast like soapy water under faucet, you will feel it as a clean finger surface, with no more ooze/oily feel. If the tip of your finger remains greasy, it is NOT brake fluid. Also works for coolant. Brake fluid and rad coolant are in the same "chemical family"- glycols, which are water soluble .

Motor oil/trans fluid- dont clean up well under water, brake fluid/rad coolant do.


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