Transmission knocking and leak URGENT!

91 V6 with A140E



Last night i ended up in a ditch because I had to move over to avoid being sprayed by a plow, went a little too far over and ended up stuck in a foot of snow.



After about 25-30 minutes me and some buddies got it out and it drove fine for the rest of the night.



This morning i went out to runs some errands and after the car was warm, only at idle, the transmission was making a consistent abnormal knocking noise, in all shift ranges. when going between gears the noise stops but starts again right when it is in gear. it drives and shifts fine. if i give it a little gas when sitting in park the car (trans probably) vibrates a lot.



I looked under the car, found a leak to the passengers side of the pan. Here is a pic.







Its leaking right next to the bottom most bolt. where its circled is where the ATF starts to pool, then it drips from the bolt right above it.



Am i totally screwed? where do i go from here?

Reply 1 : Transmission knocking and leak URGENT!

Reply 2 : Transmission knocking and leak URGENT!

Yes. Thats how we got it out. It was wiped off when i took the picture but it is a somewhat slow leak. The fluid level is probably a little low, i added some this morning to see if the noise would go away but it didnt. Am i looking at a rebuild?

Reply 3 : Transmission knocking and leak URGENT!

check your motor mount. its right behind the battery

Reply 4 : Transmission knocking and leak URGENT!

Quote:

Originally Posted by dem2757 check your motor mount. its right behind the battery

Ok, what am i looking for? and im assuming this would be a separate problem from the leak?

Reply 5 : Transmission knocking and leak URGENT!

it would explain vibration and possibly noise if it was broken by the engine hitting the snow/ice fairly hard. ill upload pictures soon

Reply 6 : Transmission knocking and leak URGENT!

that bracket behind the starter is the engine mount







underneath the air filter

Reply 7 : Transmission knocking and leak URGENT!

Quote:

Originally Posted by dem2757 it would explain vibration and possibly noise if it was broken by the engine hitting the snow/ice fairly hard. ill upload pictures soon

Got it. I know where they are, but i dont know how to tell if it is bad or not. Just rev it and hold the mount to see if it vibrates?



EDIT: I just warmed it up and its at idle now, the knocking isnt very loud, it is more of a wah wah wah wah wah with a slight knock with each "wah" the speed of the wah wah wah increases/decreases with engine speed with car stationary.

Reply 8 : Transmission knocking and leak URGENT!

the only thing that should be moving while the car is in neutral or park is the flywheel if i am not mistaken.



i thought you didnt know where it was haha my bad. but the engine shouldnt move, or make noises when rpms are incresed, besides the normal revv sounds

Reply 9 : Transmission knocking and leak URGENT!

Quote:

Originally Posted by dem2757 the only thing that should be moving while the car is in neutral or park is the flywheel if i am not mistaken. i thought you didnt know where it was haha my bad. but the engine shouldnt move, or make noises when rpms are incresed, besides the normal revv sounds

Ha no problem. Where is the flywheel in the transmission? is it close to where it mates to the engine because that is round about where the leak is.

Reply 10 : Transmission knocking and leak URGENT!

Reply 11 : Transmission knocking and leak URGENT!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sturdavj

It has always slipped between 1 and 2 while at WOT and at normal operating temp, doesnt do it when warming up/cold. and it only happens when its going to shift at a red line. That problem has been around for years, but i dont floor it to a red line very often.



It drives like there is nothing wrong with it, shifts fine in all ranges. I drove it for about 25 minutes this morning and all i noticed was the wah wah wah noise and the leak.

Reply 12 : Transmission knocking and leak URGENT!

The fluid is a dark red, smells slightly burnt, not terrible.

Reply 13 : Transmission knocking and leak URGENT!

For the wha-wah noise you may want to consider a fluid change, probaly won't help with the "consistent abnormal knocking noise, in all shift ranges"



There are some pretty good posts on TN for flushing your A/T fluid, You may want to consider using Lucas A/T flush before you drain your A/T. I didn't & for an added piece of mind whished I had.



I picked up a gallon of A/T fluid at wally-world for under $10, yesterday.

Reply 14 : Transmission knocking and leak URGENT!

Just an additional thought. Did you check the heat shields under the car? It would be easy to damage one of them going in to a ditch filled with snow and ice. One could now be vibrating, causing the noise you are hearing. Get a friend and have him rev the engine a bit in park while you get under the car and try to find out exactly where the noise is coming from.



Mike