Fluid is pouring out of Trans????

[PaulRV6]

What happened? I was driving normally down the highway and after getting off an exit I noticed smoke coming from the back of the car. I stopped to look and found trans fluid just pouring out the front of trans and also from the flywheel cover hole.
Right before I noticed the smoke the car was not shifting right thru the gears.
I went to refill the trans to drive it home and it just poured out the minute I put it in.

What could have happened? Did I blow a seal? What could have caused this? The trans was working good before hand. It is stock except for 10 vane pump and shift kit.

paul

 

[MeanBuicks]

You knocked the front seal out I'm sure. It's always a good idea to enlarge the front seal drainback holes in the pump casting and install a seal retainer from a 700R4 when servicing your transmission. The valve body kit may have raised operating pressures which helped push the seal out.

Also, when you go to repair this, make sure that the converter hub bushing in the pump hasn't walked forward into the seal.

 

[PaulRV6]

Greg, thanks for the info. If it is a front seal, do you have any idea what could have caused this?
What do I need to do to install a 700R4 seal retainer? Anything special? What parts or P/N's do I ask for? From the GM dealer?

If this is it, do I need to service anything other than the pump seal? Did I damage any other components in the trans from all the loss of fluid? I did try to drive it a little ways like this.

Thanks again!! paul

 

[PaulRV6]

Meanbuicks, are you available to address my latest questions? You seem very knowlegeable about these things and need for you to expand on your earlier response. Thanks

paul

 

[MeanBuicks]

I don't know the GM number for the front seal retainer but there are no modifications required to install it. As I said above, it's a good idea to have the drainback holes enlarged to relieve fluid pressure behind the seal. Of course, this requires pump removal and disassembly but it's worth the effort.

See the pump section of Bruce's thread for details.

Driving with low fluid level is never a good idea, as you know, but there's no way I can tell you that you did or didn't do any damage to the transmission. My suggestion would be, since you'll already have the unit out & the pump removed and that's the lion's share of the work, have someone help you look at the condition of the band and clutches at that point. It would be a bummer to repair the pump, reinstall the transmission and have it slip due to prior damage.