Hi, I have a 2007 Ford Explorer 4X4 V6 4.0. It has some harsh shifting and my mechanic recommended to replace the transmission. I decided to go for a remanufactured one to avoid used parts headaches. He installed the transmission and tested. He noticed some oil leaking so he contacted the manufacturer and they sent another one. He installed the new one and tested it. Everything seemed fine, but when the car filled down, it leak a whole lot of transmission oil. He detected that the leak is coming from the cooling vent. Unless it came already filled with oil, it was not overfilled. It wasn’t overheating either. He got a hold of the techs from the manufacturer, they had him run some testing and to send some videos. It seems like no one can tell why it’s leaking. This is frustrated, I’ve been without a car for 1 month. Please help. The cooling line is pretty much new. I just replaced the radiator 2 months ago.
The primary cause of fluid purging from the vent is because the fluid level is too high.
The transmission being pre-filled is not a factor, if the transmission came filled with fluid the level would still need to be checked and adjusted.
Take the vehicle to someone that knows how to check and adjust the fluid level.
I’m planning on taking it to someone else by the end of the week if he still can’t figure it out.
I do believe this particular transmission has no conventional dipstick
There is a very specific procedure for checking the fluid level, and it involves checking it at a certain temperature, removing a plug and watching the stream of fluid come out. Not too much, not too little, it has to be perfect. I won’t got into details, but if you do it wrong, the fluid level will be wrong, and then you’ve got the scenario that @Nevada_545 described
We had a van pushed up on a boulder by a carrier truck, trans replaced fixed 2 times and still leaked, traded it in after 2nd fix, something was off, trans shop could not fix it, after 2nd time rear window of windstar coated with fluid, just mentioning this in cse your car was in an accident, and the problem may never be resolved.
Thank you. I did look up the instructions and saw the part about checking the level. I already paid for 1/2 of the repair. I’m not sure why to do now. Wouldn’t the tech from the manufacturer tell him this too, or this is something they assume the mechanic should know?
It wasn’t in an accident. I’m already paying more than the value of the car for this repair. I’m hoping to get a little time out of it before I get another car.
You’d think a transmission shop would be able to fill an automatic to the correct level. Who’s more expert than those guys at this? But I had that problem with a transmission shop before , so apparently sometimes they can’t. As long as the problem is corrected quickly, should be no long-term problem.
Now they want my mechanic to take it back down and send more pictures. Apparently the oil filling was not the issue. I’m starting to wonder if this second Transmission is not defective as well. I’m totally fed up, will go car shopping on Saturday. He’s saying that the company won’t take the transmission back, but has a 5 year unlimited warranty. Is this true that you can’t return a transmission after purchasing it?
Someone at that shop isn’t being truthful with you.
That’s more a legal question than a car-repair question. It depends on the exact wording of your agreement with the shop and parts supplier. Good shops hold to the policy that they will continue to work on the problem until the customer is satisfied. But who pays for the parts and labor, that should be decided beforehand.