I’ve got tranny fluid coming down onto the left side (if viewed from the front of the car) of the tranny pan, beneath the cross member on a 98 mazda protege. The fluid is running right along where the pan bolts to the transmission so it appears to be a simple oil pan gasket leak but upon further inspection it looks to be coming from higher up. Just wondering if this could help narrow it down to a front seal or something else that i could do myself without having to remove the transmission from the car? Another clue is that the tranny fluid seems to be in excellent condition in terms of color; looks very similar to brand new fluid - so It seems likely that the transmission is healthy and in good working conditon. Especially since it shifts smoothly. Trans fluid hasn’t been replaced in several years so there’s been plenty of time for it to ‘‘darken’’ if there was internal damage; (unless the damage has happened recently) but just speculating. I know transmissions are complicated. I plan to do a more thorough examination tomorrow so I’ll probably have more info to help pin point the source of the leak. Or hopefully I’ll be able to pin point the cause while I’m under there.
I think I know the answer to this but is there any pour-in stop leak products that have a good track record? Would only consider one of these if the transmission has to be removed to make the repair.