Help major tranny leak

[Austin86250]

86 6.9 c6 trans
I have a major tranny leak I filled it up walked inside to wash my hand and came back to this
It’s every where in the front im thinking maybe trans cooler lines?
Any ideas on source
happy to provide more info if needed

 

[Clb]

Yes
Crawl under and look up???
Cuz Ima bit pissy today, here's your spoonfeeding...
Cooler
Hard lines
Rad
Fill tube
Power steering

 

[Weldingman]

Check the rubber connections on the trans cooler lines.

 

[IDIBRONCO]

I would suspect the rubber lines are bad (hard, cracked). It's hard to tell from a picture, but your transmission fluid looks like it needs a flush. At least a complete change including the torque convertor. It doesn't look like a bright red color.

 

[Big Bart]

What are you running in your PS pump? Is it The same color as the oil on the ground? Looks like it could be a ps line.


Thoughts
1) Check your Tranny and PS fluid levels? If PS is low fill it up.
2) Buy a bottle of simple green degreaser.
3) Go to one of those coin Car washes with the spray guns. Or park on your lawn.
4) Spray the simple green on everything oily.
5) Pressure wash it all off real good.
6) Let it drip dry/dry.
7) Put some cardboard down. Turn steering back and forth in park at 1200 rpm, lightly lock at full left and right. Give it a couple minutes and see if leaking. If yes confirm the tranny cooler lines are not as well. Both could be if you ran something over.
8) PS lines are not leaking drive for 1/4 check for a tranny cooler line leak. Repeat and see if you can find the leak.

Let us know what you find.

 

[Austin86250]

What are you running in your PS pump? Is it The same color as the oil on the ground? Looks like it could be a ps line.


Thoughts
1) Check your Tranny and PS fluid levels? If PS is low fill it up.
2) Buy a bottle of simple green degreaser.
3) Go to one of those coin Car washes with the spray guns. Or park on your lawn.
4) Spray the simple green on everything oily.
5) Pressure wash it all off real good.
6) Let it drip dry/dry.
7) Put some cardboard down. Turn steering back and forth in parks at 1200 rpm, lightly lock at full left and right. Give it a couple minutes and see if leaking. If es confirm the tranny cooler lines are not.
8) PS lines are not leaking drive for 1/4 check for a leak. Continue to see if you can find the leak.

Let us know what you find.

It does leak power steering but it’s amber cooler not pink I’ll have to check the other things later as it’s stuck at work
Thanks for the info

 

[Big Bart]

Looking at it closer it is really wet on the passenger side more so than the drivers side. So likely a tranny cooler rubber hose line. If you have a secondary air cooled tranny cooler, could be the lines to or from it or the actual cooler. Once you degrease your front end it should be easy to see where it is coming from.

I would replace all the rubber lines and clamps if any are leaking. Then you bought 8-10 years with out another hose leak.

 

[IDIBRONCO]

When I worked at the shop replacing these engines, we used to reuse the rubber transmission lines until I had to sit on the side of the road for an hour until I got a tow from the shop foreman who forgot to watch the time I was gone. One of those lines blew out while I was driving. Amazingly enough, soon after that we also got a shop cell phone for me to take along on the test drives just in case it happened again. Apparently the boss didn't like paying me to sit on the side of the road and take a nap while waiting. That was before the second half of 1999 so cell phones weren't as big of a thing as they are today.

 

[Austin86250]

When I worked at the shop replacing these engines, we used to reuse the rubber transmission lines until I had to sit on the side of the road for an hour until I got a tow from the shop foreman who forgot to watch the time I was gone. One of those lines blew out while I was driving. Amazingly enough, soon after that we also got a shop cell phone for me to take along on the test drives just in case it happened again. Apparently the boss didn't like paying me to sit on the side of the road and take a nap while waiting. That was before the second half of 1999 so cell phones weren't as big of a thing as they are today.

I was at work and I was just idling walked inside for one minute came out to a drained transmission I’m thankful I wasn’t driving when it happened

 

[IDIBRONCO]

Good thing you weren't in there for longer too.

 

[david85]

The engine cross member looks dry, so not likely the powersteering circuit. Most likely one of the rubber hoses for the transmission cooler, as others have noted. It seems to be dripping from above the tie-rod so that narrows it down pretty well. Look next to the frame rail where the cooler lines pass to the front of the rad support. Also check connections to the auxiliary coolers, if equipped.

 

[Austin86250]

well it seems I catch a break with this trans leaking it seems

when I bought the truck the trans only leaked about 1 quart a month over time it has developed into a 1-2 quart a week leak with trans fluid almost being 10$ a quart I cannot bare with this leak any more and I'm afraid of catastrophic seal failure is on the horizon and spring is coming up so might be a good time to act

the majority of the leak is coming from in between the flywheel cover and bell housing where I can watch it leak a drop every 4 seconds idling in park I was told it was a "front main seal" from what my research has brought up I have found that there is no part called "front main seal" for a 2wd c6

I believe I have narrowed it down to these 3 possible culprits 1: front pump seal 2: torque converter seal 3: input shaft seal I will be removing the flywheel cover tomorrow to further diagnose before I just rip it out and fire the parts cannon (can provide pictures if that helps)

this really is a physically good trans never has slipped and shifts smooth so that's why id like to save it vs putting a t-19 or zf5 in this truck

any help, input, or diagnostic help would be greatly appreciated

 

[Big Bart]

I believe you will need to replace the torque converter seal. (Possible but less likely it is the pump housing seal.) Your torque converter slides into the tranny, over the input shaft, and that seal is what keeps the transmission fluid from leaking past the case and torque converter as it spins.

The C6 is a tough transmission, many racers used them over the years due to their strength and reliability. Interesting is that the 88’ F250 2wd with the C6 had a higher tow rating than the stick version.

Be sure to measure how far your torque converter sits inside the bell housing. Torque converters can be a little tricky to get back in so that way you will know when it is all the way in. You have to twist them left and right and get all the components to fit in the torque converter. Like the Input shaft, pump, etc. It’s like putting in a distributor, you have to get it aligned with the cam and onto the oil pump shaft before it seats and goes all the way in. It’s not real hard but it may take a couple of attempts.

Be sure to grease or lube the seal so it does not burn up till it starts to naturally lube again. Here are a couple links you may want to look into. The first shows a C6 with the torque converter off. It is likely the center seal, less likely it is the pump housing that bolts to the inside of the bell housing. Second is some history on the C6.

BIG BLOCK 460 FORD C6 AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION PACKAGE -- PASS36104

BIG BLOCK 460 FORD C6 AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION PACKAGE -- PASS36104

www.fordracingbyspeedshopdirect.com

https://www.hemmings.com/stories/article/ford-c-6-transmissions-2

 

[Austin86250]

Would it be worth doing both while I’m there Or is the pump seal hard? This will require removal of the trans correct?

 

[captain720]

Yes it's worth doing a pump seal, and a converter seal, a bushing/bearing whatever it is, and a Torque converter rebuild. I had a C6 pumping fluid out the bell housing and had to do all of that. The challenge is if the bushing or the converter goes it unbalances things and wears the other components. If it's just a seal you can probably get away with just it. Often when the seals wear though it's because something got out of balance but not always. But I did all of that for less than $500 in parts so if your pulling the trans just do it all and be happy. Just my $0.2