[caifansc]

I just found the club and was going to fix a few problems on dad's car and the problems just seem to come out of nowhere. Dad's been driving my SC for the past couple days b/c i told him i was gonna look into workin on his car...so i drive my bud to the MVA this morning and coming out of his garage, which is VERY steep, the trans shifts into second....but first slips, revs go up, and then engages VERY roughly...even made the tires spin for a sec. So im like WTF! After that the car would make avery rough stop when at lights and when i get home and go into my driveway the thing just didnt want to go...it kept bucking, as if it were tryign to engage when i pushed on teh gas, but didnt. The RPM's would go up, and the trans woudl engage and RPM's woudl go down and it would disengage. I noticed a trail of trans fluid in the street and Its leaking. Im about to raise the wagon and see if I can find something. I REALLY hope its just a leak...big, small...but just a leak...or else think dad's gonna says crew it and get a new car. Any ideas...or anybody have something similar happen? suggestions?

 

[caifansc]

I am confused. I jacked up the car to see if there were any evident leaks...and found nothing...just a big mess with trans fluid splashed all over. So i cleaned things up and decided to add fluid, turn on the car and see if it started leaking. In the process of doing so, i found that my father has been using everything but the recomended mercon III dexron...i found a bottle of half empty mercon V and a bottle of type F trans fluid. So, i asked my bro for some mercon III and added a bottle and a half. Turned the car on and no leaks! Im gonna try the same thing but filling up the pan, even with cheap trans fluid for now..but i have to wait until dad gets home from work with my car to go get some. My first thougth was perhaps low fluid caused all of this (god knows when dad last checked the fluid level), but im not too sure now. If the trans was low on fluid, why did it end up spewing the rest of teh fluid out? And through where? Apparently the fluid spilled somewhere throught he rear, on the side where the dipstick tube goes into the trans. My next thought was the that the trans is just acting up due to my ravaged motor moutns...could this be possible?

 

[godspunk32]

It sounds as though the trans is leaking because it might be overheating. Liquids and gases expand at higher temps and the pressure inside a finite area increases. That might be forcing the fluid to exit the trans through a seal or something. The seal might be good enough to hold the fluid while it's cool, but it might leak when it's hot.

JR

 

[Jeckler]

I think you answered your own question when you said it looked to be leaking near the dipstick tube. If what little fluid in there got hot, it can foam and come out the tube. Double check with your dad what fluid he used (Type F is used for the PS pump and '86/'87 Taurii, IIRC)). I doubt Mercon V hurt it, but it's a waste of money and not necessary for the car.
The bucking is probably lack of fluid as well. The pump can't pick it up, so the whole thing disengages.
If he used Type F in the tranny, you might consider flushing the whole thing and putting Mercon III in there.

 

[caifansc]

thanx for the replies guys. After checking and seeing no apparent leaks with 1 1/2 bottles of mercon III i had to wait b/c i ran out. Right now im just waiting until my parents get home from work and i can run to teh store to get some more. Im thinking of just getting some cheapo mercon III and seeing how things turn out...and if its just that, then i'll do a flush and filter & gasket and fill it up with good mercon III. HOpefully it was just the lack of fluid that caused all this dilema and if the fluid came out of the dipstick tube, i hope its still reusable. I had the dipstick O ring leak on my 89 SC...and that little O ring is a toughy to get too.

 

[caifansc]

Well...after adding 3 and 1/2 more quarts of trans fluid on top of the 1 1/2 that my brother gave me, I started it up, checked the level and it was filled up. Ran through the gears, took her for a spin and the suspicion was true...i have a leak somewhere. It appears to be a slow one, but its a leak nonetheless...and dad checked the fluid LAST MONTH so that explains why the thing started acting up. THe leak didnt appear when the car was idling....it was not until i took it for a spin that I noticed fluid in that area again. Its apparently somewhere along the dipstick. I have to check the trans diagrams and see if there's something around that area that could be causing the leak...and if not, im thinking it might be the dipstick O ring. Thanx for the help guys...i guess i ended up freaking out more than was needed. Next step: trans fluid leak, then back to the plan of fixing the AC and motor mounts.