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I have had a TKO-600 in my '79 for about ten years now. From the day it was installed it has leaked oil. I keep a pan under it in the garage, add oil every year, and keep telling myself I should do something about it. Last summer I put some dye in the oil and determined that it is leaking virtually everywhere. So I figured, great, I'll have to pull it out and have all the seals and gaskets replaced. Since then I have discovered that the more I drive it, the more it leaks. Now I'm starting to think it might not be vented properly. Has anyone ever run into this problem, does it make sense, and what are the chances I can check and/or replace the vent with the trans in the car?
Since I posted that, I contacted the supplier of my transmission. Apparently it is not an uncommon problem with early TKO-600s. They tell me the early ones were assembled with an anaerobic sealant which leaked. Later transmissions used silicone which did not. I was hoping for a vent problem, but it looks like a complete disassembly and reseal is the treatment of choice. Always nice to find the solution. Not so nice to find it is going to be expensive.
My output yoke leaked from day 1. Warranty was to return the yoke to them and they tack welded a sheet metal plug over the end of the yoke. Sealed it with JB Weld epoxy smeared over that. Not pretty but it does leak a lot less. Seems like I could braze the plug for a better seal as it still does it. Some day.....
JB Weld was just slathered on over the cap. You can see the fingerprints. Not pretty.
Leaking TKO-600
