My wife is taking my Vette to get the transmission serviced while I'm here in Afghanistan. She noticed a small leak on the garage floor and found that it was transmission fluid. Is there anything I should be worried about when getting the transmission serviced? She has about 74,000 mile on her. Oh, did I refer to the Vette as "she" and "her"? Don't tell my wife! Thanks guys! :flag

 

If your one of our country's service men we thankyou for what you do for us overseas. As far as your girl (the vette i mean) :lol: make sure your wife goes to a good shop so she won't get ripped for false repairs. Hopefully your leak is a pan gasket seap or dipstick oring. good luck overthere and thanks again. :cheers: :flag :flag

 

Curious, I popped in tonight because I have the same problem and I found your post at the top of the list.

First thing to write back to her about is to be sure to keep an eye on the fluid level, to use the correct fluid if some is required and not to over-fill it.

If she can tell where the leak is originating from, it will help to determine what's involved. The quantity is a consideration, too. Mike_D's suggestions about a pan gasket or dipstick tube leak are possibilities if there are just spots on the floor. I think another possibility is something coming out past the seal for the PRND123 selector shaft. Most of these sources will drip further back from the torque converter inspection cover.

Here are links to a site with info about leaks from the speedo sensor: http://www.gulicks.com/vette/projects.html http://www.gulicks.com/vette/project...sor/index.html

In my case, I've got more than spots appearing underneath the car. The floor in this two-car garage slopes to a centrally located sump and I've had to put down Zorb-All to catch the spill headed for the drain!. The car is parked for the winter (I'm north of the 49th). It hasn't moved for 6 weeks and didn't move much before that since I ran in an autocross l-Sept. So I'm kind of puzzled that it suddenly threw up sometime before Christmas.

My car has about 70k mi. But it is an '89 w/ a 700R4. Pretty much stock. As I said, not sure why it has developed the leak as it is well cared for. Maybe the seal stuck to the flange while it was sitting and got torn the next time I started it?

In any event, my leak is from beneath the inspection cover. To me, that means the front seal for the torque converter is suspect. If I'm right, then the transmission needs to come out - something of a time-consuming job, especially if the mechanic doesn't know that he needs a bunch of extensions to reach up from the back of the trans to get one of the bellhousing bolts.

I feel my best bet for minimizing the cost and maximizing the chances the job is done right the first time is to take it to one of two local GM dealers who sell and service a fair number of Corvettes. (I'm capable of but not currently in a position to take this kind of job on myself.)

70k (or 110k) is not a lot for a GM auto trans so as long as the fluid is red (not dark) and doesn't smell burnt then there shouldn't be anything else that needs attention - maybe someone else here has a different opinion. Just the same, since it is out, I would have them replace the rear seal (driveshaft) and put a pan gasket, a new filter in it and fresh fluid of course. I would make a point of asking them to drain the lines to the cooler with low pressure air-assist before reinstalling the trans. I especially want to be sure that the throttle cable is set correctly after everything goes back together.

Bottom line - a few spots wouldn't worry me, but a puddle does. If she sees a puddle, it would be nice if your lady could let the Vette sit till you get back. If not, maybe going the same route (to a dealer with Vette experience) might be the safe bet.

Regards


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