Lot Of Smoke

[rich21]

i was going down the highway doing about 85 then i saw a lot of smoke coming from the baack while driving. i pulled over and checked the back then i realized that it was coming from the front. the reason for the smoke is because fluid spilled on the exhaust pipes. i touched what was leaking on the ground and it was tranny fluid. i got the tranny fluid changed not too long ago. just a drain and refill. nothing major.

My question is what areas would the tranny leak, what can i do to stop it (if theres any additives), and what is the cost for repairs?

[rich21]

no one knows huh :(

[JDOwen2]

Could be leaking from the transmission cooler in the radiator. Or loose clamp on one of the cooler hoses.

[rich21]

it looked like the leak was coming from the tranny in back of the tranny pan.

[rich21]

WHATS THE PRICE TO FIX THE TRANNY IF THERES A LEAK? ANYONE

[UCF3]

I don't know how much it will cost you to fix it, but I can get you OEM parts, once you've figured out what's leaking.

What you could do, is look underneath the car or the location you think the leak is, and post some pics for us. It won't be definite, but some of us might be able to narrow your search down.

[rich21]

I WISH I CAN POST PICS BUT I DON'T HAVE DIGITAL CAMERA OR A SCANNER. BUT I'LL TRY AND EXPLAIN WHERE THE LEAK IS. THANKS THOUGH :)

[UCF3]

I WISH I CAN POST PICS BUT I DON'T HAVE DIGITAL CAMERA OR A SCANNER. BUT I'LL TRY AND EXPLAIN WHERE THE LEAK IS. THANKS THOUGH :)

if you can, that's cool. Kodak makes a disposal digital camera, if you're interested. :)

Hey Rich:

Small favour. Could you not use caps when replying back. Since caps represent shouting, it may come out the wrong way. I know it's kind of pety, but it would help. Thanks man.

[rich21]

oh sorry, i didn't know, do you know areas on where the tranny would leak?

[UCF3]

I'm thinking there might be a gasket leaking. Since you mentioned you were driving at 85mph, a gasket somewhere broke and is leaking oil. I'm not sure about it being the transmission either, but just in case it is, look at your transmission fluid level in the bay. By the way, you never mentioned the colour of the smoke, or what it smells like?

It's too bad you don't live closer to Maryland; then i could take a better look at it, or take it apart.

[rich21]

its definetly tranny fluid cause i just changed the oil and the fluid was a little dirty so i know it not oil. i was smoking cause the fluid hit the ehaust pipes and thats what caused the smoke. the place where the fluid hit was where the two pipes connect and then split off again. thats where the fluid hit the pipes. when i looked under the car when i pulled over i saw that it was leaking around there. in between the tranny pan and where the exhaust pipes connect.

[Lucifer]

Speaking in general, tranny's can only leak from a few places. The most likely places for a big leak in order of likelyhood are the pan gasket, tailshaft seal, front seal, selector shaft seal, and oil cooler lines. There are usually other places such as speedometer cables, governor covers, switches and other accoutrements that may also leak but are usually only a slight weeping leak. Since you just had it drained and refilled, and implied that no other parts were touched, I wonder if it might not be the most obvious thing. Perhaps the trans was simply overfilled and the fluid is foaming and coming out a top vent.

[rich21]

now on the manual it said for a drain and refill it says 2 qts. now the mechanic said he put 3. is that a big problem. is it bad. where is the top vent located?

[Lucifer]

If it said two in the book, then it's probably two that it needed. A Toyota engineer designed your trans to hold a specified amount of fluid capacity. One extra quart would definitely be over-full and could cause foaming of the fluid. I've seen fluid foam out of the dipstick tubes on powerglides that were too full. If it's just too much fluid, there's a good chance there won't be any damage since you caught it right away. I'd suggest to check the fluid level at the dipstick. If you find it's over the mark that could shed some light on this mystery and point to a possible solution.

[rich21]

cool thanks a lot

[rich21]

one last thing. since it might be that it was just over filled it would come out like that? even when i stop to check i saw that it was dripping down onto the ground. its monday right now and last night i saw fluid underneath the car. this happened saturday and i got the tranny fluid changed about a week and a half ago.

[SPORTcoupe300]

5spd takes 2.7 Quarts of tranny fluid and if you really think it's overfilled, there's a fat (15/16 inch) screw on the drivers side of the tranny. Unscrew this while the car is on flat surface and all excess fluid should leak out (smells like old !Removed!). This hole is the "fill" hole and the tranny fluid should go right up to it but not over the top.

[rich21]

so i just unscrew it and the fluid would just come out? would i have to add any or thats the excess fluid?