Small ATF leak from bellhousing

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tylersHEMI

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Hey, so I have only had my truck(2007 5.7 4 Door) for about 3 months and it has been great so far. It is my first truck and I am loving it.

So, as stated in the title there is a small amount of ATF leaking from my transmission but only sometimes. Specifically when I park my truck at work all day. I notice it when I go to head home. Its not leaking everyday and it doesn't do it overnight at home.

My drive to work is about 30 miles and I park it on a flat surface. The tranny is slightly overfull and I think it may be something to do with the hot weather we have been having recently

I have been monitoring the fluid level and it is still a little overfull. Is there an easy way to drain a little to bring it down to normal levels? I haven't noticed any problems with shifting or anything.

You can see a little drop of fluid on the bottom nub of the bellhousing
 

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fastf

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Looks like the front transmission seal .Did you over fill it ? If so the transmission with the overfill of fluid has no where to go when every things heats up.This kinda scares me with to much fluid it can blow the front or back transmission seal.I don't know if there is a drain plug on that transmission but I think the front seal is getting weak then you might get lucky if some how you can get the fluid down to normal.If that works keep a close check on the leak under your truck.Don't go out and by a transmission stop leak to stop that seal from leaking you could mess up your transmission.
 
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tylersHEMI

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So I have a fluid pump and was able to remove about a solo cup and a half of excess ATF. Now the level is sitting within the tolerable range. I will see if it leaks today when I get off of work. Really hope its not the front transmission seal!
 

fastf

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Just keep a close eye on it the next few days and see if it keeps leaking.I wish you the best of luck .
 
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tylersHEMI

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So after bringing the fluid level down it is still leaking a little when parked for a long time. I am trying to collect the fluid that is dripping and last night it looked like it was about 20 drips worth. I know its not that much but I hate for any of my vehicles to leak anything.

Has anyone had the front transmission seals replaced before? and if so what kind of price am I looking at?

To specify a little more it is dripping down from the small hole on the bottom of the bellhousing between the 2 nubs at the bottom. Would this be the pump seal or the other seal? Thanks for the help
 

SHOOT2KILL

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Mine has leaked in the same spot since new...Those 2 bolts were both loose from the factory and took a complete rotation and a little more to tighten up...Mine leaks more when I spin the motor up past 4-5k rpm...Seems like it builds pressure inside the housing...My truck was actually down on tranny fluid from the factory fill...
 

fastf

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My Dad showed me something one drop of oil can spread and look like all heck is breaking loose.I would keep a check on the fluid from day to day.Go by a repair shop and just see what it would cost to replace the seals you see I said seals because if you replace the front the rear will most likely start.Go to a shop that knows what they are doing not someone who works on cars in his backyard.The seals aren't hard to replace it's pulling the transmission back enough to put them in is a pain.Also like shoot2kill said I have seen engines and transmissions leak from day one and I'm the same way as you cannot stand a leak my son had a Dodge Stratus and it leaked oil from day one they replaced the head gasket and still couldn't fix it.It was something the way the engine was cast he got rid of that puppy.
 
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tylersHEMI

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Thanks for the answers and help so far. So it is still leaking but only once its been parked for about 5 or 6 hours. Overnight it looks like it is loosing about 20 drops of fluid.

It looks like it is coming out of the small hole between the 2 bolts it has been dripping from. Im not sure what is up through there but it seems like an actual place for fluid to drain from if overfilled or something.

Changing my front brakes today so I will try to keep an eye on it. Thanks again for the input so far. I will get to the bottom of it eventually.
 

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fastf

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Your torque converter is inside the bell housing.That is a drain rain water and such.This is just a wild guess take some brake cleaner and spray up inside that hole just spray the startch out of it .What I'm trying to do is you let the fluid down to normal you most likely going to get drops but if you spray the brake cleaner up inside that hole it get's rid of the fluid and dry it up.Then you can really tell if you have a seal going bad you can also use throttle body cleaner and let it drain out once it is all drained out the hole .Then you can watch and see like I told you one drop can go along way.
 
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tylersHEMI

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Just wanted to give an update on my problem. Good news is I figured out what was going on. Bad news is that i feel pretty stupid.

So it turns out that my water pump had developed a slow leak and was making its way from the font of the engine all the way down to the bellhousing. I saw red and instantly thought tranny fluid.

Late last week the water pump started to leak worse and worse and thats when I finally noticed the source of the issue. At this time i wasn't positive that replacing it would solve my "tranny" leak but I knew it would stop the coolant leak from the pump.

Turns out everything is good now and no more leaks anywhere. So anyone that thinks they have a transmission leak maybe consider this possibility first. I am very happy that it was only the water pump and dodged a bullet by not having to pull the transmission.
 
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