leaking 8 speed transmission on 2013 ram

[Kap1]

Hi Everyone, i haven't posed in a while, glad to be back.

I was preparing to do transmission fluid / PPE pan install tomorrow, and just saw a wet spot on the lower part of the transmission.

It appears that there may be a very slow leak from the transmission gasket, at front of the transmission, and it's leaking down to the lower portion.

My transmission has been shifting a little bit rough/delayed for the past few weeks, so i figured that fluid change would be a good idea. Not sure how long this small leak was there, last time i changed redline oil about a year ago, and mechanic didn't say anything... so it probably wasn't there before.

Any comments/advise appreciated! Should i be concerned or it could "leak" for the next 10 years... and i should just monitor it and keep checking transmission fluid (yes, i know the correct PITA procedure).

Truck is 2013 1500, hemi, 8speed , 105k miles.

 

[Burla]

Welcome back Kap. I had a leak like that for 8 years on an fbody, I don't even remember ever adding any fluid. The largest issue of course is how hard it is to check your fluid. But if you get just a drop or two a night, I would wager the level will always be ok as long as you have a maintenance schedule on that item. Mine was the rear main seal, it makes no sense to change those unless you get a real leak. Are you gonna do dyi pan drops, if so what would be your interval? I prolly would be on a 4-5 interval if it were me.

 

[Kap1]

Hi Burla, nice to hear from you, thank you for feedback!

I was leaning towards the same thing... just clean it up, monitor it to see how quickly it will get wet again...

I researched all over the forum, and got the PPE pan which i'm planning on putting on tomorrow, by myself. I also got 9 quart of genuine ZF fluid off ebay for $21/quart. I had transmission fluid changed once at 50k miles (only a few quarts went in), did not bother to replace filter at that time.


It's definitely a PITA to check this transmission fluid, but i guess i can manage to go through the whole fun procedure couple times per year... and top it off if needed.




Anyone else chip in?

 

[Wild one]

Hi Everyone, i haven't posed in a while, glad to be back.

I was preparing to do transmission fluid / PPE pan install tomorrow, and just saw a wet spot on the lower part of the transmission.

It appears that there may be a very slow leak from the transmission gasket, at front of the transmission, and it's leaking down to the lower portion.

My transmission has been shifting a little bit rough/delayed for the past few weeks, so i figured that fluid change would be a good idea. Not sure how long this small leak was there, last time i changed redline oil about a year ago, and mechanic didn't say anything... so it probably wasn't there before.

Any comments/advise appreciated! Should i be concerned or it could "leak" for the next 10 years... and i should just monitor it and keep checking transmission fluid (yes, i know the correct PITA procedure).

Truck is 2013 1500, hemi, 8speed , 105k miles.

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Looks more like engine rear main seal then front tranny seal.Pop the flex plate cover off and see what side of the flexplate the leak looks to be on

 

[Livinalittle]

What he said ^

 

[PoMansRam]

Yep, like said, that's not transmission fluid. That's engine oil from the rear main seal. But it can also be from weeping valve cover gaskets, or something else up top and the oil is working it's way down.

 

[Hemi395]

The 8 speed trans fluid has a greenish tint to it. I would wipe it all down and hit it with brake parts cleaner to see what color it is when it inevitably returns. Mine has been weeping in that exact spot for 5 years now and its either coming from the oil pan gasket or rear main seal.

 

[PoMansRam]

Some black staining in that area is pretty normal after a year or 3, but the OPs looks like it's to the point of dripping.

 

[Kap1]

Thank you all.

It seemed that this leak was more wet/dark on the transmission side, and everything on the engine side seemed clean.

I will investigate further during the transmission pan install today and report back.

My oil does seem to disappear somewhere... Always been. Just added a quart of RL 5-30, 6k / 1 year since last oil change.

 

[Limeybastard]

Mine was doing that from new. I posted pics at the time on here.

 

[CVX20]

Yep, like said, that's not transmission fluid. That's engine oil from the rear main seal. But it can also be from weeping valve cover gaskets, or something else up top and the oil is working it's way down.

Totally agree!Start looking at the top of the engine.
Trans fluid has a lot of detergent in it and will leave a clean trail as it washes as it goes if the leak is bad enough.It doesn't leave an oily dirty mess like engine oil.