gushing tranny fluid...traumatic indeed

[Vk-5ltr Berlina]

well i took the vk for its first spirited run the other day..
the trimatic ran well untill i got home...was waiting for the gate to open when the car stalls in D.
i jump out and go to lift the bonnet but see tranny fluid pouring out of the transpan underneath of the car..
im not sure how much it lost but judging by the state of my drive way...(a whores bedsheet)... it was a sizeable amount..
i pushed the car into the yard and havent had the heart to inspect it yet...

i am wondering what it sounds like to you guys..
basically the fluid got hot, expanded, and gushed out the sides of the pan..
is this just a perished gasket or something far more sinister..
i really neeed a plan of attack as i need to get this back on the road soon

[DANNY8]

If any pressure built up or the fluid expanded so much from the heat, wouldn't it come out of the dipstick first? If it's leaking from the pan, I'd just say the gasket is stuffed or sumfin, coz the way I see it, it would take a lot more to bust the gasket and ooze out, rather then just make its way up the dipstick.

I've never owned an auto tho so I wouldn't have a clue lol

[craigvk]

Sounds like the pan gasket has gone bad. It might sound simple like that, but I hope for your sake it's all that is wrong. The reason I think the car stalled was because the torque converter was probably drained of trans fluid too. It sounds like not only has the pan been drained of fluid but also the converter.

My suggestion is getting a new gasket/service kit for the trans which is about 12-15 bucks and replacing the gaskets. There will be about 3 gaskets from memory. The pan, filter and servo gasket. Be sure to adjust the band while you are at it. The Gregory's car manual will help. From memory it's 4.7nm to do up the band and then you back off (undo) i think a few turns. Can't quite remember. You'll need a small torque wrench with a hex key on it. I can't remember the size but the manual will tell you.
Then you tighten the pan bolts to their proper tightness and refill the pan with auto trans fluid (Dexron III). Don't overfill. Top up bit by bit. Remember your converter might/will have a lot of fluid in it so it might take less than the manual will say for a refill. When I did mine, I couldn't find a converter drain plug so I couldn't drain my converter.

Remember, Dexron III fluid, trimatic minor service kit.

[Vk-5ltr Berlina]

okay im not that technically minded....still learning i guess..
anyway how hard is it to do this minor service.. i find sometimes the manuals are a bit brief for me...
is it something i can attempt myself or am i better off taking it somewhere or paying one of my mates to do it??
thanks for you help...

[DANNY8]

My little bro serviced his trimatic, the one which is bout to go in the SKiDWAGON. It was the first time he'd even taken the pan off, and he did it all by himself. The trans was out of the car tho whch would of made it a bit easer, but overall I don't think it's actually very hard.

[immortality]

if that much fluid came out in a short period of time i'd say you have a hole in one of the cooler lines, this happened to me, got a pin prick hole in the line directly onto the headers, instant smoke all around the car. a service involves removing the pan, new filter, adjusting the band and fitting a new gasket to the band cover and then fitting a new pan gasket and then refilling. you can't drain the converter. a service refill is normally only about 4 liters. if oyu want a full service then you need to go to a trans place and they hook it up to a machine which flushes the entire trans/converter/cooler/lines etc. costs about $200 normally

[Vk-5ltr Berlina]

so can i do this with the tran still in...??
i started the car today for the first time since the trouble..
the engine ran fine.... i didnt try and choose a gear just left it in park...
after i while i looked under and couldnt see gushing but a drip onto the drivers side exaust...smoke city..
so yer it could be a cooler line or the pan...

if i can do it with the tranny in i will probly have ago...
i dunno im just really crushed by this latestmishap,,,€
feels like i am never gonna get to drive this thing..
rego was always stoping me b4...now its got plates and a sticker but i still cant cruise it up

[Christina]

gah, everytime i read the word "tranny" i think of kings cross, lol

[immortality]

so can i do this with the tran still in...??
i started the car today for the first time since the trouble..
the engine ran fine.... i didnt try and choose a gear just left it in park...
after i while i looked under and couldnt see gushing but a drip onto the drivers side exaust...smoke city..
so yer it could be a cooler line or the pan...

if i can do it with the tranny in i will probly have ago...
i dunno im just really crushed by this latestmishap,,,€
feels like i am never gonna get to drive this thing..
rego was always stoping me b4...now its got plates and a sticker but i still cant cruise it up

you should be able to change the cooling lines with the trans in the car. can be a pain is the *ss but it can be done as i did mine that way.