Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting ATX Leaking

Hello Everyone, I was a member here 3 or 4 years ago, and got lots of good info. Still running the late Ray McNary's THF, which has helped a lot.
Now, the problem: Took my 95 GL Duratec ATX to Ford dealer 3 weeks ago for a transmission leak. It was diagnosed as a bad "side pan" gasket. They replaced gasket, 5 hours labor, for a total cost of $425. The tranny is still leaking, and it does not appear to be the gasket. The leak appears to be coming from where two halves of transmission are bolted together, (or trans and bell housing).
Before I bring it back to dealership and raise a stink, I just wanted to know if there are any known problems to look for. My dealership apparently isn't too good at diagnosis, and I'd like to get an idea of what kind of problem it might be. Any known issues to look for on ATX?
The car has 83k, runs great...I'd hate to get rid of it just because of this.

I have/had the same problem on my 96. Dealer also replaced my side gasket under warranty (35,000 miles) but after I realized it was the other gasket as well the warranty was up and dealer refused to honor the warranty after that.

First, if only seepage I would not worry about it. Mine seeped for years ( a drop or two on housing but never saw any on the ground) and never really needed any topping off at the dipstick. Check to see dealer did not overfill yours, check when hot and engine running after 10 miles of driving. Dealer overfilled mine as well,.

I finally seemed to have found a cure though, assure that the bolts are tight and then clean the area along the entire lenght of the housing. I then purchased a gasket sealer tube/paste and placed on the entire length of the housing where the two halves meet. It has worked so far, been a few months. If leak not serious worth a shot as it costs less then $5.

Steve,

I replaced control cover gasket last summer. the gasket is made of cork and leaks really easily if bolts are not properly torqued.

control cover is right under the battery tray. is this the one you are talking about?

the old threads can still be found here in problems, but unfortunately pictures are gone by now.

The cover gasket they replaced is under the battery tray, on the side of the tranny toward the front of car. Gasket looks dry, fluid appears to be coming from where the two halves of transmission are bolted together. It leaks about 1 or 2 teaspoons onto garage floor every night.
I will check fluid tonight...dealership did a flush and fill. They agreed to look at it for me tomorrow. If it's going to involve taking the tranny out of the car, any idea how much that might cost??
I'll try the gasket sealer only as a last resort.

there is a mushroom shaped valve on top of the control cover (right under the battery) that thing is supposed to leak a little, esp if they overfilled the tranny a little. you won't be able to see it w/o removing the battery, but you can feel it. try to touch it and see if it's wet around it.

Thanks, Alex, I'll check it out when I check the fluid tonight.

Hey Alex - is the tranny filter underneath the control cover?

Dan, basically if you take that cover off all you can see is the control module.

I'm sure the filter is there somewhere, just not for R&R purposes :p

This transmission does not have a filter that can be replaced!!!!!

sure it does. and sure it can be replaced. it's just that you would have to pull ATX out and open the case. it's just nuts and bolts, right Terry?