Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting ATX leaking

After my wife left for work this morning, I noticed some redish fluid on the garage floor where her Tour was parked. I just took a peek under the car and found the tranny coated in fluid with some drips. I got that sick feeling of "oh chit, this is going to be some big bucks to repair" Anyway, I haven't had a chance to get the car up on ramps to get under it for a better inspection. Any feed back from those familiar with this problem would be greatly appreciated. I'd like to have a clue as to what the problem is prior to getting some repair estimates. The car has 75K miles on it. Thanks!

hmm thats a problem, talk to unisys12 about this, he can tell you more, he is the CD4E guru around here

Check the transmission vent hose that runs up near the battery. It looks like a vacuum hose and is clipped to one of the hold down bolts. Make sure that it is there and that it is not crimped or plugged. Next, try to find the source of the leak. You may have to clean things up and top off the tranny to find the leak. Run the car at Idle for about 10 minutes to while looking for the leak. Then shift it through the gear ranges a few times and check again. If it looks OK, then take it for a short trip, then longer and eventually to highway speeds to get it hot. If fluid comes out the vent hose the tranny is overfull or over heating. In any case, let us know where itâ??s coming from and if the OD or check engine light on or flashes.

A few CD4E (design) problems that will cause leaks;

Fluid overheating from no TC lock up at hwy speeds.
TC and case damage due to excessive line pressure (line pressure runaway).
Fluid overheats due to cooler flow cut off.

Good luck
jeff

another issue at least on 95-97 and perhaps early 98 is cork control module cover gasket.

Good old days

if that's your problem, you will need small hands

sorry, no pictures from the repair manual. Paul posted them, and they were removed from the server a week later...

you can still get general idea of what's involved. pm me if you want more info, but the job was done more than 3 years ago, so I won't remember bolt numbering and other such things. getting old...

Mercman.....I found the source of the ATX fluid leak. As you suspected, it's coming from the vent hose next to the battery. I placed a rag under the hose and it appears to only happen when driven at highway speeds for an extended time (an hour or more)and then it spits out quite a bit (soaked the rag). I checked the fluid level and it is above the full line. I had the tranny flushed and serviced by my dealer this past Oct 03 so it appears they over serviced it. I'm bringing the car back to them on 8/12 to adjust the fluid level and clean everything up. You mentioned a couple other causes other than being too full. What is no TC lock up at highway speeds, line pressure runaway and cooler flow cut off? Also, no CEL, would there be a code for the TC problems you listed?

Thanks Jeff!

You would not get a CEL for transmission problems. If the transmission gets to hot or slips too much you will get a flashing OD light as it happens. In order to see transmission codes you need to retrieve them with an enhanced scanner. The TC (torque converter) locks at highway speeds in 3rd and 4the gear to improve fuel mileage. If the TC is slipping the fluid will become extremely hot (can boil). You can test for lock up by driving on a level hwy at say 55, then gently press the accelerator and see if the RPMs jump or if the speed and RPM increase together (as they should). If the RPMs jump the TC is not locked. Whenever you lift the throttle or tap the brake the TC will unlock for a moment until your throttle is steady.

Line pressure run-away and or cooler cut off happens when a valve in the transmission gets stuck due to age and poor design. These conditions are usually fatal.

There are new valves available (from Sonax) with a revised design that corrects these conditions.

jeff

Returned the car to my dealer and they found the ATF over full (no [censored]) and insinuated that it had to be topped off by someone after I had the tranny flushed and filled there. They drained the fluid to proper level and degreased everything without charge but had to throw in one more comment about not knowing how it got over full. Hopefully that corrects my problem. I'll post if problem persists. Thanks Mercman and Unisys12