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dissapearing transmission fluid...?!

V

visjordan

NAXJA Forum User
Location
St Thomas, USVI
Greetings!

I have an odd one... just bought a '90 cherokee and have noticed that the transmission fluid is disappearing. yup... disappearing. I need to put a quart in every two weeks or so and haven't noticed any tranny fluid marks anywhere. where is the fluid going?!

I live in St. Thomas, USVI- bunches of hills and the jeep never sees more that 35mph.

Thanks!
Seth
 
Last edited:
If you really truly don't have a wet underside (checked the transmission fluid lines to the radiator?) - consider that it may be leaking from transmission into the transfer case on those hills (and the seal construction is that it only goes one way??)

It could also be going into the cooling system (radiator overflow bottle)
The transmission has a cooling loop immersed in the side of the radiator. A cracked line in there would put transmission fluid into the engine coolant. (quite unlikely)

But my money is on a leak that only occurs while you are on the move and doesn't drip onto a part of the vehicle. You'll have to spend some time underneath it looking around and thinking about it.

I had a nice adventure in St. Croix a long time ago when my ship left early and left me and 19 others behind :)
 
My money is on the radiator leaking internally. If you drain the coolant and it's red and smells like trans fluid, its time for a new radiator.

Being the nice guys that I am if you fly me down there and put me up for a week I'd be more than happy to fix it for you for free!!! :)
 
It has to be leaking out, As has been said above take a good look around under the Jeep. I don't buy into the radiator theory because 2 quarts a week is alot of fluid & would already be pouring out of the overflow, Unless, of course you have a bad head/gasket and are burning it up (unlikely).
How much fluid have you added so for??
 
N8N_99xj said:
do AW4s have a vacuum modulator? (I honestly don't know) if that were the problem though you'd be seeing lots of smoke out the exhaust... lots and lots of it
Click to expand...

I thought of that too but I don't think the trans has that feature. (but I could be wrong)

That's an "old school" issue for older cars. A small leak wouldn't make much smoke so it could be a subtle failure.
 
Thanks for the the help!!

it's definitely not leaking into the radiator... leaking back into the t-case is a possibility. I looked under the jeep and it's caked in all short of crap. dead iguana's, sand, other misc. fluids. I'm guessing under load on of the tranny lines is dripping and causing the mystery leak. I'm going to give it the once over tomorrow and see if I can see exactly where it's coming from. island cars get beat to hell, this one is no exception.

my first thought was vaccum modulator. I had a '54 hudson that lost fluid and narrowed it down to that after many, MANY months. The AW4 does not have one, at least mine doesn't :)

just for my own clarification is it best to check the fluid in neutral or park... or does it matter? i get the same reading regardless it seems.

Thanks!
Seth
 
Check fluid on the level, engine running in neutral after warmed up .
There are holes drilled to show "normal" and "too low" (and there probably are instructions on the stick too)
 
I would bet on the transfer case having your fluid in it. Make sure to pull the fill plug first if you are going to mess with it at all... nothing sucks more than pulling a drain plug then realizing the fill plug wont come out once it is empty. Fortunately for you, the tranny and transmission take the same fluid, so if it has been leaking, no harm will have been done to the tcase.
 
kastein said:
... nothing sucks more than pulling a drain plug then realizing the fill plug wont come out once it is empty. Fortunately for you, the tranny and transmission take the same fluid, so if it has been leaking, no harm will have been done to the tcase.
Click to expand...

....and the transfer case will fill back up pretty quickly.....:spin1:
 
leaky return line was the culprit. took it for a long drive today and finally got some smoke off the exhaust. it's amazing how a small leak can really compound itself but still remain a mystery with 'routine' driving habits.
 
How would the transfer case have transmission fluid in it? They are both sealed independently and are not sealed at their mating point.

I would clean off the underside at a car wash and try to find the leak.
 
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