I wasn't able to see much with my scope except dirt. however, I was able to get my head and iPhone up there. There's definite dirt and oil on the front of the transmission, and the Torx bolt directly center was wet.

video attached.

I can't drop the transmission anytime soon, so I'm going to have to bolt the transferase back on (I already started this and it went in like a glove! I was shocked). so my Next steps on the transmission could be either;

drain and replace the fluid?
pray?
add some trans leak stop stuff?

I was also wondering if I should stick the pressure washer attachment or at least the hose and try to was some of that dirt out, but it seems like a bad idea

 

drain and replace the fluid? YES
pray? YES!
add some trans leak stop stuff? Probably won't help, could possibly make the solenoids sticky (just guessing).

I was also wondering if I should stick the pressure washer attachment or at least the hose and try to was some of that dirt out, but it seems like a bad ideaI can't help notice the resemblance of the sandy red dirt all over your transmission pump face looking exactly like the mud in your Duck Boat video.How long after the Duck Boat move did it take to notice the leak?Makes me wonder if the submerged bell housing filled the pump seal full of grit and caused the leak. If any water somehow got into the transmission, you would definitely have an overfill condition. I'm real curious about how the fluid looks when you drain it.

 

Yeah….. that video was about two weeks before the transfer case and 3 weeks before the transmission leak. I’m definetly thinking related.

i just had the pan replaced 5kmiles ago - I’m thinking I could get away with draining out the rest and refilling it. I haven’t looked at the procedure for this but I’m viewing it’s not dissimilar to the transaxle - I think I remember seeing a drain on the bottom of the new pan.

 

You do not want to pressure wash that area, its not designed for water entry at high pressure. You can certainly spray some water in there with very little soap. Do not spray any heavy degreaser, etc. It can, in fact, enter the edge of the seals and cause even more damage. Sorta like when people get all crazy cleaning and engine then a little later the front engine seal goes. So caution is best. And really, if dirt is not hurting I would not worry. You must have been sitting in some pretty mucky water for a while, I have not seen dirt up in there before.

 

I dont want to jinx myself again, but after putting the new transfer case on, I sprayed it out with a very very weak simple green and water solution, wiped a rag on a screwdriver up in there and wiped it out as good as possible. I dumped a bottle of sealant in there and let it idle for 30 minutes or so, shifted from reverse neutral drive a few times , took a couple laps around the block and she’s dry as a bone.

 

Yeah I definitely jinx that. I got about 5 miles from my house and started getting gear spinning noise and then started losing traction in the engine. I pulled over stopped and then the car woulfnt reengage. I can get the car to move a little bit when I put it in the low gear and rock crawl mode but other than that its not going anywhere. I’m pretty sure the transmission or clutch just kicked the bucket it sounds like it’s just spinning and spinning. I went to put it into park I got a clickety clack sound. Dang, so close but yet so far. I was able to limp into a parking lot for now.

 

Went back to check on it today. I rechecked the transmission level and it was low. I put about a pint into it, but still couldn’t get it to engage. I think I stripped first and second gear.

 

Shame...but you can not really strip gears, you can burn up clutches. But if that happens you generally end up with wicked dark fluid. I think you need to review your fluid level checking procedure and make sure you are doing it 100% right because something seems off. If you are certain the fluid is proper, then I suspect a failed torque convertor not necessarily the transmission itself. Also keep an eye on codes.

 

That’s what I mean… it smelled burnt a few days ago, but i think that was just from fluid being spilled on exhaust. I’m having it towed back to my garage tonight and then I’ll decide what the fate will be

 

I had a towed back here on Thursday, and this is how my garage floor looks on Sunday afternoon.

And it’s still actively dripping.