transmission leak...

[htchbck]

last night I was sideswiped by a ford ranger... we were on a four lane highway and both going the same way. I was in the righthand lane and he was to my left and little in front of me. I was slowing to turn right and I was down to about 25MPH and had just started turning when suddenly he decided to turn right too. Claims that I was riding in his blind spot... whatever, he should have seen me and he shouldn't have been turning right from the middle lane. Anyway, he caught me on the drivers side fender (which had been damaged before). Tore the fender up good but I was able to get another one today. When I went out to install it there was a lovely red puddle of tranny fluid under the car. I looked at the tranny and it looked fine and both axles look fine as well, but it was too dark to tell exactly where the leak was originating. I was 30 miles from home when the accident took place, and I didn't notice any problems while driving the car home last night. Furthemore, the puddle under the car is very very big probably a couple of quarts, so I don't think I lost much fluid on the drive. Any ideas as to what might be broken before I go ripping the motor and tranny out to take them apart and diagnose? Its on my '93 L with the stock tranny and BP installed.

[freshtiva]

That's a bad leak, you think you might have cracked the transaxle case? Maybe from the halfshaft getting jammed in? Two quarts, that's almost all the trans fluid so the leak must be down low. Sorry about the accident, that sucks!

[packrat427]

When he made contact , did it hit the wheel in any way ?
Is there any damage that you can see on the rim or sidewall of the tire .
Did you make a police report ,(documentation ) He got a ticket right .
His insurance might be buying you a new tranny

[WBBulldogs]

I was thinking the same thing. I hope you made a police report.

[htchbck]

nope, I don't think he hit the wheel. There is no damage to the wheel or tire. I had the car cut to the right at the time, and he hit the very front of the fender, in front of where the wheel would have been. and no, there is no report, no insurance claims... last time when a jeep almost took my door off at the gas station we called the cops and then the insurance guy wanted to total my car and give me $235 for it... um... hell no! I just spent $250 on the BP thats in it, so its not worth it to me... I'm hoping maybe its just the seal that goes around the axles cause it seems to be coming from the side of the tranny and it looks like about the same amount of fluid that came out when I took out the axel a while back. I doubt I cracked the case itself cause I think I would have lost a good bit of fluid driving it home for 45 mins, right?

[Guest]

put the axel back in the rest of the way so it will stop leaking... they are easily knocked out like that. Your tire actually pulled it out because it was gripping the road when you took the hit. Chances are it's only out at most 3/4".

I've had this happen after catching air with one of my Festers. Came down with one of the the wheels turned slightly and the impact and jerk to the right did it... found the puddle in the morning, put the axel back in, no more leak.

Hopfully the circlip didn't break and it will just snap back in.

[htchbck]

you da man DJ! I had checked out the entire drivers side (which is where I was hit) for leaks, cracks, etc, and couldn't come up with anything... went and checked the passenger side after reading what you wrote, and sure enough the axle was out a little over 1/2". Circlip seems to be ok cause the axle snapped back into place after I tapped it with the rubber mallet. Now I gotta go get more tranny fluid and fill it back up to make sure its not leaking still. Thanks for the help!

[muscle_Car1]

Catching air in a festy :shock:

[Guest]

It was 1 one those days when I was in a big hurry and hit a big swoop in the hiway @ about 90 trying to pass someone.. Not something I do regularly..

[htchbck]

To quote Jeff Foxworthy talking about getting the extra insurance on his rental car, "You got a Ford Feista thats about to see more airtime than a skateboard at the X-games!"... and yeah, I jumped mine once or twice too, but never on the freeway going 90... yikes! bet that was a fun landing

[Guest]

actually it scared the crap outta me. It wasn't expected.. :shock:

[htchbck]

ya can't be too careful about bumps in the road when your car weighs about half what a car should weigh, lol... oh yeah, I got the axle back in the tranny filled back up. No leaks! plus my shiny new fender looks great!

[wrestler3025]

Did the guy at least give you any money to cover the damage that he caused? He definitely should have!! Sorry to hear about your accident It always sucks when you have to fix something that shouldn't have been damaged in the first place. Glad you were able to fix the leak easily, and glad you are okay