ATF leak?

[calicranberry]

for turkey day, took a road trip from san diego to prescott arizona to see the inlaws. when we got there, noticed the cruiser was dripping a small amount (several small drops) of trans fluid. the leak slowed the longer the car was parked, but started up again when driven. i checked the fluid level and it remained full, i did not have to add more. it was serviced a month before the trip (including atf change) and was not doing this before we left. since we have been back, there is no leak. the trip was about 400 miles each way, mostly flat except two passes, and we went from sea level to over 5000 ft. father in law thought that the altitude and temp changes caused it. just wanted to know if others have experienced this, or if things like altitude and temp can do this. i'm going to the dealer for an oil change and want him to check it out, but wanted the opinions of the experts here before i talk with him! thanks!

[RallyDRock]

if it is coming from the tranny case towards the front of the car i would suspect it to be the solenoid pack. this is a common problem yeah another common tranny prob, iknow, well its not that common but enough so that the dealers keep the part in stock. they will leak at first but if left alone will soon fail. less than $300 i believe.

could also be from the pan gasket area which is super simple to fix.

oh and im no expert just a fellow pt owner/shadetree mechanic here to help

[Hooligan]

Possibly when the service was preformed there was some ATF that didn't go into the opening. Did you have ANY idea IF it leaked a couple of drops prior to departing to AZ?

[Paw]

I had the leak and it was traced to the solenoid pack. Visited 3 dealers before they figured it out. It been alomost a year and no a single drop.

Paw

[steve smith]

were is the selenoid pack?

[rszappa1]

Check the front oil pump seal. Mine went bad on my 2004 with only 4,000 miles on it....

[Nova69]

quote:Originally posted by Paw

I had the leak and it was traced to the solenoid pack. Visited 3 dealers before they figured it out. It been alomost a year and no a single drop.

Paw

My wife had the same problem with her Cruiser. I asked the dealer to check the solenoid pack and they fixed her right up. They had the part in stock so it's obviously not an unusual problem.

[quicksilverdon]

Peculiar that it stopped. Like to know what dealer says. The good news is that it stopped. [:I]