Ugh, did I screw up my transmission fixing a pan leak?

[rockola1971]

I’ll bet disconnected a plug unintentionally under the pan. Had one of my mechanics do that years ago.

That should throw a code almost immediately.

 

[mrhp]

Key word “should” . Could have also dropped the filter out of the intake port. He needs to drop the pan and see what he muffed up.

 

[Rocket Man]

You need to pull the pan and inspect. Hopefully the issue will be obvious. You didn’t mention why you couldn’t remove it. The exhaust crossover will need to come off and if you’re 4WD you can remove the 4 bolts that hold the front diff to the frame and let it droop enough to get the pan out. You might have to stick something in there to hold the diff down but it’s not hard to get enough clearance.

 

[Zeus3k]

Thanks all, you are giving me hope! Now for the fun of pulling the pan off.

I did post the video of the shift linkage in action. I am mostly going from Park all the way to 1, and then back.

 

[OR VietVet]

I think if you do as @Rocket Man said to make clearance, you should be just fine with room to remove and inspect.

 

[Blackcar]

Thanks all, you are giving me hope! Now for the fun of pulling the pan off.

I did post the video of the shift linkage in action. I am mostly going from Park all the way to 1, and then back.

Yes, It is something under pan the trans didn't even move or shake between rev and drive.

 

[Zeus3k]

Hey guys, I finally got back to this. The truck is parked on the street, so working on transmission while in the street was not an ideal situation. Out of shear hope, I tried again, and was in shock when the truck started moving when I put it in "Drive". It at least got my truck in a place I could safely work on it. Tried "Reverse" out of curiosity and it still did not engage.

Anyway, jacked up the truck, drained the fluid, and removed bolts for pan and steering linkage. Pan is currently half way down (exhaust pipes in the way). One thing I noticed right away was that the filter was not plugged into the port anymore and was just sitting in the bottom of the pan. Could it be that easy that I just need to reseat the filter in the port? It took a couple of hours to get to this point, so I don't want to reassemble everything with out visually inspecting the rest. I just wanted to point out where I am. I need to make further room to get the pan completely down.

 

[Zeus3k]

Key word “should” . Could have also dropped the filter out of the intake port. He needs to drop the pan and see what he muffed up.

Dropped filter out of the intake port. Filter was not in the intake port when I dropped pan, so this may very well be it. But would that cause the transmission to immediately not engage? I guess if there is a sensor that notices a reduction in fluid pressure then it shuts the rest off? I am assuming a disconnected filter would cause fluid pressure to drop significantly.

 

[mrhp]

Filter not in port will make trans inoperable. It may be able to pull a small amount of fluid and move a bit, but not much. Correct the filter assembly, make sure all wires are intact, and reassemble.

 

[Zeus3k]

Fully removed pan after clearing steering linkage. Upon visual inspection, all wire connectors seem secure and tight. Fluid looks very clean (just changed 5k miles ago). No metal bits in the fluid. The one concern is one of the modules (unsure what it is) is loose compared to the one next to it. See video. That is the only item I can find concerning before I put everything back. Anyone know if it should be as loose as what the video shows? If all is good, I'll reassemble and give it a try.

Video Link: