Main Seal Leak - the saga continues

[Gman]

Sounds like you have some ammo to bring to a conversation with your dealer.

 

[Nails]

Yes sir. Sent the uv pic to salesman and service manager. They already knew we had something going on, just time to get in. Confirmed it’s trans now. Wait see what their plan of attack is.

 

[Jackham]

You know its funny how things change. Obviously on every forum out there you will find the same problems. I grew up on a farm and we had a lot of vehicles. When parked it was usual for them to drip something. We never thought much about it. Of course we routinely checked our fluid levels in those days. And we just put dirt or some absorber on it and moved on. Today someone gets a spot in their garage and back to the dealer it goes.

 

[Nails]

^^correct, I agree with you. Back then there were dipsticks to check the 2 main power train components. If my truck had 100k on it I would def blow it off. This transmission is sealed. I’m not worried as it’s a small, small leak and no actual drips on my floors. It’s something I’ve noticed getting under the truck. Just want it to be right. People are spending 30-70k on a new vehicle yeah things shouldn’t leak. Especially at super low miles.

 

[Electrical]

I thought somebody mentioned if the ZF was slightly over filled during install that it may weep until it reaches it's desired level. I had a 904 trans in my Dart before I switched to a 727 and I overfilled the 904 after a rebuild... it leaked for a minute on the highway and then never again... anyone confirm the ZF would do the same?

I've seen this too, on a different vehicle. Overfill... seepage and oil collecting on the exterior surfaces. Properly filled... everyting dry as a bone.

 

[Nails]

Yup, agree. I am negligent to actually checking lvl when hot. I will try it tomorrow when I get to work.

 

[Dontfront82]

On December 4th I posted about a leak under my engine and with the kind help of some members, was able to diagnose as an oil leak at the rear main seal.

Long story short, my truck had 194 miles on it, saw a spot of oil on garage floor and went under the truck and found the leak. Took it to the dealer at 230 miles and they stated it needed a new main seal. Gave me a loaner, got it back the next day with 231 miles on it (after the world's shortest road test), and was told I was all good. Better than new.

That lasted about 6 days and exactly 176 miles before I found that it was leaking again at the exact same spot. I made another service appointment for yesterday. After I made the appointment, I wiped it off myself to see how fast it would come back. After wiping off myself, it took 4 days and 109 miles before an obvious drip appeared at the bottom of the bell housing for the third time. Of that 109 miles, really the biggest drive was 60 miles at 70 miles an hour on the highway. That really brought it out.

Anyway, they have had the truck since yesterday at 7AM and service adviser called last night to say they wiped it off and weren't able to duplicate it. Go figure. It needs to be driven more than 1 mile, not just sit in the bay.

Yes, I am documenting with photos, every call, invoice, etc. At this rate, I'll have 3 service calls for the same problem before I hit 1000 miles.

Any advice or thoughts from the guys with better mechanical knowledge than I have. Thanks in advance.

Glad I seen this, I just took my truck in to service dept. for a oil leak also see my post.
(Second time. First was a bad coil check engine light)

Oil leak is close to yours, at that gilled bottom transmission pan gasket with the star bolts all around it.
The dealer "fixed it monday" but they made a mess with my motor oil change so I had to clean it all up and degrese (after i got it back)to really know if they fixed the leak..
This sucks with such new trucks..
Seeing your post makes me wonder if this is where my leak was coming from. Because I had no drips but u can see the oil residue running to the back of the truck.. I hope the tranny pan gasket was my real issue

 

[Boozygoose]

So we have a report back from dealer and yes, those above are correct, transmission fluid. As I mentioned, ironically I originally guessed it was trans fluid and created a post stating that and everyone from people on the forum to the dealer told me I was incorrect, it's oil. I have approaching zero mechanical background but at least I have some joy that I was right. I assume part of the problem is the color of the transmission fluid in the new Ram versus the traditional ATF.

Full update is I dropped the truck off last Thursday early AM. Service adviser called me on Friday afternoon and said they were still investigating and had been in touch with FCA engineers (what that is I don't know). Forward to yesterday afternoon, received a call from the service manager. According to him, they peeled everything back and consulted with FCA tech assistance over the course of a couple of days and are certain that it is leaking transmission fluid. According to service manager, FCA solution is not to attempt a repair but to replace with a new transmission and one has been ordered. In the meantime, my truck will remain at the shop awaiting the replacement arrival.

So that's where I am. I really have no complaints about the dealer, they have been as helpful as they can be. I'd prefer my truck not be sitting at the dealer for weeks and exposed to who knows what, but it is what it is.

Nails, hope that helps you. For your dealer, you may want to see if you can get it in for a quick inspection. If they need to order a new transmission, that takes some time to get in from Ram and then install, if that is the route they are going.

I'll post when I pick the truck up, have an update, or if I can answer any questions.

 

[Gman]

Glad they figured out what it was. Sorry to hear about the loss of use of your new truck, but thanks for the update.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

[Nails]

Thanks for the update boozy, much appreciated. I will just that so I’m not out of my truck if they will allow that. Glad to hear your dealer is taking care of you.

 

[Bram2019]

So we have a report back from dealer and yes, those above are correct, transmission fluid. As I mentioned, ironically I originally guessed it was trans fluid and created a post stating that and everyone from people on the forum to the dealer told me I was incorrect, it's oil. I have approaching zero mechanical background but at least I have some joy that I was right. I assume part of the problem is the color of the transmission fluid in the new Ram versus the traditional ATF.

Full update is I dropped the truck off last Thursday early AM. Service adviser called me on Friday afternoon and said they were still investigating and had been in touch with FCA engineers (what that is I don't know). Forward to yesterday afternoon, received a call from the service manager. According to him, they peeled everything back and consulted with FCA tech assistance over the course of a couple of days and are certain that it is leaking transmission fluid. According to service manager, FCA solution is not to attempt a repair but to replace with a new transmission and one has been ordered. In the meantime, my truck will remain at the shop awaiting the replacement arrival.

So that's where I am. I really have no complaints about the dealer, they have been as helpful as they can be. I'd prefer my truck not be sitting at the dealer for weeks and exposed to who knows what, but it is what it is.

Nails, hope that helps you. For your dealer, you may want to see if you can get it in for a quick inspection. If they need to order a new transmission, that takes some time to get in from Ram and then install, if that is the route they are going.

I'll post when I pick the truck up, have an update, or if I can answer any questions.

Depending where you are and it has been approved, should be available in 1 day from warehouse. Then install time.

 

[Boozygoose]

Depending where you are and it has been approved, should be available in 1 day from warehouse. Then install time.

Thank you. As usual, good info. Customer Care happened to contact me today and followed up. Everything is approved and they confirmed transmission is on the way, shows in their system, and is expected to arrive at dealer on Monday.

Honestly, I am in no hurry (aside from leaving the truck in "hell", a crowded dealership). I am in a nice loaner and they have been great about that, no quesion. My only goal remains getting it solved correctly and permanently.

 

[RAMREB]

Thank you. As usual, good info. Customer Care happened to contact me today and followed up. Everything is approved and they confirmed transmission is on the way, shows in their system, and is expected to arrive at dealer on Monday.

Honestly, I am in no hurry (aside from leaving the truck in "hell", a crowded dealership). I am in a nice loaner and they have been great about that, no quesion. My only goal remains getting it solved correctly and permanently.

Any update on the outcome?

 

[Chippy]

Boozygoose thank you for keeping the updates going and that they got it figured out. I must say I'm shocked it's the tranny. Better they just change it out for new than try to tear in to it for sure. I'm sure you'll be good when they get it back to you.

 

[go-ram]

Boozygoose thank you for keeping the updates going and that they got it figured out. I must say I'm shocked it's the tranny. Better they just change it out for new than try to tear in to it for sure. I'm sure you'll be good when they get it back to you.

But he won't really know if they got it figured out until the vehicle is returned and it's proven that was the fix. Definitely need an new update from Boozygoose.

 

[Boozygoose]

Ask and ye shall receive....

I don't put on a lot of miles during my normal days, but this is what I got after about 75 miles of my own driving and 3 days as the vehicle was returned to me this past Friday.

The diagnosis from FCA was that it was a transmission leak as noted above and the solution was to replace the whole transmission. As paraphrased from the service invoice: tech performed diag/inspection and found fluid leak coming from bell housing area. No dye visible in oil- oil pan is dry- tech removed 9 speed transmission and found source of oil leak from porous transmission case - fluid slowly leaks and builds up in a flat spot in bottom of transmission bell housing. Tech replaced transmission assembly per star case re/tested multiple miles and reinspected - as designed at this time.

I will commend the dealership on a couple of things. I got the vehicle back with 101 miles put on it for road testing, which I appreciate. The drive from the bay to the parking lot wouldn't show much. It was also returned to me having been detailed inside and out with no dents, scratches, etc. after sitting there for 15 days, which I again appreciate. I certainly hope this is the solution as I have two minor warranty issues I wish to have addressed but didn't want to muddy the waters while they focused on this problem. I'll bring up at first oil change.

I don't know if this is curative yet. The drip was slow and took a combo of time and miles. I'd say 2 weeks will give me a better answer. I have no idea what a "porous" transmission case is and I didn't find much info on the interweb, but I am led to believe it is a bad casting and there is no repair, only replacement. Perhaps someone with more knowledge than myself can clarify.

For anyone that has a similar leak appear as some previous posters above had, it is very slow and obviously required significant investigation and not a little pushing from me. It sure as **** isn't "assembly lube" and if a drip hadn't happened to hit my light tan epoxy garage floor and been very obvious, I could have gone a long time without noticing anything. I'd recommend taking a minute to just glance under the truck at that housing with a flashlight and take a peak. I hope this helps others and I will update again after more time and miles.

 

[Nails]

Thanks for the update.

 

[LaRamie]

I have no idea what a "porous" transmission case is and I didn't find much info on the interweb, but I am led to believe it is a bad casting and there is no repair, only replacement.

Yeah, basically has microscopic pores left from casting where it leaks oil. It can happen, dont see it that often but it does happen. Thanks for letting us know, glad they took good care of you

 

[Dontfront82]

Ask and ye shall receive....

I don't put on a lot of miles during my normal days, but this is what I got after about 75 miles of my own driving and 3 days as the vehicle was returned to me this past Friday.

The diagnosis from FCA was that it was a transmission leak as noted above and the solution was to replace the whole transmission. As paraphrased from the service invoice: tech performed diag/inspection and found fluid leak coming from bell housing area. No dye visible in oil- oil pan is dry- tech removed 9 speed transmission and found source of oil leak from porous transmission case - fluid slowly leaks and builds up in a flat spot in bottom of transmission bell housing. Tech replaced transmission assembly per star case re/tested multiple miles and reinspected - as designed at this time.

I will commend the dealership on a couple of things. I got the vehicle back with 101 miles put on it for road testing, which I appreciate. The drive from the bay to the parking lot wouldn't show much. It was also returned to me having been detailed inside and out with no dents, scratches, etc. after sitting there for 15 days, which I again appreciate. I certainly hope this is the solution as I have two minor warranty issues I wish to have addressed but didn't want to muddy the waters while they focused on this problem. I'll bring up at first oil change.

I don't know if this is curative yet. The drip was slow and took a combo of time and miles. I'd say 2 weeks will give me a better answer. I have no idea what a "porous" transmission case is and I didn't find much info on the interweb, but I am led to believe it is a bad casting and there is no repair, only replacement. Perhaps someone with more knowledge than myself can clarify.

For anyone that has a similar leak appear as some previous posters above had, it is very slow and obviously required significant investigation and not a little pushing from me. It sure as **** isn't "assembly lube" and if a drip hadn't happened to hit my light tan epoxy garage floor and been very obvious, I could have gone a long time without noticing anything. I'd recommend taking a minute to just glance under the truck at that housing with a flashlight and take a peak. I hope this helps others and I will update again after more time and miles.

Well I hope ur problem is fixed.
I had a "hairline" crack in my transmission pan. No noticeable damage but the oil leak was there.. it's been a week I got it back and I checked earlier looks good and dry so far

 

[trdt44]

I know this is an old thread but it has me wondering now. My truck (2019 Power Wagon) is at the dealership right now getting a new rear main seal installed. I first noticed the leak when I was doing my 1st oil change. One thing I noticed is how clean and yellow looking the oil was. This was with ~5,000 miles on the truck. The drip slowly develops and takes a couple of days to come back after being wiped off.