Atf pan leak after topside fluid change (Ford AX4N)

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Posted in trans/diff forum but later realized I should have posted here.

Got an odd one, did a topside exchange on a Ford AX4N fwd 4 speed in a 2002 Conti and now have a small drip at the pan (it seems). I siphoned 8qts out of the ~10qt pan and poured back 8qts of Supertech Mercon V, drove it a few hundred miles with some mountain and HEAVY Socal traffic, as well as plenty of open highways 70-80mph, and now it seems to be dripping, anyone ever had such a thing happen?

Fluid level is still good and shifting is excellent, I did spill some but cleaned it fairly well and it wasn’t leaking until a longer drive over the weekend (did it last week, drove around town a hundred miles or so beforehand) and all was well until last night when I noticed some spots. I suspect I’ll have to pull the pan and change the gasket as well as filter, but I find it odd it started leaking after a simple siphon and refill, could the new fluid be doing this? It had never been done before (50k miles) and was very nasty, now it’s bright cherry red and smells perfect.

thanks
 
whelp that last bit of old fluid sure is going to get draiend out. Might as well do the gasket and filter after all that trouble and hopefully any gunk cleaned up by the new fluid goes out with the old filter. seems like a pretty peculiar experience.
 
First thing I'd suspect is that you spilled some ATF topside and it's dripping out the bottom side. Therefore, I'd keep an eye on the level and see if it stops on its own before I'd dig into the gasket and filter. Unless you really want to dig into the gasket and filter...
 
I don't think your topside exchange caused the leak. The spilling @Leo99 mentioned is definitely possible. I'm sure we've all spilled fluids before, and sometimes it can drip and look like a leak :D

Anyway, if you drop the pan, get an aftermarket pan that has a drain plug, and buy a new gasket too. Some aftermarket pans' drain plugs aren't tightened all the way from the factory, so make sure to double check the torque, tighten it a little more before you install it.

Dorman 265-803 should fit your car. It's not listed for the Continental, but does fit other AX4N cars such as the Taurus/Sable. It's still the AX4N, right? :unsure:
 
Thanks every, i did plenty of driving in warm enough weather at high speed to think all the spillage would be gone, but to be extra sure I went in there again with some light water pressure and really sprayed around underneath, going to monitor now and see where it goes over the next day or two
 
I tried to extract the transmission fluid from our Taurus (AX4N) but had no luck. It’s like the tube got caught up on something. Did you not have this issue?
 
I tried to extract the transmission fluid from our Taurus (AX4N) but had no luck. It’s like the tube got caught up on something. Did you not have this issue?
Nope had zero issues, the tube on the old Lincoln was pretty large and i was able to easily get down into the pan
 
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