03 GT leaking tranny fluid

03GTboi · Aug 1, 2011

Ok guys I really need some help. I am leaking transmission fluid around the output shaft on the transmission. It started leaking and i replaced it. THe old one was dry rotted and clearly needed changing. Well i drove it some and one day i get to work and when i come out to leave all my fluid was on the ground. I had my car hauled home. I replaced the seal again thinking it may have been faulty or something. It is now leaking a slow drip. (both seals were special ordered directly from local ford dealership) At this point im thinking there is some play in the tail shaft and when driving it is beating the seal causing it to leak. I know on older mustangs you could get a bushing kit and replace that to resolve this issue.

I called the ford dealership and they said the dont order the bushing kits only its be the whole tail shaft and when he went to look up the price he said it has been discontinued from ford. I was like WTF the car is 8 years old. He suggested i call some transmission shops. No luck so far. This should've been an easy fix but now its turned into one big headache and im just waiting for the day im on the side of the road with a destroyed tranny.

Does anyone know if I can get a bushing kit or do i have to get a tail shaft? Also can anyone give part numbers or suggestions where to pick this up? Any information on how to go about fixing this will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

03 Mustang gt 5spd (tremec TR-3650)

03GTboi · Aug 1, 2011

I dunno if maybe its the bushing or ive read where a lot of people are saying that they have cracked the tailshaft on the tr3650. Any body have one laying around that they might sell fairly cheap? Any suggestions? cmon guys i know someone on here has to have some insight on this.

Lugnuts · Aug 2, 2011

You should be able to inspect it for a crack. You did not mention but have you inspected the yoke of the drive shaft for grooves, pits or rust? Remove the yoke from the drive shaft and the seal from the transmission. Insert the yoke into the trans and check how much play there is manually wiggling side to side. A very small amount of play is okay but if it wiggles a bunch, you do have an issue. Last I heard, you could get all parts except the tailhousing itself and mainshafts from Mack's standard transmission in Houston, Tx. 1-800-392-8607.
If you are looking for something closer to home you may have to do the junk yard crawl.

03GTboi · Aug 2, 2011

When i put the second seal in everything looked very clean. I wiped down inside the transmission and made sure everything was clean so it wouldnt cause the new seal to leak. I also already checked the play in the yoke its tight. Also there are no visible cracks that i can find. Furthermore the leak is lessening. I didnt get it overfull bc i had the fill plug out when i put fluid in. Thanks for the info and the phone number for the parts.

nancygrl · Aug 2, 2011

I had the same issue with my automatic where the ford parts guy said they don't sell the bushing kit anymore. However; they did still sell a whole output tail shaft housing. I guess not enough profit margin in selling a $8 part when you can make more selling the whole output tailshaft assembly.

Lugnuts · Aug 2, 2011

I am curious. No play, no crack, yoke clean and still a leak? I would suspect a bad rear seal or damage to it during install. If you get it crooked during the install you can oval it but unless it was very crooked it should go back to round upon install. I would try another seal.

trombonedemon · Aug 2, 2011

From my experience, where there are seals, there are usally some type of bearing that the seal keeps some lubrication on the the bearing. But, when the bearing goes so does the lubrication.

Could it be that the output shaft bearing is going (Pertaining to cars transmission and rear diff.). If you replace the seal twice and still have transmission fluid leaking, the bearing is going.

Bad bearings can have no symptoms at all and then one day, bam, cars transmission stops shipping smoothly.

Nows the time you might wanna consider a transmission rebuild for the car.

Lugnuts · Aug 2, 2011

A bad race or bearing on the output shaft of a transmission should exhibit either play or an abnormal feel in rotation. Put the trans in neutral and put the yoke in the trans and spin it. Does it spin smoothly?

Devcon · Aug 3, 2011

dang, i had the same thing happen. It ended up being a bad yoke on the tranny. mines a 03 with the t3650 also

03GTboi · Aug 3, 2011

Devcon how much did that end up costing u? I probably dont wanna know. Also how were u able to indentify it was your yoke bad?

03GTboi · Aug 3, 2011

I plan on taking it apart again tomorrow and thoroughly checking for cracks, cleaning the seat for the seal to check for dirt and debri,double checking yoke play and reinserting the seal. Ill post results.

Devcon · Aug 4, 2011

cost 95$ for a local one from ford. the labor for it plus new u joints and the new yoke, tranny flush was 75, plus 15 for the two new heavy duty u joints. so 190 total$. The guy works at a local trans shop and i got him to do it on his free time, the yoke was bent in when he took it off so it was obvious, he had seen it happen to a few others to. oh he also put in a new seal. Good luck man, try to find someone wanting to do it on the side lol

Devcon · Aug 4, 2011

also i think he balanced the drive shaft

03GTboi · Aug 4, 2011

Ok well i just got done putting the mustang back together. I could not find any reason for the leak.

Lugnut: i spun the transmission with my fingers. No noise and spins nice and free with no play. I also put the yoke in and confirmed yet again that there is not and play. I cleaned the seat for the seal which already looked very clean, but i cleaned all existing fluid off before reinserting. I also looked everything over and confirmed no crack.

Devcon: i looked the yoke over and mine is straight and looks fine.

The mystery continues. As bad as i hate to i think im gonna take it to the dealership and let them change the seal because thats all it can be. That would mean i put it in wrong as well as another guy im friends with put one in it wrong. I dunno gotta check with the wife to see what she wants to do.

Devcon · Aug 4, 2011

where did it appear to be leaking from? Good luck and hopefully your dealership doesn't want charge a arm a, leg, and maybe a penis. mine wanted 225 just for the SEAL to be replaced

03GTboi · Aug 4, 2011

I called the dealership and labor was 150 on seal replacement plus another 24 for seal and tack on another 20-30 dollars on tranny fluid. So 200$ roughly plus tax. But honestly if i had done that to begin with i woulda broke even with the buying tranny fluid twice. Already bought two seals and having the car hauled. Then throw in the aggravation its caused and work ive done i think i wouldve come out ahead on taking it to the dealer to begin with.

Devcon · Aug 5, 2011

lol I know how you feel. I thought my only problem was caused by a bent shifter plate, after 3 times of taking it apart and resealing it i replaced the shifter with a summit racing short throw (made by steeda). then it didnt leak AS bad but still leaked. thats when i put it up on a lift to see where exactly it was coming from. btw get a short throw shifter, best mod ive done lol. hopefully yours is just the seal

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