Hey all. I am sure this has been covered a million times. My Fordomatic leaks especially after coming off a highway drive and when it gets hot. I am assuming that the fluid gets real thin when hot & leaks. It leaves a 4" diameter puddle right under the bell housing. It also leaks at the shift linkage.  I realize that using Lucas stop leak is not a permanent solution. Will it help by thickening up the the TYPE F fluid and is it safe to use. I dont want to damage the tranny. The tranny pulls well with no slipping and has has very smooth shift. If it is safe do I use a full quart? Thanks all.

The quantity of oil leaking suggests it's coming from the front pump seal. IMHO, no snake oil is going to fix that. It's not a big deal to pull the trans, then things can be checked and repaired properly. Since the trans shifts good and holds strong, a rebuild shouldn't be necessary. As far as the shift arm seals, they too can be replaced without disassembling the trans.  I would be worried of affecting the internal seals with so called stop leak. If you thicken the oil, you may create a more "gooey" mess to clean from the garage floor and create shift issues. Hope this helps........JEFF


64F100 57FAIRLANE500

That's right on Advice Nat. I think We would be amazed at the amount of Money these "quick Fix" additive's bring in for the Manufacturers of said Products. The only One that I am aware of  that seems to do what it claims is "Bars Leaks" for small Radiator Leaks. 50+ Year old Transmissions are going to Leak as the external Seals harden and stop Sealing. If its any consolation provided  its repaired properly  U  will likely never fix it again.

  

I guess I should have mentioned its a tbird. they gotta pull the motor to get the tranny out. the cost is about 3500 +

1000 -1500 to re & re motor and 1800 + for a rebuild.. they recommend if you pull the motor..... it has about 38,000 miles on a rebuild from 1994

If its only leaking U don't need a rebuild. Probably the front Pump Seal and Shifter Arm  Seals ( which can be done without removing Transmission. Check around and try and find a  shop that works on older Vehicles.

  

I ran into a similiar situation on a 56 Victoria with a Fordomatic . Odometer was running backwards because someone had installed the wrong speedometer gear on a previous rebuild. No matter what I tried , I could not get enough clearance to pull just the tailshaft housing back and drop it down to get to the gear. I also ended up pulling out engine and trans together  just to replace the gear.  

Guys, it takes me 1 hour to pull a Bird engine, about 1 hour to drain, pull the converter cleanup and replace the seal, and about 2 more hours to finish the job, tell those shops to get lost, this is an easy job on a Saturday, cost of parts about $10.00

Hey Cliff I wished you lived close by. Id pay you - here in Canada we get ripped off for everything. Its hard to find mechanics out here who knows these cars.

the canadian coment  is bs,most canadian bird owners are cheap and feel that we fellow canadians should work for nothing,
and yes i am canadian. would not touch the work for less than 100 cn pr hr. and would bet you need a new front pump and drive tang repair job on the torque  would be close to 2000 to do it right.  

Hi, in Long Beach CA . it cost about $150.00 to send out the converter for rebuild, to rebuild the front pump $100.00, $350.00 to R&R plus the labor to install the pump (15 min)
and yes I know the cost of a shop, I currently have a 9500 ft building and 41,000 ft of land.