Hi All!

I mainly lurk since I don't have a lot of time like I used to, but I have a question:

First I have a 1999 Chevy Blazer LS, Auto 4WD (has the auto 4WD button), 4 door model. In the last few days, I noticed a small drop of red fluid on my floor and once in a while, my driveway. I assume it is tranny fluid. Are there anything I should watch out for like tranny lines and seals and would it be worth it to try a tranny sealer fluid? My fluid was still in the specified range but a little on the low side which I topped off with a couple of ounces. I just wanted to toss this out.

 

I would crawl under there and tell us where its coming from. that would help us out a lot

 

I'll see if I can find anything. What else could it be perhaps?

 

I still have to crawl under and look but the slow leak seems to be from the center, a little bit towards the passenger side. I did look at the fluid and it looks like tranny fluid to me. It leaks very slow or not at all when the engine runs but when I switch it off, I get two or three drops. I'll keep my eye on it, maybe dump some Bars Leaks or Lucas transmission sealer and go from there.

 

Well, id make sure its not a transfer case input shaft seal, those go bad, cause the transfercase to overfill, fluid leaks out the transfercase vent, and your transmission is then low on fluid. You also get atf in the vac lines for the climate controls when this happens. $10 seal, if its bad can lead to a whole mess of problems. If the transfercase is overfull(pull the "level" plug and see if alot of oil comes out) then this could be why your trans is losing fluid.

 

How easy is it to change the seal and if I have my mechanic do it, is it an easy job? I might be jumping the gun a bit since I still have to have a definite diagnosis but I'm really curious. I would hate to lose the transfer case, I like my 4WD when I need it, otherwise I'll be stuck in 2WD. I had a friend with a 1994 Blazer who had a bad transfer case so he was restricted to 2WD but I don't want that to be me.

 

Dad paid to have the job done on his '97 blazer, was $200. I did mine myself, it does take 2 people to get the transfer case back up into place. Ive read where you could use rtv between the t-case and trans, but i got the paper gasket(gm dealer item only) if its indeed your problem, its worth fixing, run the trans low on fluid, and it could be toast! Dad lost the trans in his '95 that way.

 

Yeah, I do keep my eye on the fluid level and top it off when necessary because I do not want to lose the transmission, I know with a bad transfer case, you just have rear 2WD, with no trans, you have 0WD I'll have to keep my nose open for any odors coming from the climate control system as well but I'll have to have my mechanic look at it soon for peace of mind. Maybe it could be as simple as a line that needs replaced. I see the few drops fall from the middle, a little bit to the passenger side, if that will help.

 

One more thing, the tranny fluid is still in the good range when I check it while hot, I did add a few ounces to top it off yesterday and I check it like a hawk. It still shifts OK. I remember I had a car with a tranny leak and I had to keep adding to it when I was in college. There were times I might have not checked it as much and when it started to shift funny, well, time to top it off and it shifted beautifully after that. I check the fuild in my Blazer every day or two to make sure.