1984 Mercedes Benz 380sel transmission leaking fluid

TCFRANCISBENZ

MEMBER
1984 MERCEDES BENZ 380SEL
V8
FWD
AUTOMATIC
130,000 MILES

Hello, I had the tranny rebuilt back in 2006. Put about 1800 miles on that tranny and one day my friend was driving my car and went over a very high and steep hill going about 70mph leaving the car in low first gear. Now, he also kept the car in low gear going down the hill too and when he got home he noticed the tranny fluid all over the driveway. Now I thought since it was fairly a new rebuilt tranny the only issue I thought it could be was leaking from the tranny seals so I replaced them ( a buddy and I ). My friend is a mechanic and i'm not! It still leaks at the same spot where it was leaking before, NOW WHAT?
The tranny shop where I paid $2400.00 for this rebuilt trans is out of Biz and I don't have the money to have a shop fix my problem. I NEED HELP!
iSSUES I KNOW ARE, 1) the car will still go into gear and it will drive 2) when the the car is on IT LEAKS TRANNY FLUID but when I have the car OFF IT WILL NOT LEAK 3) what do I look 4 now? Thomas

1 Reply

GFIMOTORCARS

MECHANIC
673 POSTS

Start buy locating exactly where the leak is. If the undercarriage is extremely wet you may want to pressure wash the undercarriage so that you can locate the leak easier. If the leak is really bad get under the vehicle and check where it is coming from while your friend is running the vehicle. With the severe driving that your friend did I wouldn't be suprised if your front or rear seal is damaged. This will cause a severe leak from the bell housing area or output shaft area of the trans. Also is the leak directly under the trans? Keep in mind you do have trans cooler lines that run to the radiator that can leak as well. Let me know what you find and where exaclty the leak is coming from (what area of the trans).