A903 leaks like a stuck pig

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dddDuster

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OK- so last year I discovered my transmission was low, real low of fluid. I added fluid, and it was like a water works laving a trail wherever I went. I pulled the transmission, got a rebuild kit from onlinetransmissions.com and replaced all the seals etc. everything looked very very good, the 2nd gear syncro looked good, the input shaft showed almost no wear. So I just replaced the seals and put it back in. My FSM say 6 pints of Dexron, so I tried to fill it to that level. I could only get about 4.5 pints in so I ran it like that. It immediately started leaking like mad again, so I just drove it for the rest of the season. Now I’m going to figure it out and fix it! I know guys like @RustyRatRod or @AJ/FormS have extensive knowledge of the old A903, where do you think I should start looking first? And is it possible that the 6 pint fill is a typo and what I am really doing is massively overfilling it? Ohhhhh, A903 behind a 198 /slant in a 70 Duster…..
Cheers
Tim
 
OK- so last year I discovered my transmission was low, real low of fluid. I added fluid, and it was like a water works laving a trail wherever I went. I pulled the transmission, got a rebuild kit from onlinetransmissions.com and replaced all the seals etc. everything looked very very good, the 2nd gear syncro looked good, the input shaft showed almost no wear. So I just replaced the seals and put it back in. My FSM say 6 pints of Dexron, so I tried to fill it to that level. I could only get about 4.5 pints in so I ran it like that. It immediately started leaking like mad again, so I just drove it for the rest of the season. Now I’m going to figure it out and fix it! I know guys like @RustyRatRod or @AJ/FormS have extensive knowledge of the old A903, where do you think I should start looking first? And is it possible that the 6 pint fill is a typo and what I am really doing is massively overfilling it? Ohhhhh, A903 behind a 198 /slant in a 70 Duster…..
Cheers
Tim

I fill them up until it starts droolin out the fill plug hole and call it a day.
 
where is it leaking at?
All I can see is from the bell housing, I assume The input shaft but don’t know. I do know it isn’t leaking from the output, the shift levers or the top plate.
 
Then there's no way to get 6 in it, is there? lol
All I got to do is give it a couple days, the other 1.5 will slide right in!! Maybe not quite that bad, but she is a leaking *****. I have a Jeep with a leaking t90, I know where it leaks from, no idea how to fix it, but at least I know where! Did I mention I hate leaks!! I drove Detroit diesels for way too long……..
 
Is the vent open?
When the fluid heats up it expands. Between the reduced air volume, and the heated air, if the vent is plugged the pressure inside the trans will build up and blow the oil out the weakest link.

The filler plug is the level plug like RRR said. There is no good reason to run any more than that. If that amount of fluid cannot keep the trans cool, something is wrong.

When you had it apart;
1) did you notice the seal in the front retainer? Did you replace it, and if yes did you install it in the correct orientation? which is open side to the oil, and with the spring installed. What tool did you use?
2) did you notice that the case has a drain back channel from the seal side of the front bearing, and that the gasket has a matching cutout in that area.
3) the cluster-pin is a light press-fit into the front of the case. At the back, remember the half-moon key? it orients the pin and keeps it from spinning. But the press fit seals it. So the last half inch or so, should have taken a few hammer-blows to seat it.
4) the screws that keep the retainer on, from the factory are special. The holes are open into the case, so the special screws are made with a sealing ring on them and a serrated area designed so that the screw holds it's torque, and no washers are used. In the field, those screws are usually installed with a thread-sealant, cuz who knows how many times those screws have been re-used. If the screws have been replaced with standard screws and spring-loc washers used without sealant, well that is a guaranteed recipe for leakage.
5) did you notice, on the retainer, where the TO-bearing rides, the hole drilled in the bottom run, near the base, where the seal is? This is a drainage channel for oil leaking past the retainer-seal, so that it does not run into the clutch.
Laying on your back under the bellhousing, with the inspection-cover removed; you should be able to see that hole, and the trail of oil coming down the inside of the BH, from it.
6)Most Mopar manual transmissions that I have seen, had the vent in the tail, behind the back bearing, and with an internal baffle.
But, IIRC, some of those transmissions, were vented thru a hole in the top cover. The top gasked underneath it then, had to also have a hole, just not in the same place,lol. If yours is like that, then it better have the hole in the gasket. If you have to make one, I put it at the back, where the gears are spinning the slowest, and towards the passenger side, and NOT on top of first gear, which is acting like an oil-flinger any time the car is moving.
7) If the back of your car is way higher than the front ............................ give your head a shake,lol. The filler-plug assumes the car is close to level.
8) Oh yeah, I have seen retainers crack in the case-side of the seal, just below the seal area...... If you suspect something like that, I would pressure-test the trans thru the vent if you have one on the top of the tail. Try to keep the pressure under 2 psi, else you will blow the top cover. Lacking that vent, I would drill a hole in the fillerplug and press in a small brass pipe.

Good luck.
 
Thank you AJ for all this. The only question I can answer for now is the vent is there and is not plugged. I had that one bite me back in my Jeep days!
Cheers
Tim
 
Got it! Shift lever seal and speedo orang both leaking. Front and rear seals in great shape, all is well under there now. Thanks AJ and Rob for the advise and knowledge!
 
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