Daimler/Chrysler Service Manual. 2001

 

If you are still having trouble getting a proper seal, try installing a gasket. Auto parts stores carry them for your transmission. No sealer should be necessary.

If you still want to try the sealer-only method, try putting a nice even bead on the sealing surface and around each screw hole. Then install the pan, bringing it up to the case but only finger tight. Allow the sealer to cure before tightening the final torque. This should prevent squeezing the sealer out and then allow it to compress between the metal surfaces to make the seal.

 

Okay, and cure for about fifteen minutes? I normally apply a bead of sealant on the inboard side of the transmission pan which I've understood to be on the inside portion. Then I apply a bit of sealant on the underside of the actual bolt's head, separate from the transmission pan. You're suggesting apply that bit of sealant straight onto the transmission pan around the bolt hole instead, which sounds like a better idea, or as an additional bit of sealant?

 

Probably the best reason to put the sealer all the way around the bolt hole is to provide equal support for the force of the bolt bearing onto the pan. This is how a gasket is designed, partially for the same reason.
Yes. I would allow it to cure for at least 15 minutes, maybe longer, like an hour. You don't want to be squeezing liquid sealer out of the gap between the two metal parts.
Personally, I would opt for the gasket route. The gasket will be a much more uniform surface, and more likely to bridge the gap and get a good seal. The cost of a gasket is about the same as a tube of RTV.

 

No such luck. But I see I'm not the only one with this problem:

https://www.chryslerforum.com/forum/...ead.php?t=7386

I let the Chrysler RTV sealant cure for over an hour. I squeezed the tube all around the inboard side of the transmission pan with a nice 1/8" bead and afterward went around and squeezed another 1/8" bead around the outboard side of the bolt holes. Then I threaded in all the bolts with my fingers until the transmission pan was snug against the transmission assembly, applying a small amount of RTV sealant to the underside of each bolt head as well, per the Haynes manual instructions. After an hour, I went about torquing the pan in several stages. Still, it leaks. The next day, I decided that maybe the lower end of the pan needs to be torqued a little bit more than the upper end, 5 in-lbs more, because maybe the pan is a bit warped, but still no such luck.

I'm thinking of going the gasket route, but only after I purchase an entirely new transmission pan from Chrysler (they're 20-40$ usually, no?). What I'm now supposing is that the pan is slightly warped. The actual assembly it attaches too is unlikely to be warped right? Most probably the pan, right? I can't deal with this RTV sealant anymore, especially if a gasket is the better way of doing this. I'm going to see if I can get a gasket from Chrysler as well. It's so time consuming to clean off all the old RTV sealant from each bolt, but I do it. I meticulously remove the sealant, so there are no traces of RTV sealant that could be getting in the way.

One thing I noticed that I have in common with the above forum thread, is that there is always that little bit of transmission fluid that keeps flowing hours later after I've let the transmission fluid drain from the assembly and just before I put the pan onto the assembly I dab the mating surface clean, but it's not long before the trickle of transmission fluid returns. I don't know if this is a negligible issue or not. I should also note that the air where I am is very dry, it's the Canadian Rockies, close by Calgary. Could that be significant? Maybe the RTV sealant actually takes 6 hours to cure? I work outside, too. Maybe dry air, in an outdoor environment, will take 12 hours to cure?

Anyhow, the gasket route with a new transmission pan is the best option I can think of at the moment. Leak, leak, leak... it's maddening.

Any advice? Any old forum threads that might be helpful to read? Big thanks for all of the help so far! I want to give this one last go before I bring my car into a transmission shop.

 

OMG pay for my plane ticket up to where u are and I will do it

 

But what would you do different and which route would you take, sealant or gasket? Am I overreacting by replacing the transmission pan?

 

i dont think there is anything more anybody can say to help you out bud. If you can't do it then take it to somebody that can.

 

No, I'm pretty sure there's a lot more that can be said on this subject. Oil changes are easy, but this transmission fluid change procedure is difficult. Books could be written on the subject. I'm a little worried there is an art to it, rather than some significant mistake I'm making.

Anyhow, my next move would be to go the gasket route. Could someone provide a few hints on how this differs from the sealant route?

 

take it to some one u dont know what u are doing