So My 200-4r (87 monte ss) was leaking for a while and it appeared to be the pan gasket. I wiped down the whole transmission and tried to check periodically on it and sure enough, the pan gasket was weeping through at a couple of points. I changed the gasket, filter and fluid friday. Saturday morning a nice puddle the size of a CD just sitting there under the car. I thought i may have over filled it but i did numerous searches taht said the 200-4r takes 5 QUARTS to fill not including the torque converter, so it thats what i put. I thought it maybe have been 5 pints but every where it said quarts. I wiped it off, checked the bolts and retightned to 12 foot lbs. got the car hot, and laid under the car for about 45 minutes waiting for a leak. NOTHING. I let it cool til about night time, still no leaks, i go out this morning and there it is, another CD sized leak. I checked the pan gasket, dry as a bone, up towards the front its wet, i wiped it and looked again and it looksd like trans fluid was just forming right before my eyes at the top of the case where the pan meets the transmission. i stuck my pinky up between the torque converter and the trans and sure enough theres trans fluid in there, not alot but thats deffinately where its coming from. What could this be?

 

Did you flatten the flange of the pan prior to reinstalling it? When the bolts are tightened they will sometimes dimple the flange which will cause leaks between the case and pan. If it is indeed coming from above the pan where the torque converter slides onto the the front of the tranny it sounds like the input shaft seal is leaking. A worn input shaft bearing is a common cause, or it could also be a loose/improperly torqued converter to flexplate or flexplate to crank bolts.

 

The pan is fine, no leaks from it. I laid it down flat on a table and the concrete floor to double check, flat all around. i used a pretty thick rubber gasket too so if there was any micro bends in the pan that i couldnt see flat on the table that would take care of it. The leak is deffinately coming from above the pan between the trans and the TC. I'll upload a picture h/o.

 

 

than means your probably going to have to pull the trans to fix it, if it is leaking out the front, it is more than likly front seal that seals against the tourq converter

 

Yep, looks like the input shaft/front pump seal is bad. Unfortunately, that's the good news. The bad news is you need to find out what caused it to fail. Most common is a worn bearing, but it can be anything that will cause the shaft to not run true, or a bent shaft. Did you/Have you noticed any vibration while driving the car? I wouldn't drive the car because it's just going to get worse. Mine (in my Jimmy) dripped about a quarter sized spot overnight, then one day while driving the seal gave and there was tranny fluid and smoke everywhere. The bearing ended up being the cause of it all.

 

Well pulling the trans out myself is out of the question right now. And no there is no vibration while driving the car. Ill be down right honost and say I do not have the expertise nor the know how to do this and i'll probably make more of a mess than good. I'm going to bring it to a shop and have it done right. What should i mention to them? the converter bushing and front seal is leaking? how much does something like this cost?

 

Here is a quick write up on how to pull the trans! it really is not as hard as one would belive, RWD trans are super easy to pull! beign a novice i could do this in about 4 hrs, thats pull, replace seal and install(i love RWD trans), less experianced person would take a day maybe a day and a half

Mainly need a floor jack,
Jackstands
and basic wrench/socket set with a few long extentions

https://montecarloforum.com/forum/fourth-generation-monte-carlos-37/pulling-your-trans-4th-gen-22340/


if you bring it to a shop obviously tell them that the front seal is leaking and have them check for underlying issues that may cause the problem, it is a 20+ year old car,

 

I'll take a look at that write up and decide if I'm going to do this myself. How much would a shop charge for this? I heard it's between 200-250 to change the bushing and the seal.

 

I can't be sure what it will run you, i will sugest bringin it to a Trans shop tho becuase they will know a bit more what they are looking for,

price for parts go to a parts store website and price out the parts then factor in some mark up