Transmission pan leaking (again)

I had a similar thing happen with my 32rh. I thought my pan was leaking, took it back twice for a do-over. Turns out it was the selector seal on top of the transmission. The way it leaked from the top made it look like the pan was the culprit
 
  • Like
Reactions: primetime4
Well I finally worked up the courage to crawl back under my Jeep and see what the situation is with the transmission pan after a couple weeks of driving. I had not seen any spot on the garage floor, so I was hopeful. I’m happy to report that everything looked nice and dry. So lubelocker gasket gets a thumbs up. And I did put some thread locker on the bolts, but I will have to give it some more driving time to see if they loosen up any to know if that helped at all. Also, I’m still suspicious it may not have been the pan at all, because I’m pretty sure the position safety switch was leaking too. So replacing that may have been the actual fix. Thanks to all that commented on my original question. (On to my leaking power steering gear box).
 
  • Like
Reactions: 97' 4 Popper
I don't know about your 30RH but it's common for some automatic transmission pan bolts to require an ATF resistant RTV to be applied to the threads or they'll leak otherwise. Have you looked at the FSM for your year to see if any of yours do?

Hi Jerry. Question-- 4 rear bolts ATF pan 2000 TJ — middle 2 - what tool do you use to tighten with out removing skid plate?
 
I'm pretty sure I've done this multiple times. I don't think I've had any problem getting a ratchet back there, but maybe a 1/4" drive 1/2" socket. There was a period when I was taking the pan off multiple times a day and I don't think I was removing the skid but maybe I've got revisionist history.
 
I don't know about your 30RH but it's common for some automatic transmission pan bolts to require an ATF resistant RTV to be applied to the threads or they'll leak otherwise. Have you looked at the FSM for your year to see if any of yours do?

Hi Jerry. Would you just remove a pan bolt, then apply RTV to the threads and replace the bolt. Where would you purchase ATF resistant RTV.
 
hi jerry. When i remove skid plate, what should my eyes focus on for leak determination?

In my experience, torque converter/pump seal leaks run to the bottom of the bell housing. EVERY other leak runs to the pan. So the only way you can really know the source is to dry everything off and then stuff paper towels in & around all the suspect areas (selector shaft, cooling lines, neutral safety switch, dipstick, etc) and come back in a few hours or longer and see which towels are now red.

The selector shaft is extra tricky because you can't really see it and you'd be AMAZED at how much can leak through it. I was adamant that wasn't my problem based on the size of the leak but boy was I wrong.