[Carmine]

Originally Posted by Forrest

There is a pan bolt next to the dipstick tube, it looks wet in the hole where it is.. I have seen fluid weeping/wicking from the pan bolts in the past.. try drying out the holes where the pan bolts is going thru..not a bad idea to seal the bolts before installing them also... then check later...just another possibility..really should not be necessary to have all the goop on the dipstick tube base..so that is also an issue..if the rubber grommet is tight in the trans and tight around the tube..should not be a problem?..

I wish you right about the "o" ring being tight in the transmission dip stick tube shaft. Just not working for me. I'm guessing that I drained out about 1.5 quarts of fluid and removed the dip stick tube. I cleaned all the Permatex on the end of the tube and around the hole. Cleaned the hole and felt nothing unusual with my finger or nail. The tip of my index finger barely touched the remaining fluid in the pan, so I know that there shouldn't be any interference between the fluid and drying of the Permatex when it comes time. Just letting things dry for now and will try the Permatex later. Thought I'd give it 2 days or so, before refilling and going for a ride.
Some of those pan bolts are wet and do give the appearance of weeping, but they aren't. Sometimes you can see a very, very slight trickle of fluid coming from the dipstick tube area, and once it passes over the pan gasket, onto the pan itself, it just follows the path of least resistance. It works it way around the pan bolts and to the front, Carmine.

[mchell]

I use this style of grommet ....it requires a dipstick that has a different shape where it seats in the grommet........the o-ring style dipstick tunes have a tendency to leak especially if you have the dipstick that isn’t aligned to go straight in the hole

https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

[Carmine]

Thanks for that info. I've seen those grommets before. Never knew what they were for. To use something like that, I would need a much smaller diameter tube. I initially put a new o-ring on the end of the tube and was thinking about putting a bigger one on. The present o-ring sits in a recess groove on the tube and doesn't appear to protrude out too much at all. The clearance between the tube and wall are pretty tight. I don't think I could get the tube inserted with the bigger 0-ring on. Given this tightness, I'm surprised there is a leak. Besides, the larger o-ring that I have, came in an assortment from HF. I'm not sure the rubber is of the same quality and might not last. Best I don't do that, Carmine.

[mchell]

http://www.coanracing.com/coa-23403-...-bop.html.html

[2002Z4CSS]

Put some dye in the fluid and use a UV light to see where it is coming from.

[Carmine]

Originally Posted by 2002Z4CSS

Put some dye in the fluid and use a UV light to see where it is coming from.

Good idea thanks, but I think I found the leak and what might have caused it. I went out for a ride and let it set overnight. Nothing on the floor the next morning. Not a drop anyplace. I believe I was a big contributor to the leak. Previously, when I put the dip stick tube in, it appeared to seat fine but was wobbly some because it wasn't secured elsewhere. That factory attached bracket I could never get attached to the transmission without a big to do, so I gave upon that. I found a spring type bracket attached to the firewall in the general area of where the tube is. I thought this bracket must go around this tube. Looked like it could accommodate it nicely. Problem is, I had to use a decent amount of persuasion to get the tube inside the bracket. By forcing it hard one way, I think the round 0-ring on the end of the tube, was compromised and allowed for a leak. After I inserted the tube into the tranny this last time, I never fastened it with the firewall bracken. Therefore, I think it found it's own normal seating in the shaft. I don't know what else it could be. This was 2 days ago and still no leaks. The tube appears to be stable but I made a bracket for it from 1/8" flat aluminum. Drilled a hole slightly less then the diameter of the tube and used a round file to custom fit it snuggly to the tube. The other end is attached to a bolt on the intake that also secures one of my a/c brackets. I cleaned and prepped it. Painted it my year Pontiac blue. Looks great. Almost like it belongs there. That tube isn't going anyplace and hopefully the leaking has stopped, Carmine..

[Forrest]

"I never fastened it with the firewall bracket"...yea don't want to fasten it to the firewall.. engine moves around...not in the same way the firewall moves around!.. will cause the tube to move around..not good..Glad you seemed to have fixed it!.. Long thread! Great info for others also

[Greg Reid]

Yeah, that does sound like it was probably the problem. My tube's bracket attaches to the back of the head.

[Carmine]

Mine attached to a bolt in the trans. bell housing. I never could get it as was without a lot of work. Gave up on it, Carmine.

[Greg Reid]

Now that I think of it, that was cause for some conversation in an earlier thread wasn't it?

[Carmine]

Yes it was. I tried to get it bolted to the bell housing, even lowered the trans., but still found it difficult to do, so I have up on it. Found that firewall bracket which I used and wasn't right. It's been about 5-6 days and so far so good. No puddle yet, Carmine.