Hole in transmission pan

BRANDONSWINEHART

MEMBER
1995 SATURN SL1
4 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
115,000 MILES

I was driving on the freeway the other day and while steady on the gas, my car began to just rev up really high but no longer accelerate. It was either before or after that I heard what sounded like metal grinding and breaking apart. Once I pulled over I saw a lot of fluid leaking. Upon further investigation it was transmission fluid and it was coming from a hole close to my drain plug on my transmission pan. Is my car finished? I spent $300.00 on it and now could be looking at putting more into it than it is worth. Can the pan just be replaced and I am good or is this major as I fear it is? Oh and what caused the issue if you know? Thank you

1 Reply

KASEKENNY

MECHANIC
18,907 POSTS

Hi Brandon,

Normally a hole is created by something contacted the pan pretty hard either from the outside or from the inside. Due to this being a transmission pan it is unlikely that something came apart from inside to cause a hole in the pan however, the best way to find out is to remove it. If not then it was a rock or some else from the road that kicked up and put a hole in it.

It is always worth it to inspect what would be needed. I would remove the pan and just see how much metal is inside. There is probably a magnet in the pan that is meant to hold the metal. However, if there are chunks or a lot of metal shavings then you will need to rebuild/replace the unit. I would not make a decision until you find this out. When you remove the pan pour all the contents into a milk jug or something that can hold it all so that you can inspect it. Send pictures if you have questions.

Let me know what you find. Thanks