2002 Toyota Corolla Trnsmission Leak

JOHN5150

MEMBER
2002 TOYOTA COROLLA

Transmission problem
2002 Toyota Corolla 4 cyl Front Wheel Drive Automatic

Okay, here is the situation. My wifes 2002 Toyota Corolla CE was a victim of the famous engine gelling. My brother and I replaced the engine with a motor from a junk yard which previously had a four speed transmission. Her car has a three speed transmission. We installed the new motor with the original three speed and it leaked tranny fluid. The transmission did not leak prior to the engine replacement so we believed we may have damaged the front pump seal in the process. So we pulled the tranny and replaced the front pump and cv axle seals. Yet again it leaked. We have now repeated this process three times with no success. My question is are there any differences between the three speed and four speed engines blocks (i.E. Flywheel shims, torque converter, spacing) or anything you can suggest? We did not mess with anything on the transmission during the engine swap so I do not believe it to be an internal problem but I could be wrong.

Thanks in advance for all your help.
John

4 Replies

KHLOW2008

MECHANIC
41,815 POSTS

Where is the leakage coming from? Is it from the shafts seals or the torque converter?

Did you overfill the ATF?

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Tuesday, May 27th, 2008 AT 1:03 PM

JOHN5150

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2 POSTS

Thanks for your response. The leak is from the bell housing and this is the third pump seal I have put in. The horrible thing about it is I have to completely reinstall the tranny to test for leaks. I measured the ATF to the drop sp to be sure I didn't overfill. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
John

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Tuesday, May 27th, 2008 AT 4:43 PM

KHLOW2008

MECHANIC
41,815 POSTS

If it is from the housing, then I have this to suggest.

1. The seal is either not properly seated, installed in the wrong direction or not of the correct size.

Was the installed seal seated properly during the 2nd or 3rd removal of the tranny?

Check also the seat area of the seal for eveness or damage.

2. There might be a crack somewhere.

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Wednesday, May 28th, 2008 AT 8:51 AM

JOHN5150

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2 POSTS

Thanks for the response. Each time we removed the tranny the front pump seal was replaced with seals either from Napa or O'rielly's. And each time the seals were installed correctly. This is what I found out yesterday, the car has a three speed tranny in it and after looking back into the seals every seal that Napa and O'Rielly's carry notate they are for the four speed. I never really paid much attention as I stated to the rep. Which seal I needed and went for it. I went to Toyota and only then realized that I was most likely getting the wrong seal every where else. I will not know until tomorrow if this is the problem. I will find out when I measure the I.D. Of the two seals.

Thanks,
John

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Wednesday, May 28th, 2008 AT 12:11 PM