Help w/Truck issue

01 Ram 1500 3.9 has an atf leak at the yoke, there's no trail of atf coming from the tranny. What could be the culprit?

The slipyoke itself is leaking. You'll have to replace it. For a temporary hillbilly-style fix, you can take out the slipyoke, clean out the inside of it really well with brake clean, and fill the bottom 1/8" with RTV. It may last a month, it may last forever, who knows. The proper fix is to replace the slipyoke though. and While you have the driveshaft our replace the tailshaft seal.

Rear seal.

Be my guess!

The tailshaft (rear) seal in the picture appears dry, and there's drips hanging off the front u-joint. Fluid couldn't make it from the seal to the u-joint without also getting all over the big round damper and also dripping down the trans itself, both of which appear dry.

It ain’t easy being a internet mechanic.. can’t see the pic very well on my phone. At any rate the slip yoke has to come out to replace the seal...may as well replace it all if you can afford it. Pretty sure that slip yoke seal is just a little metal plug..

Thanks. I might as well replace the slip yoke the rear main seal and do a fluid change. Money and health are issues so this should be fun lol

Here's some better pics, sorry for the delay I've been laying down all day barely able to move.

Where is the leak? I see nothing wet?

Have you had to add any ATF?
If not, until it starts slinging oil and leaving a noticeable leak on the floor I wouldn't waist my time.

I wouldn't worry too much. It is not the seal IMO. There must be a weep hole at the end of the slip yoke near the u-joint.
Slip yokes do wear out but when they do they get sloppy on the splines and you'll start puking oil out of the seal. (From experience).

52Carl, the leak is seen in the OP photo & the driver side photo.

Half ton, I have been noticing drip Mark's lately especially when parked for more than a day. I added some Lucas transmission stop leak but it has not helped maybe I'll add the rest of the bottle.
I hadn't drove since Thursday night and the drip area on the road was bigger than usual.

I'd stay away from the magic lotions and potions, they tend to just be a waste of money. No goop you can pour down the dipstick tube is going to put back worn metal, put rubber back on a worn seal, or close up a hole in a leaking slip yoke.

How you feeling? You get around to fixing anything yet?

loosegoose, They are a very last resort for me.
Wylee, no I haven't been able to fix it yet, my pain has been beating the snot out of me.

Its a dodge if they ain't leaking they're ready for the car crusher......

Back?


I bit the bullet and bought a hot tub. Best money ever spent. Yes using it every day . Put it inside my building and installed central heat and air. Insulated it top to bottom . Installed ceiling fan over it .

Of course lost 28 lbs also helped.........

My back is a 2 part issue; degenerative disc and fractured spine add to that fibro and my other issues

looks like I will be working on this issue this weekend. CEL came on yesterday morning with P1762 Governor Pressure Sensor and Solenoid. Ordered those 2 parts last night along with other parts. I might as well since I will have the pan off.

with the p1762 code some people online say changing the pressure sensor and solenoid did nothing to fix the code and landed up really being the o2 sensors. Can anyone confirm?

U didn't happen to just grease the u joint? With red grease? Sometimes the grease gets hot and turns to a liquid. It doesn't appear that the slip yoke is leaking. How about that balancer? Is it an oil filled one or just rubber and steel? An old trick to find oil leaks is clean it real good and spray desonex on it. Im not sure if I spelled it right but its an atheletes foot spray. Basically it will dry making a white powder and when oil leaks it will make it a dark greyish color.
I don't know a lot about cel #'s but if u had it checked at an auto parts store with a cheap scanner it could be anything. Sometimes its a code that comes up caused by something else.

Very common issue on dodge trucks, everyone I have seen at the shop I work at was fixed by changing the sensor and solenoid. Could there be a weird issue causing it, yes, but not very likely.

On the leak at the tail shaft. Check the the slip yoke where the seal rides for a groove cut in it by the rubber seal. Before I started working on cars I never would have believed that a rubber seal could cut steel but it can. Usually you can drag your finger nail across and feel it. It there is a groove you will need a new slip yoke and seal to fix it.

cmj no I didn't grease it with red grease. No idea about the balancer. I really hope it is not anything else especially when it comes to the tranny.

Chuckles, thanks. I have been looking for these parts

Looked again the seal against the trany is leaking, also noticed the seal right before the yoke is cracked.

That rubber ring in the yoke is for dampening vibration, the shaft looks dry. If the seal on the output shaft was leaking you would have fluid dripping down on the tail casting.

It doesn't appear to be leaking too much to me. I wouldn't worry about it and just keep and eye on the tranny fluid level. Good rust preventative.

Ratbrain, the drip starts at the seal and goes to the yoke then falls. What is The rubber ring called?

If the seal is leaking the dust boot (at the end of the seal) would be wet, it looks dry to me. The rubber ring on the slip yoke is for drivetrain vibration.

Thanks

Scraping cork gasket sucks. I've been at it an hr

Yes it does, I hate cork gaskets. Fortunately at work we have a wire wheel on our bench grinder, I usually end up cover in cork dust but it's better than scrapping.

I thought about using a wire wheel but this was on the trany. Still managed to get cork all over inside it. So I used gentle air from the compressor.
Thankfully the new gasket is rubber

On the trans pan? My '97 F150 has a 4R70W transmission with a reusable rubber gasket. One smart thing Ford did!

Yup. Most of the gasket was stuck on the transmission itself. Wish I knew what genius decided it. I'd like to kick them in the shin.
You're lucky.

Thanks for posting, now I know a little bit about mechanical stuff that I didn't know before.

You're not the first guy to have a leaking slip yoke on a Ram. Want to convince yourself that that's what's wrong? Remove the driveshaft. Use a vise, or your tool of choice, to hold the yoke vertical. Clean the oil off the slip yoke with some type of solvent and dry it. Fill the inside portion with ATF. If you have a leak there by morning, you just diagnosed it. You can replace the yoke to repair it, or maybe try some type of epoxy or sealer instead.

Joe

Good hack idea, thanks. I'm having trouble a replacement like the one in the picture. The ones I find don't have the ring for the vibration. Not sure how much difference that will make overall.