mexkat

I'm wondering if anyone out there who knows this van can help me out...
My Automatic 89 Vanagon is beautiful and clean and was running great until on a trip
to Mexico it developed a transmission fluid leak and now needs fluid every few hours or so on a long trip and gives off stinky white smoke from the fluid that is dripping and has dripped on the engine.
A mechanic took the transmission down 3 times and fixed the seal where the leak is coming from (where the turbine connects to the transmission) but when we drove away to continue our travels it must have broken again because the leak started and as time goes by seems worse. We're about to head back to the States but are a long way from my friendly VW mechanic and I would love to fix it before getting on the road. Could this be a problem with engine mounts or something else? The transmission runs great except for the leak... Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!!

DonSor

Generally when an automatic transmission leaks, it is an indication that the system is either overheating or pressurizing. The seal is the weak point where the fluid is likely to leak. With that amount of fluid leaking despite the seal having been replaced is sure indicator that you will need a new or overhauled transmission.

mexkat

Thanks for your response! Do you think this is the case even though the mechanic who did the work did open it up and work on it and it seemed to be running great, only to discover the seal busted a few hundred miles down the road...?

DonSor

I don't know what kind of work the mechanic did. I don't think he disassembled the transmission apart and replaced malfunctioning parts. This is a lenghty process which generally what constitutes an overhaul. Most simply exchange it with a warrantied rebuild transmission of the same kind.

redheadedtwizzler

Not sure if you got this problem fixed or not yet, since it was almost 3 years ago, but I had a similar problem and found that the antifreeze/transmission cooler box had a leak, and antifreeze was being forced into and mixing with the transmission fluid. Since the antifreeze system is always under pressure, the pressure from it was actually pressurizing the transmission fluid, forcing it out the transmission seal, which was then being thrown out all over the engine compartment by the torque converter. The seal behind the torque converter on the transmission input shaft was dissentigrating and had to be replaced (you must separate the transmission from the engine to replace it). Then I simply bypassed the antifreeze hoses connected to the transmission cooler (located in the front of the transmission) which then stopped the leak. I really do not know why Volkswagon decided to install a transmission cooler on the 1989, 1990 and 1991 transmissions anyway. They really aren't necessary in my opinion. Maybe they are if you have a heavy load to tow or if you have a lot of mountains to climb.