[camrycurt]

Hello group,

In my long tradition of sticking my ignorant nose where it doesn't belong and creating problems where none existed, I think I've created a leak in my transmission and would like your thoughts. Here's what happened:

Our van has 130K on it and drives like a dream, but I noticed that we would occasionally get a couple of drops of transmission fluid on the garage floor near the front of the engine. I looked under the hood to see if I could find the source, and found that the two cooler hoses that run from the transmission to the radiator were very hard and brittle and there was fluid dripping down from the hose connections. So, I decided to change the hoses.

Everything went fine with replacing the hoses, but now we're getting big puddles of fluid under the car. There is a puddle under the front of the engine, and then it drips off of a couple of other points further back under the car (that I guess get coated with fluid as the car moves and then drip after it's stopped). I think the fluid was always high in the car but I didn't really think anything of it because it had always been like that and there were no problems driving the car (in three years of ownership).

Here's my question: If the fluid was high, could I have created a leak somewhere by replacing the old hoses and thereby sealing up the transmission system tight? I mean, maybe the loose hoses were somehow letting off pressure and now it's forcing the fluid out somewhere else. Or is there a vent that is supposed to vent off excess fluid when it's high, and after all the excess has drained everything will be fine.

Obviously, I'm only a very basic mechanic, but your thoughts on this situation would be most welcomed. I did the work on the car last weekend, so this leak is new. Can I just keep an eye on the fluid level and keep driving?

I guess a transmission is not something that you want to let problems go on. I'm just bummed that I screwed around in there and created a bigger problem.

Thanks!
Curt