'96 Grand Caravan Persistent Transmission Leak

[ecfune]

I have a '96 Grand Caravan that has a transmission leak between the engine and transmission. It is coming out of the bell housing drain hole. There is also some transmission fluid accumulating on the top of the transmission. I suspect that the fluid is coming out of the cam position sensor hole and then accumulates on top of the transmission hole. I suspect that the whole leak problem is either coming out of the front pump seal or front pump gasket.

I took the transmission down and replaced the front pump seal with a Timken brand from Autozone. Put the transmission back, test drove it and no leak for about 30 minutes. Later on, it started leaking again. Somebody told me to go to the dealer and get another oil seal from them just to be sure to get the right part. Did the same routine - transmission down, oil seal change, test drive with the same results.

I am puzzled as to what is the cause of the leak. The torque converter seems to be fine and I do not know if the weld cracks at the base of the shaft. Is there a way to pressure test/leak test the torque coverter (off the car of course)? Does the front pump seal prone to leaks?

Do you think that transmission shops can leak test a transmission on or off the car if I bring in the transmission? I do not want to spend $$$ for something that might be simple to fix.

I need help ASAP as I am getting ready to deploy to the war zone and need to get the van leak free while I am gone.

Thank you.

[ecfune]

By the way, my van has 3.3 L engine with a 4 speed(?) automatic transmission with an overdrive.