98 camry transmission leak help - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

fordmandan · 03-06-2007, 02:33 AM

hi, my girl friend has a 98 camry with 4cyl automatic trans. the transmission is leaking out the bottom of the bell housing. i beleive is the torque converter seal or front pump seal? has anyone had this problem? does anyone know what else could possibly be? does anyone know how long it takes to remove transmission and any tricks to make it easier? any special tools needed to do this? i am going to fix this next week so any help would be great. thanks in advance..dan

abew330 · 03-06-2007, 09:20 AM

need more info
have you been under the car?
if i were you i would clean up under there to find and isolate the problem
i would think the oil pan gasket (the main and most common leak problem)

fordmandan · 03-06-2007, 05:38 PM

hi thanks for the reply. however i have been under car and cleaned and check for where it is coming from . is coming from bottom of bell housing and is transmission fluid. if you drive the car 100 miles you have to add a quart of trans fluid even worse in town with lots of stops and starts.drips real good. i am pretty confident it is the front seal or torque converter seal but thought someone who works on toyotas would have a better idea than me. i want to find out if there is any tricks to make job faster or easier. also is there any special tools needed to replace these seals. thanks,dan

renmike · 03-06-2007, 05:59 PM

I think I have a similar problem with mine. Not quite as severe, though. I am pretty sure it would involve removing the transmission, and in my experiences, it's just as easy to pull the engine out at the same time. If someone could verify that for me, I'd really appreciate it. As for replacing the shaft seal, I would think it can be popped out with a slide hammer and then rig up a pipe the same diameter of the seal to drive it back in.

fordmandan · 03-07-2007, 03:22 AM

thanks. i plan on dropping out the trans next week. i will see how it goes. hoping for some first hand hints on making it easier. does anyone know if front pump requires a special puller to remove? just trying to have all my bases covered before i get to that point. thanks in adavance...dan

parimento1 · 03-07-2007, 09:39 AM

First check the seals around the axle where it attaches to the transmission. This is where mine was leaking from. could save u a lot of hassle.

fordmandan · 03-08-2007, 03:52 AM

hi, thanks for the reply but is no leakage around axle seals. only from bottom of bellhousing. thanks,dan

OSUpeterson09 · 03-14-2007, 04:12 AM

I dont know if you fixed it or not yet, but Im having the same problem but not a severe. Im replacing the transmission pan gasket and bolt. I know this happened on my buddys camry also, we drive 99 toyota camry I4's. You might check this. If you take ur car in for like an oil change, they should notice it and tell you exactly what it is at a toyota dealer

apudapus · 04-21-2007, 11:44 PM

i'm in the process of removing the transmission. all the bolts are off, the tranny is free, it is sitting on the tranny jack, but there is absolutely no clearance to take it anywhere: up or down.

the tranny mount on the left side subframe is removed.

also, i'm having trouble removing the driver's side axle. the passenger's side came out with no problems. what's the trick? thanks.