So for the last few days, I've had some suspicion that the ol' Bonny has been leaking fluid of some kind. The problem is that I work during 99% of daylight hours and can never seem to remember to park in a spot with no black spots on the pavement to check.

Unfortunately, this morning I noticed a small puddle under my car.

I had been checking oil and transmission fluid pretty consistently lately and hadn't noticed any change. As I dabbed it with a paper towel to see the color, I wasn't sure what color I'd rather see... Pink. Oh god no...

So anyhow, I had the day off today and luckily it was nice out. I jacked up the ol' girl, put her on jack stands and slid under. As I looked around, I noticed that the entire bottom panel was wet, with a few lingering drops waiting to hit the pavement.


I thought for sure I was in for a multi-hundred or thousand-dollar day. It turns out, though that the bolts on the panel were only hand-tight (some not even). I have no idea when the last time the panel was removed (a tranny flush a year ago?) and I don't know how it's taken this long for something to happen. I tightened them up a bit, added the appropriate amount of fluid, and I haven't seen a drop since, but while I was under there, I noticed this:


I'm no expert, but it looks like there's a protective panel missing from my transmission. There should be no reason to see that gear, and I have a feeling that that missing panel is the reason I've always had a slightly-more audible whine than other Bonnevilles that I've been around. There appears to be bolt-holes on either side of the gear, and I'm sure there was supposed to be something here. Anyone have any advice? Should I be crawling under cars in a junk yard?

I don't know how nothing has come of this missing panel by now.. between weather, rocks, etc... fluid doesn't leak from this area at all, I don't know for sure that there was even a panel there when I bought the car. Ideas? Thoughts? Concerns?

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Bonneville SE -- Cruising the mountains, surfing the lowlands, and passing broken down competition since 1993!

There should have been a protective cover on there.

Thats the flywheel where it connects to torqueconverter/ tranny

Idk if there any SERIOUS consequences of no having that panel but I would get one just to be safe.

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Clay
1997.2 40th SLE-138k
1968 Bonneville 400ci w/TH-400-40k
1999 GMC Suburban SLT-191k
2005 Escalade 253k-GINA

What panel were you referring to that you tightened bolts? Did you mean the transmission pan?

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Yeah I figure if I've been driving this car for at least a year without a cover, there must be no real major problem, I just don't want to end up losing a tranny to a rogue stick in the road. Thanks for the info though, I was just a bit frightened to see a large visible gear.

And before anyone says it, I know the bottom of my car is horrendous. I need another day off to do some serious cleaning. I'll post some pictures of the inside and outside of my car in the coming weeks, the rest is immaculate!

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Bonneville SE -- Cruising the mountains, surfing the lowlands, and passing broken down competition since 1993!

The transmission pan bolts should be torqued to around 15 lb-ft.

The piece you're missing is plastic, and has two bolts that hold it on. See your local junk yard. Or..if you like, I can probably get the one from my Bonneville and send it to you, if you're not in a rush. It's good not to have an open area there to keep debris out, but the world won't end without it being there. It's merely a guard.

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John
Now: '15 Toyota Prius III | 134 hp 2ZR-FXE | Silver | 36k
Now: '03 Honda CR-V AWD | Slow 4-Cylinder | Dirt | 180k
Then: '07 Ford Fusion SEL | 221hp Gen I VVT Duratec 3.0 V6 | Tungsten Silver | 150k
Then: '99 Toyota Avalon XL | 200hp 1MZ-FE 3.0 V6 | Diamond White | 189k | Sold: July 2015
Then: '11 Ford Fusion SEL | 240hp Gen II VVT Duratec 3.0 V6 | Ingot Silver | 84k | Totaled: Oct 23 '14 (Rear-Ended)
Then: '96 Buick Park Avenue Ultra | 240hp Series II L67 | Medium Dark Lichen | Bought: JAN 11 @ 135k | Accident: FEB 3 '12 | Crushed: MAR 1 '13 @ 153K
Then: '98 Pontiac Bonneville SSE | 205hp Series II 3800 L36 | Topaz Firemist | Bought: NOV '09 @ 74k | Accident: MAY 28 '10 | Crushed: MAR 15 '11 @ 84k
Then: '93 Pontiac Bonneville SE | 170hp Series I 3800 L27 | Dark Yellow Green | Bought: JULY '07 @ 92k | Sold: JULY '12 @ 118k
Then: '89 Pontiac Bonneville LE | 165hp 3800 LN3 | Medium Garnet Red | Bought: JAN '05 @ 117k | Sold: SEP 30 '07 @ 152k

Yeah, it was the bolts all around the tranny pan. They were terribly loose... Don't worry, I only torqued them to about 12lbs. I know not to over-tighten on that seal.

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Bonneville SE -- Cruising the mountains, surfing the lowlands, and passing broken down competition since 1993!

Ah thanks, it's no rush but I'd just as soon find one off an old Bonne here than put you through the trouble. There are lots of them in the area, mostly in much much worse condition than my own or (sadly) on 24" rims. I appreciate the info!

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Bonneville SE -- Cruising the mountains, surfing the lowlands, and passing broken down competition since 1993!

I was just trying to differentiate between pan and panel. And if you can find the flexplate cover it just be for the benifit of the flexplate.

And did you get an actual flush or did they replace the filter as well? Your gasket may be getting old if they didnt drop the trans pan.

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Come to think of it I think it was just a flush. So really, I have no idea when the pan was removed last. I have two mid-week days off this week so maybe I'll get under there and replace the gasket if the leak doesn't actually stop.

I've been checking it since I did this tightening around 4pm, and I have yet to see a leak. Quick trip to the post office and still no leaks after an hour and a half. I think it had just somehow worked loose or the gasket suddenly shrank... despite the warm weather...

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Bonneville SE -- Cruising the mountains, surfing the lowlands, and passing broken down competition since 1993!

My definition of a flush is pan drop, replace filter, hook everything back up and flush through the cooler lines. Anything else is unacceptable IMO.

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Bye Bye:

RIP sandrock

Well I agree, but at the time I got it from one of the evil incorporations who were offering a $30 special flush when purchasing an oil change. The good news is that all of the fluid that was dripping, even the fluid on the ground was still bright pink. All level checks when replacing the fluid were clean and fluorescently clear. So despite the fact that it's been a while since the tranny has been serviced, I appear to have no crud/damage in the transmission. Always a relief...

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Bonneville SE -- Cruising the mountains, surfing the lowlands, and passing broken down competition since 1993!

To me flush is well just that a flush with a "machine"(its actually just a reservoir). And pan drop is drop pan, clean it, clean magnet, replace filter, replace pan gasket.

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he didnt ask about trans service

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-Juan

No bonnie!
93 s10 ex cab: 2.8: t5: exhaust: tbi mods. 5.3, 76mm, and a D.r cam on a stand

This is correct. What Ed describes above is a pan drop AND a flush.

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True, but I was trying to figure out what he exactly had done. If it was a pan drop, whomever did it didnt tighten the pan properly. But alas it was a flush. So it was relevant to the post.

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