My 56 Ford leaks ****** fluid sometimes?

Old Redneck

Old Redneck

Well-known member
The other day I park the 56 in the driveway and I notice a stream of red fluid going up the driveway? I look under the car while it was running and it was leaking pretty bad. A steady stream. I pulled the car in the garage and shut it off. I later after cleaning the driveway up went in the garage and started the 56 to check the fluid level. It was down a half quart so I put it in and back out the 56 in the road in front of the house. Now its not leaking a drop. It takes spells doing this. It comming from the fron of the ******. It automatic I should have said that.The shield that covers the bottom of the tourque converter is missing. I know I got to find one.I am afraid to take the car on long tours because of this problem. What do you think the problem is.:mad:
 
I have a 55 w/Ford O Matic and mine is fine when I drive but after I turn it off , the damn trans leaks real bad out the front someplace . The longer it goes without running the worst the leak is . I haven't checked mine out yet due to I am replacing the engine and trans . I would say mine is the front pump seal but who knows .
One time I came home and parked the car the the trans fluid came shooting out the fill tube and caught fire on the exhaust manifold . That was a real treat . Couldn't figure out why and never happened again . That has been 4 years ago .
I just hate those Ford O Matic ! Replacing it with a C4 !

Jim
 
Retro Jim said:
I have a 55 w/Ford O Matic and mine is fine when I drive but after I turn it off , the damn trans leaks real bad out the front someplace . The longer it goes without running the worst the leak is . I haven't checked mine out yet due to I am replacing the engine and trans . I would say mine is the front pump seal but who knows .
One time I came home and parked the car the the trans fluid came shooting out the fill tube and caught fire on the exhaust manifold . That was a real treat . Couldn't figure out why and never happened again . That has been 4 years ago .
I just hate those Ford O Matic ! Replacing it with a C4 !

Jim
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Yeah, that does sound like a seal. Once the ****** is up to temperature it seals up, then leaks again when cooled down. I had the same issue on my fordamatic.
 
It sounds almost like the vent is plugged and pressure is building up inside. The vent may be almost impossible to see when the trans is in the car.
 
The ****** works very well. I am afraid it will pump or leak all the fluid out when driving on a long tour.Maybe I should go to a ****** shop and ?????:(
 
I have a complete set up for a clutch if you want to get rid of that FOM .
I have everything from the peddles to the drive shaft with the steering column from a 57 Ford Fairlane !

Jim
 
At Advanced Auto I bought one of those BIG drip pans and filled it with the stuff that looks like cat litter and slide it under the front of the trans . Usually works pretty good .
I Still hate those FOM especially starting in second gear . The Ford guy who designed that was on drugs that day ! Yes I know it's a 3 spped trans if you drop into low gear as you come to a stop . I drive it like that all the time , then when I take it to drive , then pull back to low for second and then into drive . I can get her moving very fast quickly ! Tricky but you will get the hang of it very fast . Try it !

Jim
 
If you look at the shifter arm bolt, that shaft has a double O ring gasket one on the
inside and one outside and they are a common source of leaks. They cannot be changed from the outside and the shaft has to be removed, not sure what ****** you have but the C-4 can be fixed by removing the pan, the valve block ( do not take it apart) remove the shift shaft replace the gasket and put it back together with a new valve block gasket.
Larry
 
Ken, the 51 I had used to leak trans. fluid like that but it didn't seem to leak on a trip. On the 51 I had to lift the floormat, remove the cover and top it off while in park, don't know if the 56 is the same. I could tell when it was a little low because you could hear the fluid gurgling. Very frustrating because it ran well and shifted good. I sold the car and the guy had the trans. resealed, it was the main forward seal. As far as I know she doesn't drip any more.
 
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