So i was under my 1995 GMC Sierra, 240,000 miles, automatic transmission earlier today and saw there is about a 3inch gap between the rear seal and the u joint......this does NOT look right to me...the tranny was replaced by this jerk mechanic that my father no longer uses. The tranny looks MUCH smaller than what came stock in the truck...and it appears to have a small tranny fluid leak at the seal.
I remember seeing the paperwork from the mechanic shop lying around and when I read it, i was surprised to see they had listed it as an s10. This is clearly a V8 full size truck😐 This tranny was put in over a year ago so probably too late to do anything about it. Just concerned about what the future looks like with this situation.
I was gonna post a pic but cant figure out how to or if its even possible.
Thanks kindly for any help.
there is about a 3inch gap between the rear seal and the u joint
There has to be some play to allow the driveshaft to move. That's why it's a slip joint. Couldn't tell you how much is normal though.
a small tranny fluid leak at the seal.
A small sweat here is pretty normal, as again there is a lot of movement.
they had listed it as an s10. This is clearly a V8 full size truck
GM used the same transmission for V6 and V8 applications. (The 4L60) They bolt right up since the only difference between the engine blocks is the length from the additional 2 cylinders.
Just concerned about what the future looks like with this situation.
Sounds like there's not much of concern. If it doesn't drip and the truck drives then motor on.
Yeah well the guy really screwed up and if it's too short it's going to do that and of course it'll start leaking because the shaft of the drive shafts and doesn't fit in correctly. Basically you're screwed but I mean if it runs and it leaks fluid I just keep adding fluid. You'd have to replace the transmission to fix it correctly or have a custom drive shaft made that would fit correctly. There are guys that can make custom driveshafts
I was gonna post a pic but cant figure out how to or if its even possible.
See the topic posted near the top of the main page with the title "READ THIS FIRST - Forum Guide".
So does that mean i need to change the rear seal on this tranny?
It would appear that way.
does the distance look too big between the rear seal and the u joint?
as I said before, I couldn't tell you. The shaft is meant to move in and out during normal operation, so the gap depends on many things. Like is the truck up in the air with the axle hanging? Is the truck modified in any way? Do you have oversize tires? Does it have 4WD etc.... If you want, do a google image search for "1995 gmc sierra driveshaft" or something and see photos people have posted for an idea. But in my opinion, the shaft is either attached or not. If it drives then I wouldn't worry too much.
Wonder why its leaking already..its barely a year or year and a half old..
well that's the million dollar question. Is the sealing surface clean and smooth? Are the U-joints worn out? Is the shaft balanced? Is your pinion bearing worn out? Are the springs ok? Is the frame rusted out ? ... and so on and so on. There needs to be inspection. These are questions only an experienced mechanic with eyeballs aimed at your truck can answer.
Heres the image-hopefully i did it right. Dont know if it will change either of your opinions or not..
@inner-dimensions
Just a tip… if want a response from a particular person you would need to address them by using their site name preceded by an @, or by using the ‘add a comment’ section beneath their response.
For example you would use @imperator to address MountainManJoe. To my knowledge, Scotty only provides one response.
@inner-dimensions it's dripping. Needs to be fixed.
Thanks for the tip! Im still getting used to this site. Every forum ive used seem to be a bit different from each other.
So does that mean i need to change the rear seal on this tranny?
@imperator does the distance look too big between the rear seal and the u joint?
Wonder why its leaking already..its barely a year or year and a half old..