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Leaked transmission fluid all the way to my house

yhelothar

yhelothar

Lifer
So I hit a bump and it cracked my transmission pan. When I got home, I noticed a long trail of fluid all the way to my driveway. It's a huge mess. It's oil so it won't just evaporate. My neighbors will probably hate me.

How do I take care of this? The trail probably goes for a mile.

Could I call the street cleaners to come?

Edit: I have this resolved. Could the mods please delete this thread?
 
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You should be more worried about the cost of a new transmission. As for the ATF on the street, the dirt and dust will blend in with it and it will pretty much just go away leaving just an unsightly stain on the street. If you can't fix the problem with your car (replacing the transmission pan), you need to have it towed (not driven) to a shop to have this work done. If you had stated what year, make and model car you are driving, I could tell you how much fluid actually leaked out and the cost for a new transmission pan. We can't help you fully if you don't give us full information.
 
2000 Nissan Quest. I ordered a new transmission pan from ebay as soon as I got home. It was only $25.

I ended up getting some kitty litter and poured it over the bigger puddles.


The bumps were at the gas station. The covers for the underground storage tanks were slightly raised and were like 3 little speed bumps. The third one hit the transmission pan and chipped out a quarter sized hole on the corner of it.
 
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yhelothar said:
The bumps were at the gas station. The covers for the underground storage tanks were slightly raised and were like 3 little speed bumps. The third one hit the transmission pan and chipped out a quarter sized hole on the corner of it.
Click to expand...

maybe you need new shocks/struts
 
Find a god lawyer and consider a suit against the gas station for negligence that caused the damage.
 
There is nothing wrong with those fill ports in the pavement. Looks like you may have been going too fast for the lot.
 
pcgeek11 said:
There is nothing wrong with those fill ports in the pavement. Looks like you may have been going too fast for the lot.
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IMO, the bumps maybe look deceptively small. You see how around the fill ports, there are three rectangles in the concrete that is a different shade from the surrounding. Those are raised like speed bumps.

I don't think most fill ports have those bumps, and if they did, do you think it's reasonable to place them right at the entrance of the driveway?

Speed bumps are marked so they are easily visible. These aren't.

Here's a picture of a normal port without the bump.
fuel-lead-f97564fa2d.jpg
 
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You were either going way too fast or your suspension is toast. The driveway you can see in the picture looks to be just connected to another parking lot. If you were moving at parking lot speeds, you aren't bottoming out on those bumps.
 
XavierMace said:
You were either going way too fast or your suspension is toast. The driveway you can see in the picture looks to be just connected to another parking lot. If you were moving at parking lot speeds, you aren't bottoming out on those bumps.
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Maybe. I can guarantee you that if you went over it with any other car, it would be very bouncy. They are far more bouncy than speed bumps since there are three in succession. Speed bumps are marked so they are easily visible. These aren't. And I don't think it's reasonable to expect them to be bumpy. I just checked four of the closest gas stations to that one and none of them had bumps around the fill ports. Bumps definitely are not common.
https://imgur.com/a/QyzBL
 
XavierMace said:
Being "bumpy" is only a problem if your'e driving too fast.
Click to expand...

Yes, for speed bumps, people usually slow down to well below normal parking lot speeds.

Normal parking lot speeds is a problem for those bumps.

These are like unmarked speedbumps that are bumpier than speedbumps.
 
You should not be bottoming out on something that small. Assuming you did not deliberately lower the vehicle, either you were carrying too much load or the suspension springs are shot, possibly shocks too. You might also have inadequate tire size or inflation PSI for the load.

It is unlikely to be a speed issue. If you don't fix the suspension issue it's only going to get worse.
 
corkyg said:
In most places, normal parking lot speed is 5 mph.
Click to expand...

Indeed. I went upwards from the bottom of the photo. I just crossed the speed bump in a minivan. I haven't even had much of a chance to accelerate yet before I hit the three bumps.

mindless1 said:
You should not be bottoming out on something that small. Assuming you did not deliberately lower the vehicle, either you were carrying too much load or the suspension springs are shot, possibly shocks too. You might also have inadequate tire size or inflation PSI for the load.

It is unlikely to be a speed issue. If you don't fix the suspension issue it's only going to get worse.
Click to expand...

Honestly, I understand people's responses based on the photo I provided. The thing is, it looks deceptive from far away but the bumps are a lot bigger than it looks in the photo. It's also why you wouldn't think to slow down for it like you would for a speed bump.

I'll get another photo of it at a better angle the next time I drive by.

The van handles fine during normal driving conditions. This is coming from someone who drove a miata for 10 years.
 
A brief search indicates a '00 quest has a 5.3" minimum ground clearance. I doubt that 5.3" is at the tranny pan but even if it is, there's no way that what you pictured is close to 5.3" above the level pavement around it. That curb to the right in the picture (with the landscaping in it) may be closer to 5.3".

Maybe those fill ports/whatever ought to be lower for low riding sports cars to clear them, but a van should not bottom out on something that slight. It looks no taller than the average speed bump so this was an accident waiting to happen whether you were at a gas station or wherever.

If you insist that there's nothing wrong with the van suspension then the only solution going forward is you can't drive over obstacles that most people can. If the tranny pan is easy to DIY replace, maybe it is cheaper than a new suspension but again, suspension sag tends to only get worse.
 
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