I really don't know where that 'diagnosis' came from, but 'normally' a
leak out the tailpiece is just a failure of the tailpiece seals....

The torque converter is the part at the 'other' end that attaches to the
engine.  When their seal goes, you have ATV puking out the front of the
tranny, not the back.....

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's
Canadian Off Road Trips Photos:  Non members can still view!
Jan/06 http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2115147590
(More Off Road album links at bottom of the view page)

Whoa that sounds like a good one. Who told you that, a tranny place?
The yoke on that 350 tranny can get rusted and leak out of the center
of it. There is oil right behind it inside the transmission. If the
transmission pressure was high enough to make a leak like that, it
would blow out the front seal of the transmission first. The input
shaft of the transmission is a completely seperate part from the output
shaft.  Usually the seal wears out and leaks first. Some seals have a
dust boot that extends outward so you can't see the seal lips
themselves, and they can leak anywhere around the circumference of the
seal. The easy way to tell is to unbolt the driveshaft at the rearend,
make sure the car is jacked up high in the rear, and low in the front
end,  or the tranny fluid will pour out the back when you slide out the
yoke. Have a bucket ready just in case. The seal can be tapped out
using a hammer and a screwdriver, by putting the screwdriver between
seal collar and the aluminum tailshaft flange. The end of the tailshaft
flange is narrow, about 1/2 inch, and the seal collar is about 1/8 inch
wide. Tap on the seal sheet metal collar until it pops outward away
from the flange or until it bends the seal inward and it falls out. A
new one is just carefully tapped in by a hammer. Thay are cheap to buy,
about $5. Then with the yoke off, pull it out from under the car and
put your mouth into it and blow into it. If you hear air escaping from
the yoke, you know what the problem is. Or better yet, fill it with
water and blow into it, if you see water leaking out, it has a leak.
You can get a yoke from any junk yard, and when you fix it you should
replace the universal joints at the same time. This is just common
sense. Also if you get a junkyard yoke, check it over carefully for
scratches or rust. Small ones can be polished out with fine 400 grit
emery cloth sandpaper. I like to then use 600 grit to really make it
shine.  Also when you buy a new seal, look for the heavy duty seal,
with the extended boot, to cover the seal lips and keep dust out.

bob Wrote:

On the ones that have the vent hole in the center of the yoke.
You need to pull the trans tail housing off and there should be a steel
sleve on the end of the tail shaft with a O ring seal that goes around
the end of the drive shaft youke when it is installed.
If this sleeve has been left off or the O ring is bad it will let trans
fluid leak out the vent hole in center of drive shaft.
They are made that way to keep the driveshaft from building up pressure
in the yoke and slamming the rear planatary gears with back lash when
the rear end goes up and down.
Some seal the vent hole and some get a yoke that does not have a hole
in it.
But the proper fix is to plull the transmission rear tail housing and
fix the o ring seal setup on the back of the transmission tail shaft.
Or always park it down hill also helps.
MT

Just for reference, the first time I posted a question, I got a couple of
posts that said something like

"If the check valve that keeps the torque convertor full doesn't seal
properly the transmission will gradually overfill as the torque
convertor drains down thus causing the output shaft splines to be
submerged in fluid where they are normally only exposed to splash.  If
you start  driving this car daily you may not have significant leakage
from the transmission tail.  There is no seal to keep fluid out of the
tail housing.  There is a plug in the yoke.  Sometimes it is vented,
sometimes not. "

Thanks to all who posted.  I was afraid I needed to pull tranny and change
torque converter but based on these posts, I'll pull driveshaft and look at
seals and orings.

Thanks,
Bobby

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You've read your thread, you know the facts.

Now.....
here's what I'm going to do to the next one that comes in
the shop.......

yank the driveshaft........

soak it with carb cleaner......

blow it dry.......

soak it with carb cleaner......

blow it dry.......

take a quater out of my pocket.......

cover it with about 1/2 inch of silicone adhesive......

squirt a goodly glob of silicone down in the driveshaft yoke........

take my 1/2 drive, 1ft extension..........

and shove that quater, silicone face down, into the bottom
of that drive shaft.

put the driveshaft back on the car......

and....i'll be done with it in about 5 minutes from the time
I start.

and....IT AIN'T GONNA LEAK FOR YEARS!!!!

or...
you can pull the tail housing and go the other route.

Fact...not Fiction

~:~
MarshMonster
tranny tech

~sips his coffee.......mmm.....needs more liquor~