Hello everyone,

I drive a 2002 Ford Ranger (obviously) with a 3.0L v6 engine and a manual transmission. I changed my transmission fluid last fall and it went very well, or so I thought. I recently noticed that my drain plug is dripping transmission fluid slowly. I thought that I may have just not tightened the drain plug enough, so I cranked down on it a bit more but it is still dripping slowly. I had heard of folks talk about a crush gasket and a few others talking about putting some sort of sealer for the plug itself to keep it from leaking, but I am still pretty new to doing anything beyond the basic oil and filter change and brake pad replacement and I couldn't find a clear answer online yet. I don't remember there being a gasket on the plug, but I may not have been looking close enough last fall.

What do you folks think is the likely culprit and what should I do? I'm thinking if the plug does have a gasket, I may have accidentally crushed it by putting it on too tight maybe? Or maybe it was just so old that it needs to be switched out? I don't know when the transmission fluid was changed previously since I was given the truck second hand but it looked like quite a while considering how dark the fluid was.

TL,DR: changed the transmission fluid, found its still leaking drops slowly from the drain plug. Not sure what needs to be done since I tried tightening it and it didn't stop. Suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

 

There should be a solid copper washer (gasket) there.
Sounds like it's missing.

 

That helps me out a bit, I saw two kinds of gaskets coming up in autozone's parts search for my 2002 Ford Ranger: https://www.autozone.com/collision-b...57267_884021_0 , https://www.autozone.com/collision-b...57223_884020_0 . I just wasn't sure what would work for me. I feel like the rubber and aluminum one might be better? Or does it not matter really?

Also, do you know if a gasket is needed on the fill plug as well? Sorry for all the questions, I just don't want another leak springing up on me. lol

 

Go with the copper one, copper is best, then aluminum.
Avoid rubber/compound ones as they crack and crush very easily.

There is supposed to be one on the fill plug too.
You will need to snug the copper ones a bit, but don't over do it and break the plug.

Don't over think this, they're just drain/fill plugs.

The most expensive engines on the planet use solid copper.
The copper ones can be re-used many times, but not the others.

 

Awesome! Thanks a lot Jeff, you've spared me a lot of worry! I'll keep y'all posted on how it goes.

 

Update: LONG STORY short (lots of back and forth between stores and some file work to make one copper washer's internal circumference fit the plug), Autozone and Advanced auto parts claim that their copper gaskets fit my ford Ranger's transmission plugs but they don't. You have to buy two of their universal copper gasket/washer sets ($3.99 per package) to get two gaskets that fit the transmission plugs. If you're unlucky like me, they will only have one package in their entire store so you will have to just enlarge the hole on one of the other washers with a round file until it fits.

I will say though, the copper washers/gaskets seem to have done the trick and the tranny is no longer dripping as far as I can tell. I'll peek a few times this week just to double check but so far so good! Thanks for the help!

 

It's a PITA when the aftermarket stuff doesn't fit, I've run into this before, not just with copper washers.
I have a hydraulic repair place that I can go to locally, but even then, I still may have to make the washer from scratch from a sheet of copper.

Glad this fixed the problem.
If it's not leaking now, it's unlikely that it will leak.