Car is a 03 Forester auto tranny 2.5 4 cylinder EJ25.

 

Its leaking tranny fluid like a water faucet from a 3/4" hose on the back of the bellhousing.

Is this a tranny bye pass hose ?

There are 2 identical hoses . side by side that mount to a small metal bracket.

Where they originally connected together with something?

Was there suppose to be a fitting or a selanoid there?

No check engine light or AT Temp lighr on but the car is un driveable as the fluid just pours out as soon as you start the car.

Help ASAP and gracias.

Would there happen to be a similar sized tube missing from the bottom of the radiator. Sounds like an ATF hose carrying ATF to the rad for cooling has come off.

I was wondering if there was a tranny cooler but I didnt see a small radiator in front of the engines radiator.

There are 2 small hoses , there side by side on the top of the back of the bellhousing that look like the belong to something .

Not entirely certain for your year but some earlier models had the trans fluid cooler as a heat exchanger inside the engine coolant radiator.

to answer your question - no there shouldn't be any solenoid or anything for the ATF cooler lines...just hoses, clamps and metal lines.

 

this is confusing because it shouldn't be complicated. if a hose is leaking, i would replace it and the clamp then top off your fluid. is there a reason that can't be done in this case? can you post a picture?

 

all cars have two hoses coming from the transmission, what is so confusing in this case? and then the easy solution if you do not know is to follow the lines and see where they go...eventually i bet they end up at the radiator.

 

two hoses carry ATF from the transmission to the radiator. the ATF cooler is not a dedicated unit on most cars (none really), but integrated in the side tank of the radiator. almost every popular car on the road is set up like this. sounds like the hose is bad or a clamp came off. typically on Subaru's the hose from the transmission meets a metal line around the back of the engine. this line carries fluid forward where another rubber hose meets the metal lines at the front of the engine. these rubber hoses will go to the radiator.

3/4" must be the OD??

 

More info needed here

Was the tranny just replaced??

Maybe they forgot to connect the cooling lines.

 

For an asap answer we need more info.

 

 

Could these be the vent tubes for the tranny and diff

 

Is the tranny over filled?

They are the vent hoses for the tranny and diff.

Fluid is good, or was good anyways.

200 miles ago the fluid level was perfect.

Now , out of nowhere it starts to spit fluid out of the tranny breather hose.

Any idea why it would do this even when not over filled?

check the front diff level.

 

I have never seen it in a newer 4EAT

 

but the old 3AT had a habit of loosing the seal between the

diff and tranny

- over filling of the tranny could result.

 

The smell of the puked fluid could give a clue to this.

Gear oil smells way different than ATF.

Actually , when I added alittle fluid to the tranny after the episode it smelled like rotten eggs.

you could pull the diff dip stick and see if it smells the same

 

 

I will assume you checked the rad fluid level also?

 

The tranny cooler is intergrated as mentioned in the rad.

Thanx all for your help.

Turns out its the seal between the frt diff and tranny.

We have auto fluid in the frt diff and nothing inn the tranny.

Its purging auto fluid from the frt diff breather hose from the auto fluid flooding the frt diff.

Gonna have to drop the diff and tranny and replace the seal snd purge and refill both components fluids.

 

I love this site!

This transmission ha 2 seperate units lubricated by different fluids.

 

the front portion, is the Differential, and is filled with heavy gear oil(smells terrible). the Dipstick and fill hole for the differential is the stubby yellow one tuck in tight on the passenger side.

 

the rear section, is the tranmission itself. It is filled with ATF. It's dipstick (and filler) is on the drivers side, coming out of a long tube.

 

Now, have you had any service done recently? They may have drained you're Diff and filled the tran or vice versa. It's been reported that shops have drained the differential thinking it was the engine oil plug!

 

Or you may have a leak between the 2 halves of the case, which i bad and would need fixed right away. I would hope something like that i covered by waranty on a car that new.

Thanx all for your help.

Turns out its the seal between the frt diff and tranny....I love this site!

 

I Love a happy ending, or at least one where the problem is diagnosed without throwing parts at it.

that is one sucky seal to replace, i would do what Gloyale mentioned and make sure something obvious isn't being missed here.

 

like Skip mentioned earlier with the 3AT's - that has happened with 4EAT's before as well, i've seen it so it is possible but it was probably close to 10 years ago on an EA/ER series vehicle - first gen 4EAT's.

This same problem just manifested on my 4EAT during this morning's commute =(

 

Does this require removal and splitting apart the tranny? Or is it accessible if I drop the pan?

 

Is this a repair or project for a DIY shade tree mechanic?

 

Don't bother and just swap in another tranny?

 

Please advise

Requires splitting open the tranny to fix.

 

I don't have time to swap in another tranny... trying to finish my home and move ASAP. I sold it so I can focus on more important things.