NA automatic transmission fluid capacity question

[Huckster79]

So the ol work truck was sitting getting filled w remodel junk- been parked a couple weeks. My wife noticed a puddle under it- pink! Ugh.

turned out the pan gasket gave up the ghost sitting in the drive! It was a sizable puddle. Took me a couple more weeks to get to it. Got the new one at NAPA, drained it all- pulled pan- redid it all.

made the mistake of not draining it into an empty container rather an oil change jug that wasn’t empty.

guy at Napa said capacity total is like 19 quarts. But figured w just a pan swap prob 6 wud refill it. I’m at 13 so far and it’s not yet hit the dipstick…. Warmed it up, shifted gears to check all that good stuff.

Obviously fluid level sits above the pan top for it to have leaked there- but w it leaking over several weeks would it be possible for more to have leaked out than one gets in a typical pan drop n redo? I’m just a bit baffled it’s taking so much. But my knowledge of transmissions is not deep…

2005 Ford F-250 5.4L

 

[Pinecone]

Yes. The bulk of the fluid lives in the torque converter.

If you drain the body and let it sit, the fluid in the TC will start to leak out.

That said, did you look under and make sure you put the drain plug back?

 

[Wagondriver]

All the fords I’ve owned were checked hot, idling, in park. With nice new fluid, it can be hard to see on the stick.

 

[SoonerAviator]

I guess it depends on how low your fluid level was before you noticed the leak. It's pretty common to need ~16 qts for a full system flush for torque converter and all.

 

[cowman]

I'd check twice and keep adding until the fluid level is where it's supposed to be. There's really no telling how much oil was left in the trans/lines/cooler after you put it back together.

 

[Chip Sylverne]

All the fords I’ve owned were checked hot, idling, in park. With nice new fluid, it can be hard to see on the stick.

Slap the dipstick against your pants a couple times to get a little dust on it an then it's easier to see. Old trick learned from checking CAT diesel fuel tanks with a dipstick.

 

[Huckster79]

Yea if it can slow leak out of the torque converter then that’s what happened as it sat with the leaking pan gasket. Finally got it showing on dipstick with the 14th quart! I think I’ll need one more to get it to “full hot” as it’s in the low marks once hot….

thanks for the insight everyone!