★★★★★ 5.0 from 177 reviews · North Fort Worth
$150 to $2,000 — and it depends almost entirely on which seal is leaking.
A pan gasket is an afternoon. A front pump seal means the transmission comes out. Here is what each leak source costs, which ones can wait, and which ones you should stop driving on.
1925 Golden Heights Rd, Suite 108. North Fort Worth, just off I-35W near the Alliance corridor.
Priced by leak source
The part is usually cheap. What you are paying for is access — whether the seal can be reached from underneath or whether the transmission has to come out first.
| Where it is leaking | What the job involves | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|
| Pan gasket or pan bolts | Drop the pan, new gasket and filter, refill. The most common leak and the cheapest. | $150 – $400 |
| Damaged or rusted pan | New pan, gasket and filter. Common on trucks that have been off-road or salted. | $250 – $600 |
| Cooler lines or fittings | Replace the line or fitting and flush the cooler circuit. | $200 – $550 |
| Speed sensor or connector seal | Reseal or replace the sensor. Often mistaken for a bigger leak. | $200 – $500 |
| Output shaft / extension housing seal | Driveshaft out, seal replaced with the transmission still in the vehicle. | $400 – $900 |
| Valve body or side cover gasket | Valve body comes off. Worth inspecting solenoids while it is open. | $450 – $1,200 |
| Front pump or torque converter seal | The transmission has to come out. The seal is cheap, the labour is not. | $900 – $2,000 |
| Cracked case or bell housing | Rarely repairable. Usually a rebuild or replacement. | $2,500+ |
These are typical ranges for the DFW market, not a quote. Access, vehicle and how long the leak has been running all move the number, which is why we diagnose the leak before pricing it — free, and in writing.
Do not wait this one out
A leak is the one transmission problem where acting early genuinely changes the bill by thousands.
An automatic transmission uses fluid as hydraulic pressure. Drop the level and the clutches stop being clamped hard enough, so they slip and glaze. That is how a $250 pan gasket becomes a $5,000 rebuild — not because the leak got worse, but because running it low cooked the inside.
Power steering fluid and some coolants are also red or pink. We have seen people quoted for transmission work when the drip was a power steering line. Transmission fluid is usually darker red, oily, and pools toward the middle of the vehicle rather than the front corner.
Fluid runs along the case, the crossmember and the exhaust before it falls. A puddle behind the front wheels can easily be a front pump seal. Guessing from the puddle is how the wrong part gets replaced, and you pay twice.
Products that swell seals also swell the seals you did not want swollen, and the chemistry that softens rubber softens clutch friction material too. They buy weeks and cost you the transmission. We do not use them and we will tell you if one has already been put in.
How urgent is it?
Use the size of the puddle and the fluid level, not the age of the vehicle.
Damp around the pan, no drips on the driveway, fluid still on the dipstick where it should be. Book it in when convenient and keep an eye on the level.
Schedule it · check level weekly
A visible puddle after it sits overnight, or you are topping up between services. The leak is winning. Get it sealed before the level drops far enough to matter.
This week · top up to spec meanwhile
Low fluid has already started damaging the inside. Every mile from here is doing more harm than the leak repair would have cost.
Stop driving · we tow it in free
Transmission fluid on a hot exhaust smokes and, in the wrong conditions, catches. This is a safety issue rather than a repair-cost one.
Stop driving · call us
Sometimes true, often not. If the fluid was caught before the clutches slipped, sealing it is a fraction of the cost. Bring us the quote and we will tell you which situation you are actually in.
No guessing
Fluid travels before it drips, so finding the source is the whole job. Replace the wrong seal and you pay for the labour twice.
Transmission fluid, power steering fluid and coolant all leak red. We identify it before anyone quotes a transmission repair.
The underside gets cleaned, UV dye goes in the transmission, and the vehicle runs. Under a UV lamp the source glows where it actually originates.
A leak is only half the question. We check line pressures and shift quality to see whether running it low already cost you clutch life.
You get the source, the fix and the price in writing at no charge. If it is a pan gasket we say so, even though a rebuild pays us more.
If any of these are present, the conversation changes from sealing a leak to assessing the transmission.
A pan gasket or cooler line is usually same day. An output shaft or housing seal is typically one day. A front pump or torque converter seal takes two to three days, because the transmission has to come out and go back in.
Diagnosis with UV dye sometimes needs the vehicle overnight so the leak has time to show itself properly. We will tell you which category yours is before you commit to anything.
Usually yes, and this is where a leak differs from most transmission work. Sealing a leak on a healthy unit is cheap preventive maintenance that protects a component worth thousands. The exception is a cracked case, or a unit already slipping — at that point the money is better spent on a rebuild.
Straight answers
Briefly, and only if the fluid level is still correct and the vehicle shifts normally. A slow seep you top up is survivable for a short period. But the moment the level drops enough to lose hydraulic pressure, the clutches start slipping and glazing, and that damage is permanent. If it is slipping, shuddering or smells burnt, stop driving — we will tow it in free from anywhere in DFW.
Typically $150 to $2,000. A pan gasket runs $150 to $400, cooler lines $200 to $550, an output shaft seal $400 to $900, and a front pump or torque converter seal $900 to $2,000 because the transmission has to come out. The part is rarely the expensive bit — access is.
Either the leak is very slow, or what you are seeing is not transmission fluid. Power steering fluid and some coolants are also red. It can also be residue from a previous spill or an overfill working its way out of the vent. Worth identifying properly before anyone sells you a repair.
It can slow a seep for a few weeks by swelling the seals. The problem is that the same chemistry swells every seal in the unit and softens clutch friction material. It buys time and can cost you the transmission. We do not use it, and if one has already gone in we will tell you what it means for the repair.
Transmission fluid is oily rather than watery, usually translucent red when healthy and brown when old, and it tends to pool toward the middle of the vehicle. Engine oil is amber to black and drips further forward. Coolant is slick and smells sweet. If you are unsure, bring it in — identifying it is free.
Sometimes. If the shifting problem is purely from low fluid and it was caught early, sealing the leak and refilling to specification can restore normal operation. If the clutches have already glazed, refilling will not undo that. Line pressure testing tells us which situation you are in before you spend anything.
No. Leak diagnosis and the written estimate are free, including the dye test if it needs one. You get told the source and the price before you decide anything.
Tell us the year, make and model and where you are seeing fluid. Free diagnosis, free written estimate, free towing anywhere in DFW, and financing if the news is worse than a gasket.
