I have had an intermittent transmission leak for a while now...it only leaked if truck sat on an incline (uphill) and was not driven for 2 days. On the second day it would dump a cup or two of transmission fluid down the driveway. I am posting the resolution and what it was for anyone else trying to pin point a trans leak.
70,000 miles, 2009 Expedition El 4wd/AWD. There is a "bulkhead" connector on the passenger side of the rear part of the transmission. On the second day after all ambient heat of driving had dissipated, while on an incline, the seal around the wire bundle entering the transmission would leak continuously. In order to repair....it requires dropping the pan, disconnecting the wires internally, removing the bulkhead connector and replacing the seal, oh and $450. They couldn't find the leak initially and had to put dye in it but several days later it was found. I am only posting this because you guys have been so helpful to me in other forums over the years I wanted to try and shorten y'alls troubleshooting in the future with the small piece of info I just paid for at the dealership.

 

How did you add fluid?

 

you and I cannot add fluid. There is not really a dipstick to even check level. There is supposedly a plug with a dipstick (accessible from underneath the truck) that you can check level and add by. I have not found it.

 

Just had this same problem on my 08 limited with 80,000 miles. There is a dipstick on the pass side of the trans up by the cat on that side. There is a bolt to take off then a little plastic dipstick. Just make sure the truck is running or it will over flow, Oh and watch your hands u know since the cat is right there and the truck needs to be running to check the fluid.

Yeah had that bulk head connector replaced on the back of the trans to a tune of 350 including a filter and flush.

 

Hi,
I checked the leak and for sure it was in the bulk head connector so I bought the part at the ford dealer ($26+), dropped the pan and replaced it myself....just make sure the replacement part has the black o-rings on and not the original red ones. I'll post if there are any problems, but it was a lot tighter fit than the old one so it should have fixed it. The part number is in the tsb area under f-150 '10

 

Has anyone been successful in getting Ford to admit this bulkhead connector defect is a known problem, and get the repair done for free?

 

Just discovered this on the wife's 2010 Expy. We have a brand new concrete driveway and all of a sudden there were numerous oil stains. I took a quick peek under her truck (mine's new) since it was on the side of the drive where she usually parks. Could see a drip hanging from the oil plug. Several years ago we had an "oil change" place change her oil. Idiots cross threaded the plug and must've put it on with an air ratchet. Stripped the threads of the oil pan. Thought this had happened again. Took it back to our mechanic (very surprised because they are an honest shop and do good work). Lo and behold, when I had it inspected, I hadn't had them change the oil. Just a coincidence that the leak popped up just after they had the truck. They cleaned the under side of the truck really good and had us drive it for a week. Sure enough, tranny fluid. A little more detective work and it's the bulkhead connector. If I had the time and it wasn't January I might try to fix it myself. Oh well. Looks like a day of overtime or two in my future. I can't really complain. Wifes Expy is a 2010 with 175K miles on it.

 

Thanks for the Post! My 2009 Expedition, only owned briefly, did the same trans oil spew suddenly after being parked for a week. I was pretty stumped. The only difference was mine was inclined front end down. From your post it seemed yours was inclined front up (??). Can you forward the Ford P/N you used for the bulkhead seal?
Thank Again!