porous aluminum tranny pan

K

kab7

Active member
Sep 14, 2009
1,230
2
38
San Jose, CA
For the record, Ragusa very kindly sent me a replacement pan, which I immediately coated with glyptol, baked as suggested, and installed.
Chase at Ragusa pressure tested the old pan and found that it is NOT porous/leaking. Good folks there at Ragusa, and I feel bad for returning
what apparently is/was a good pan. Sure as heck looked like it was porous, but apparently not. :blush:

> So, I got a ragusa transmission pan recently, and overall am really happy with it. One big problem though: it appears to be porous, and is
> leaking.
> I know other folks have run into this before, but not sure what the fix is. Some kind of coating? A new pan??
>
> Any suggestions?
>
> thanks,
> Karen
> 1975 26'
 
It seems peculiar that we pay our money for a product that doesn't work and
then spend more money and time trying to get it to work...and we keep
buying??

Mike from NS

> For the record, Ragusa very kindly sent me a replacement pan, which I
> immediately coated with glyptol, baked as suggested, and installed.
> Chase at Ragusa pressure tested the old pan and found that it is NOT
> porous/leaking. Good folks there at Ragusa, and I feel bad for returning
> what apparently is/was a good pan. Sure as heck looked like it was
> porous, but apparently not. :blush:
>

> > So, I got a ragusa transmission pan recently, and overall am really
> happy with it. One big problem though: it appears to be porous, and is
> > leaking.
> > I know other folks have run into this before, but not sure what the fix
> is. Some kind of coating? A new pan??
> >
> > Any suggestions?
> >
> > thanks,
> > Karen
> > 1975 26'
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>

--
Michael Beaton
1977 Kingsley 26-11
1977 Eleganza II 26-3
Antigonish, NS

Life is too short to hold a grudge; slash some tires and call it even !
 
Karen,

Thanks for reminding me that I haven't reported on my Ragusa pan coating
results: After 3+ weeks of using the pan I painted inside and baked, I can
report that I've lost about a pint of fluid...

It's now obvious that the porosity, if it ever had any, is cured. But,
there is leakage at the rear of the pan only, probably from the flange, but
possibly from the chain cover. Because the leaks run down the side of the
pan without leaving an easily detected trail, the drops on the flanges at
the bottom of the pan appear to be coming through the aluminum -- they're
NOT.

I'm using a nicely made Felpro composition gasket, Permatex'd to the pan
(but not the transmission). I did not paint the pan's flange, as someone
suggested too late, but that aviation Permatex should certainly prevent any
leakage there. So, I'm still keeping a drip tray under the transmission
and don't know what to try next -- unless I R&R the chain cover and reseal
it as well -- but Manny probably used Permatex on both sides of that
gasket. :-(

Ken
​Drippy ​
H.

>
> > For the record, Ragusa very kindly sent me a replacement pan, which I
> > immediately coated with glyptol, baked as suggested, and installed.
> > Chase at Ragusa pressure tested the old pan and found that it is NOT
> > porous/leaking. Good folks there at Ragusa, and I feel bad for returning
> > what apparently is/was a good pan. Sure as heck looked like it was
> > porous, but apparently not. :blush:
>
 
Should you acquire a pan or any product from us that does not perform, call
me personally and I'll send you anther right away.
We know in anything that is manufactured that there will always going to be
defects.
There is a reason why we are the largest supplier.
We spend tremendous time on the phone to assist and take car of our
customers. Nick, Gary, Grace and Big Mouth Can of Tomatoes.
I make one exception; when a guy says we don't know what were doing and
find that it was not our doing, then I TEll him to pay me back. Good luck,
he might have a strong mouth , but a tight wallet.

On Fri, Nov 17, 2017 at 5:55 PM, Ken Henderson
wrote:

> Karen,
>
> Thanks for reminding me that I haven't reported on my Ragusa pan coating
> results: After 3+ weeks of using the pan I painted inside and baked, I can
> report that I've lost about a pint of fluid...
>
> It's now obvious that the porosity, if it ever had any, is cured. But,
> there is leakage at the rear of the pan only, probably from the flange, but
> possibly from the chain cover. Because the leaks run down the side of the
> pan without leaving an easily detected trail, the drops on the flanges at
> the bottom of the pan appear to be coming through the aluminum -- they're
> NOT.
>
> I'm using a nicely made Felpro composition gasket, Permatex'd to the pan
> (but not the transmission). I did not paint the pan's flange, as someone
> suggested too late, but that aviation Permatex should certainly prevent any
> leakage there. So, I'm still keeping a drip tray under the transmission
> and don't know what to try next -- unless I R&R the chain cover and reseal
> it as well -- but Manny probably used Permatex on both sides of that
> gasket. :-(
>
> Ken
> ​Drippy ​
> H.
>
>

> >
> > > For the record, Ragusa very kindly sent me a replacement pan, which I
> > > immediately coated with glyptol, baked as suggested, and installed.
> > > Chase at Ragusa pressure tested the old pan and found that it is NOT
> > > porous/leaking. Good folks there at Ragusa, and I feel bad for
> returning
> > > what apparently is/was a good pan. Sure as heck looked like it was
> > > porous, but apparently not. :blush:
> >
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>

--
Jim Kanomata
Applied/GMC, Newark,CA
jimk
http://www.appliedgmc.com
1-800-752-7502
 
> Karen,
>
> Thanks for reminding me that I haven't reported on my Ragusa pan coating
> results: After 3+ weeks of using the pan I painted inside and baked, I can
> report that I've lost about a pint of fluid...
>
> It's now obvious that the porosity, if it ever had any, is cured. But,
> there is leakage at the rear of the pan only, probably from the flange, but
> possibly from the chain cover. Because the leaks run down the side of the
> pan without leaving an easily detected trail, the drops on the flanges at
> the bottom of the pan appear to be coming through the aluminum -- they're
> NOT.
>
> I'm using a nicely made Felpro composition gasket, Permatex'd to the pan
> (but not the transmission). I did not paint the pan's flange, as someone
> suggested too late, but that aviation Permatex should certainly prevent any
> leakage there. So, I'm still keeping a drip tray under the transmission
> and don't know what to try next -- unless I R&R the chain cover and reseal
> it as well -- but Manny probably used Permatex on both sides of that
> gasket. :(
>
> Ken
> ​Drippy ​
> H.

Ken,

I've been chasing a leak for about a year now and finally discovered it in an odd place. If you open the hatch and look straight down at where the
cooler lines go into the trans, slightly above and slightly to the left of the inner line, I could see what looks like a bolt hole with the end of a
bolt slightly exposed. I have looked at two other transmissions that I have and neither has this bolt hole, only the trans in my coach. What I am
seeing is the end of a bolt that can only be found by dropping the trans and taking off the chain cover, so I have no idea what is for. It was
leaking just little , but enough to coat the trans pan, and everything else in the vicinity with trans fluid. Took about a pint every 500 mi, and did
a nice antirust job on the underside of my coach with many drops that reached the toad.

To fix it without taking the trans down, I used a Dremel tool with a right angle adaptor and a small diamond grinder. I first sprayed it with Brake
Clean, then did some roughing up of all of the surfaces in the area, along with sanding the flat surfaces around the hole. Then mixed up some JB
Weld, and spread it over the hole. Got about 100 miles on it now and leak is gone. Will see if it lasts.

If I can get the pics off of my phone, I'll post them on the photo site.

JWID and HTH

--
Larry
78 Royale w/500 Caddy
Menomonie, WI.
 
You might consider cleaning the parts one more time, wait a bit for the inevitable drip, and using one of those UV flashlights look for the tell tale drip. Most automotive fluids include an fluorescent dye in them exactly for leak locating purposes.
----- Original Message -----

From: "Larry"
To: "gmclist"
Sent: Friday, November 17, 2017 6:26:41 PM
Subject: Re: [GMCnet] porous aluminum tranny pan

> Karen,
>
> Thanks for reminding me that I haven't reported on my Ragusa pan coating
> results: After 3+ weeks of using the pan I painted inside and baked, I can
> report that I've lost about a pint of fluid...
>
> It's now obvious that the porosity, if it ever had any, is cured. But,
> there is leakage at the rear of the pan only, probably from the flange, but
> possibly from the chain cover. Because the leaks run down the side of the
> pan without leaving an easily detected trail, the drops on the flanges at
> the bottom of the pan appear to be coming through the aluminum -- they're
> NOT.
>
> I'm using a nicely made Felpro composition gasket, Permatex'd to the pan
> (but not the transmission). I did not paint the pan's flange, as someone
> suggested too late, but that aviation Permatex should certainly prevent any
> leakage there. So, I'm still keeping a drip tray under the transmission
> and don't know what to try next -- unless I R&R the chain cover and reseal
> it as well -- but Manny probably used Permatex on both sides of that
> gasket. :(
>
> Ken
> ​Drippy ​
> H.

Ken,

I've been chasing a leak for about a year now and finally discovered it in an odd place. If you open the hatch and look straight down at where the
cooler lines go into the trans, slightly above and slightly to the left of the inner line, I could see what looks like a bolt hole with the end of a
bolt slightly exposed. I have looked at two other transmissions that I have and neither has this bolt hole, only the trans in my coach. What I am
seeing is the end of a bolt that can only be found by dropping the trans and taking off the chain cover, so I have no idea what is for. It was
leaking just little , but enough to coat the trans pan, and everything else in the vicinity with trans fluid. Took about a pint every 500 mi, and did
a nice antirust job on the underside of my coach with many drops that reached the toad.

To fix it without taking the trans down, I used a Dremel tool with a right angle adaptor and a small diamond grinder. I first sprayed it with Brake
Clean, then did some roughing up of all of the surfaces in the area, along with sanding the flat surfaces around the hole. Then mixed up some JB
Weld, and spread it over the hole. Got about 100 miles on it now and leak is gone. Will see if it lasts.

If I can get the pics off of my phone, I'll post them on the photo site.

JWID and HTH

--
Larry
78 Royale w/500 Caddy
Menomonie, WI.

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> It seems peculiar that we pay our money for a product that doesn't work and
> then spend more money and time trying to get it to work...and we keep
> buying??

Ragusa makes good stuff and stands behind their products and I will not hesitate to buy from them again.
They sent me the replacement free as soon as I talked to them about it. Good folks.

I really like the tranny pan. It's wonderful to be able to drain the oil without having to take the pan down, which I've had to do rather often with
all the mechanical work. There were plenty of leaks with the stock pan too. And yes, there's still a leak, but clearly it's from somewhere else
since the new pan is coated with glyptol, has a brand new gasket coated in aviation sealant, and a very clean mounting surface.
Looks exactly like the leak KenH is chasing...

Karen
1975 26'
 
I also like the extra transmission fluid and the prepared port to attach a temperature sensor.
Tom
--
2012 Phoenix Cruiser model 2552
KA4CSG
 
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