Transmission Leak Repair Cost by Leak Point

Why this page gives no single price for a leak repair

Parts stores print part prices. Some shops print an hourly rate. We found labor hours printed for one leak repair on one model, in FCA bulletin 21-041-20, so this page gives no total. It gives printed part prices, hourly rates, and what automakers print in service bulletins.

The bulletins here are examples for named vehicles, not a labor guide. Ask the shop for its hours.

Leak points and printed part prices on one truck

The table uses one vehicle, the 2025 Ram 1500, because the Mopar eStore prints a price for each part. It is one example, not a market survey.

Sources: Mopar eStore, filter kit 52854834AB, Mopar eStore, oil cooler and lines, Mopar eStore, output shaft seal 68161576AA, Mopar eStore, torque converter seal search. Checked November 13, 2026.

The part and bottle prices on this page were read on the sellers' pages on November 13, 2026; some of those pages refuse automated reading. The leak-point names are our labels, taken from the part names. The torque converter price comes from the store's search result list.

Pan gaskets alone are printed elsewhere; we did not check what they fit. We found four pan gasket prices printed, from $27.99 to $50.83, as of November 13, 2026: Fel-Pro TOS 18774 at Advance Auto Parts for $27.99; Ford gaskets HL3Z7A191B at $43.33 and BL3Z7A191C at $50.83 MSRP on Ford.com; and GM gasket 24260071 at $49.96 MSRP in the GM Parts store.

What the labor rate does to the bill

These are rates these shops print, as of November 13, 2026, not a national figure:

• Girls Auto Clinic, Upper Darby, PA: $172.99 an hour for repairs.
• Spicer Auto Care: $150 an hour on repairs (page marked updated 10/2024).
• Redstone Arsenal Automotive Skills, AL, government-run: "Labor Rate $110", with no unit printed.
• West Point Auto Shop, NY, government-run: $105 an hour, charged in 30 minute increments.
• Carlisle Barracks Automotive Skills, PA, government-run: $85 an hour.

That is from $85 to $172.99 among the five shops' printed labor rates; four print them per hour. AAA writes that the rate runs "from less than $100 to over $200 per hour" across the country.

FCA bulletin 21-041-20 (July 2, 2020), for the 2019 Jeep Cherokee, prints a time allowance of "1.4 Hrs" for tightening the transmission case fasteners to specification, its repair for a leak at the case split line. That is a warranty time allowance for one repair on one model. At $172.99 an hour, 1.4 hours is $242.19 of labor (our calculation: 1.4 × 172.99 = 242.19).

Which repairs need the transmission out

Four bulletins print when the transmission is removed or replaced, each for its own vehicles and repair.

• General Motors PI0950A (February 2015), for 2008-2013 models with the 6T30, 6T40, 6T45 and 6T50 transmissions: "DO NOT remove the transmission from the vehicle to replace the torque converter seal unless there is a torque converter seal leak or other internal transmission repairs are needed".
• Stellantis S2221000003 (8-speed transmission), step 6, for a leak found in one of the areas it lists: "Replace the transmission assembly."
• Stellantis S2321000005: "Leaks due to case porosity, will require transmission replacement."
• General Motors 22-NA-173 (August 2024), for the 2020-2025 Chevrolet Corvette: "Plug leakage and fluid leaking from blind holes will require transmission replacement".

For any other vehicle, ask the shop whether its quote includes removing the transmission. If it does, compare it with a replacement or a rebuild.

Check the diagnosis before paying for a pan gasket

Stellantis notice S2221000003 (September 2023) says reports are coming in of leaks "misdiagnosed as leaking transmission pans/pan gaskets". It and notice S2321000005 list potential leak points:

• the transmission case near the electrical connector;
• the torque converter area or the lower bell housing area;
• the transmission oil heater boss;
• the oil cooler line connections;
• possible case porosity near those connections.

The second notice says its two points, the last two in this list, "can leak fluid down onto the transmission/transmission pan sealing flange and be easily mistaken for a pan and/or pan gasket leak". General Motors bulletins add a cooler line retaining bolt passage on the left side of the case, and a rolled O-ring on the oil filter housing or a damaged or missing cooler line O-ring.

Ask the shop how it found the source. The first Stellantis notice has technicians use a UV blacklight, under which the fluid fluoresces. General Motors bulletin 22-NA-173, for the Corvette, tells technicians to follow a trace powder procedure and not to add dye.

How to recognise a transmission leak

Look at the color of the spot. Bar's Leaks, an additive maker, writes that fresh transmission fluid is "usually colored red, but can also be green, amber, or even have a bluish tint". It adds that fluid "with a brownish tint and a lightly burnt odor" points to a transmission that is beginning to have operating problems.

The 2026 Ram 1500 owner's manual says the 8-speed transmission has no dipstick. If the shifts also slip or feel rough, say so when you have the level checked.

Causes and why a leak should not wait

The sources name three kinds of cause. Age: Bar's Leaks describes leaks "caused by normal transmission wear and age". Damage: the rolled, damaged or missing O-rings in the GM bulletin. The case itself: porosity near a threaded passage.

Valvoline lists leaks first among "the four major causes of transmission breakdown: leaks, slippage, shudder and gear wear". For scale, Reman-Transmission.com lists a remanufactured 6-speed for a 2016 Ram 1500 (4x4, 5.7L) at $3,167.00, as of November 13, 2026.

Stop-leak additives

A bottle costs less than every part price on this page: Lucas Transmission Fix, 24 oz., is $17.99, and Bar's Leaks Transmission Fix, 11.5 oz., is $16.99 at Advance Auto Parts as of November 13, 2026. Bar's Leaks says such products work on "small, early-stage, seal-and-gasket leaks" and not when "the leak is too big" or the failure is mechanical. Lucas Oil says its product "completely eliminates most seal leaks" and does not recommend it for CVT or dual-clutch transmissions.

What to do next

Ask for the leak point, the part number, the labor hours and the hourly rate as separate lines, and compare the part with the store's printed price. If the quote also lists a fluid service, compare that line with printed fluid service prices and with what the job involves.

Questions and answers