Trans leak (solved)

Just walked out to the car and saw 6-10 qts of dexron 6 all over the driveway. only driving i did today was a mile up the road for lunch. just enough to get it warmed up.
What could break at the REAR of the transmission that would leak out all or nearly all of the fluid?
the lines at the front , the passenger side seal, and the front side (closest to the engine) are all dry.
Did i crack the trans block? could a loose dipstick cause this? it looks like the seal for that is up a little.
Please help! i have a final exam tomorrow at 10am. looking into other ways to get to class but if this is a quick fix ill run out and buy more fluid.

Thanks,
Matthew

Prayers to the universe for a quick repair to you, Mr. Riviera.

Knowing you have headers, that's the first thing I'd look at. I know those dipstick tube seals can be a little tricky to install sometimes. No other places wet around the trans that were obvious? You're absolutely sure it was leaking at the rear? No chance a line could have popped?

here are some pics:
im certain it is only coming from the back. right near where the dipstik tube is

its dripping from the rear most point on the pan (even with the car level)

its not the gasket for the pan because its pooling above that.


So my guess is either the dipstick tube gasket poped out of place randomly somehow or the trans block is cracked near that area.

I'm definitely no expert, but I cannot see the casting cracking, especially if you just went for a stroll down the road. My money is on the tube gasket.

ok i dumped in another qt of fluid and watched it pour all out around the seal for the dipstick. not really sure how/why this happened but it apears as though it worked its way up the tube losing its seal. im off to walmart for some more dextron 6. (too bad i wasnt due for a change )at least i know its nothing too serious.

Thank you for the help Andrew!

Good to know it was somewhat of a simple problem. I suppose just keep an eye on it and make sure it doesn't want to work its way back out.

And you're welcome Now go kick some ass on that final

How many qts are in the system?

I think for a pan drop you need 7-8 quarts. I would base this most recent fillup on that, seeing as where it leaked. I'm pretty sure I'm wrong on this one, but my memory says it's a 13 quart system with the torque converter.

thanks. took about 4 qts. to top it off. so far its not leaking since i pushed the gasket down some. couldnt get it all the way down, i guessing it should sit flush with the lip. ill try again after my exam.
Amazing how much 4 qts looks like all spilled on the ground lol

I also have headers and I cut my dipstick tube near the botton and top, so that the entire middle is missing - I replaced the middle section with appropriately sized heater hose, and laid the dipstick and new flexible tube over to the side, under the brake master cyl. No clearance problems with the headers and I just lift the dipstick and tube back up near straight when I want to check the fluid. With some careful measurement it came out perfectly! After 5 years with headers it's never leaked.