cracked my trans pan...how?

[90LaserTurbo]

i got a 90 laser rs-t FWD and i noticed some fluid leaking out of my car, an when i got underneath my car i pulled my splash sheild on the passanger side out of the way and what appears to be my transmission pan has a ****ing crack from left to right about 3.5"...how does something like this happen?? it looks rather simple to change, just a few bolts, new gasket and new pan...but my main concern is what would cause this, i dont want it happening again.

 

[90LaserTurbo]

ttt

 

[crankbender]

does your 5th gear move when you are going down the highway. If you are cruising in 5th and floor it for a sec then let up does the shifter play front to back a little? If it does you may have the nut holding the 5th gear on backing off against the casing...eventually it will just blow a hole in the case and kill the tranny. just go buy some good sealant and pull the bolts off the case (drain it first). I believe they are 14 mm and are 2 diff sizes (the 2 on the bottom are LONG). They get torqued to about 30ftlb when you put em back on. Open it up and take a look takes about 10 mins off and 12 mins back on and then refil the fluid and good to go. When you get all the bolts off look at the drain plug there is a little step there that is designed to be a pry place that will make it much easier to break the seal.

 

[90LaserTurbo]

Originally posted by crankbender
does your 5th gear move when you are going down the highway. If you are cruising in 5th and floor it for a sec then let up does the shifter play front to back a little? If it does you may have the nut holding the 5th gear on backing off against the casing...eventually it will just blow a hole in the case and kill the tranny. just go buy some good sealant and pull the bolts off the case (drain it first). I believe they are 14 mm and are 2 diff sizes (the 2 on the bottom are LONG). They get torqued to about 30ftlb when you put em back on. Open it up and take a look takes about 10 mins off and 12 mins back on and then refil the fluid and good to go. When you get all the bolts off look at the drain plug there is a little step there that is designed to be a pry place that will make it much easier to break the seal.

thats exactly what its doing...how do i stop that?