Yes, it's quite possible. In fact, it's likely that they came loose on their own. Oil pan bolts in particular seem subject to this, perhaps due to their north/south alignment and the vibrations travelling perpendicular to them along the drivetrain. When I wrenched fuel funny cars back in the early seventies, all of the oil pan bolts would come lose on every run. They did seem to loosen evenly, probably as much as a full turn each. An aftermarket company eventually made bolts with a serrated locking face, just to prevent this. In your case, they had probably just reached the point where the gasket was released when you went in the hospital. What's more, with the truck sitting the pan oil level probably exceeded the gasket flange area for an extended period of time. (When the vehicle is in operation, enough oil enters the converter and valve body to keep it below the flange. What's more, it may take a while for the converter to leak down into the pan.) Don't worry about it. Paul
> Since I got out of the hospital my vehicle has been leaking transmission > fluid. I crawled underneath today and tightened the transmission pan > bolts. All but the one that is hardest to reach were loose 1/2 turn. The > vehicle sat in front of the apartment for two days while I was in the > hospital. The transmission pan gasket is cork. These are the facts. > > My thoughts are that I do try to keep up the truck and it was not > leaking at all before then. I was the one who last changed the > transmission fluid and filter about 3 years ago, and had no leaks until > this. I can not imagine all the bolts coming loose the same amount by > themselves. Yet if someone wanted to cause me problems they could have > done a lot more damage than just loosening the transmission bolts a bit. > > So I am wondering has anyone experienced bolts all coming loose the same > amount on their own like this? > > -- > > graywolf > http://www.graywolfphoto.com > "Idiot Proof" <==> "Expert Proof" > ----------------------------------- >
