Two problems related to transmission fluid leaking have been reported for the 1999 Ford Explorer. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
1999 Ford Explorer sport 112,750 miles. Car fine Tuesday night. Upon leaving driveway Wednesday morning, reverse was gone, but forward gears fine--no noise, no leaks. Vehicle has been maintained. Upon leaving to drive to get it diagnosed for repair, noises occurred, then fluid leaked. A component blew a hole in transmission case. Transmission needed replacement. Upon researching this problem, I found tens of thousands of similar complaints for this vehicle--mostly 2002 models, though all years were represented. Many experienced similar problems prior to 50,000 miles of use. Apparently this vehicle is called "exploder" by repair shops and Ford dealership service departments. A problem of this magnitude clearly needs addressing,, and it is obvious that the Ford motor CO. Will not do it, as they have been aware of this problem for years and have made no modifications to prevent it from happening--it seems that they simply do not care to take the time, money and effort [mostly the money, I'm sure] to remedy this problem--they just will not care unless forced to--and you are the only ones who can force them to do something. I am looking into starting a class-action suit presently. Please do not make it necessary to continue. . . .
When my 1999 Ford Explorer had approximately 60,000 miles, it went into the repair shop to have the transmission replaced. At that time, I complained that there was transmission fluid leaking near the radiator. About 6 months later, when the vehicle had approximately 70,000 miles, it went back to the repair shop for transmission troubles, at which time several of the clutches in the transmission had to be replaced. The car was released from the dealer on a Friday night, but was returned approximately 12 hours later due to hesitation of the vehicle when driving and because the overdrive light was blinking off and on. Approximately three weeks later the car went back into the shop, again for leaking transmission fluid near the radiator. The radiator has had to be replaced due to a crack where a transmission fluid line came into contact with the radiator. There seems to be a problem with every component involved with the transmission on this Explorer.