Transmission line union intermittant leak

Long story shortened I gifted my 2003 PreRunner to my brother in law who had his car repo'd. He evidently ran the truck into the ground, blew a head gasket, kept driving and locked up the engine.
His wife bought a used engine and when he got it back from their mechanic a union at the transmission was leaking. I don't remember it leaking the last time I saw it. The mechanic who installed the engine swears it was low on transmission fluid and this part was leaking.
My BIL brought it over yesterday and I cleaned the area and nothing was leaking. I tried to get the transmission line off but due to very limited clearance and it being so frigging tight I couldn't budge the nut holding the line to the union. This was going to take a narrow jaw crescent wrench and stubby off set 19mm wrench. Besides I was taking my wife out to lunch that day so didn't have the time to keep working on it. Anyway the transmission was 1 quart low and my BIL swears he observed the fluid coming out of the union fitting. He says it leaks a quart every day. He does drive about 100 miles a day to work.
The mechanic also said it was an intermittent leak and he needed the union part to repair the leak. I can understand the O-ring being replaced but not the union. I can't understand why a union connection would leak sometimes then not unless he cranked down on the tube nut fitting (17mm) with out holding the union body (19mm) and caused a hair line crack.
Any ideas out there?
Here are the parts.


32921C
UNION(FOR OIL COOLER TUBE). INLET; NO.2; OUTLET
RZN19#,TACOMA (VZN150),195; AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
RZN19#,TACOMA (VZN195)

32921G
Automatic Transmission Oil Cooler Hose O-Ring
RZN19#,TACOMA (VZN150),195; AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
RZN19#,TACOMA (VZN195)

 

A quart a DAY??? That's not even a drip. You should be able to sit there and watch it stream out and make a puddle on the ground.

I'd clean it up real good, and go take it for a drive. If it's leaking a qt a day, a 5 minute drive should have more fluid all over the place.

 

Also, don't give your BIL any more cars...

 

I don't think a hairline crack that wasn't obvious would drop a quart a day, though. I wonder if it was just a quart low when he noticed the leak?

It's plausible that the leak only presents when it's being driven (when trans is in motion). Hopefully if he comes back in a day or two you'd be able to see an obvious sign of a leak.

How the hell do you wear out brake pads in a year?!

(not so) funny story my brother in law was given a Subaru Forester from his dad because the car he and his wife had was a POS Kia. My FIL wanted them to have a car that actually ran and was safe, if only because of their kid). That was a pretty nice car. Total shitbox now. I think his dad wrote it off when he gave it to him, but I would have wanted to take it back. Not how you treat a gift.

 

Hmmm, even tread wear at least means he's not jamming it through the corners. Maybe he does lots of burnouts and just rotated the tires.

I remember when I was 16/17, had an '87 Accord. My dad noticed the tires were wearing on the outside, so we took it in for an alignment. Tech comes out and says the alignment is perfect, and maybe I just need to slow down in the corners. Dad just gives me that one raised eyebrow look.

 

Not familiar with those tires, but even super cheap tires should last longer than that, lol... your BIL is definitely a mystery, lol

 

glad it is fixed. Some people can break a crow bar in a sand box. I have them in my family too.

Dealing with family is difficult at best. Techs go throught the same thing as doctors at family gatherings. When I get asked about the funny shift or the rattle between 1800 and 1900 rpm making a right turn only on tuesdays I tell them I can look at it when it is convienient to me but understand this, it is my time that is more valuble in this situation. For me at least, 2 dozen chocolate chip cookies goes a lot father than the 40 bucks they feel it is worth. I can always make money, home made cookies and an ice cold beer on the other hand...