trans leak for an engine novice

[mike3311]

If I didn't prove how much of an idiot I am with my "oil leak" post, here's the real kicker. The information in my previous post was tainted by the fact that I can't tell the difference between an oil dip stick and a trans stick. Nor could I distinguish between trans fluid and oil on the garage floor. I don't have an oil leak. I have a trans leak. Thank you mgross! for telling me not to drive it, because as a result of my earlier troubleshooting, I had 3 quarts too much oil in the engine. At least I managed to figure that out before driving it.

So to repost the same picture, I have *trans* fluid coming out of here:



It's not a lot (about 1/4 of a cup) and it doesn't seem to leak when the engine is off. My inclination for now is to top it off and see how fast the leak actually is by watching the dipstick for a while.

Any ideas on the likely cause of the leak in that location.

Thank you all for the advice. I'd probably be sitting on a destroyed engine right now if it wasn't for your input on the last thread.