Originally Posted by andreyayrapetov

As I was driving yesterday and decided to pass a slow driver, I heard a loud thump under the car. It almost sounded like a back fire. The vehicle continued to drive good with no issues for the next 2 hours non stop until I had to pull over for a bathroom break for my kids. When I started the car and started to accelerate I heard the same noise again but several times until I reached my desired speed of 65 mph. As I was driving at cruise control speed I had no issues but the minute I had to accelerate the noises would be there. On my way back home the vehicle started to make grinding and whistling noises at which point I pulled over and turned off the car. I popped the hood and smoke came out from the rear of the engine area towards the bottom. I let the car to cool off and started it again and drove on the side of the road at 15 mph and the noises came back. As I was waiting for the tow truck, I noticed that there was fluid leaking from the transmission area near the transfer case actuator motor. It was leaking steadily. After I got the vehicle home and removed from the tow truck, the car would barely move into my garage on it's own and started to make loud knocking and grinding noises. I am assuming my transmission failed, but what exactly is the question. The entire time I didn't have any issues with shifting at all. Any ideas? What should I do to confirm the issue. I am pretty handy but have never worked on a transmission before.