my wheels:- '99 auto td5 with 16p engine and 60k on the auto box. this happened a few weeks back. hired trailer from ballarat and drove to frankston vic. roughly 2 1/2 hrs. collected next project car. a facelift td5 which had LOST ALL OF ITS AUTO FLUID while doing 80k's up a steephill. load trailer and off i go. no problems towing even through the " pentland hills " on the M8. famous for destroying gearboxes. !! 2 miles from home on single lane country road. just as i top the last hill before home i smell hot oil. god was smiling on me . i had taken my foot off of the throttle and was coasting over the top when this happened. please insert loads of swear words here !!! lost all drive all from auto box, so i rolled gently down the hill until i could pull of the road . swage joint on transmission pipe from auto box to cooler had let go !!!
so now i have 2 cars with stuffed auto boxes !!! thankfully i found a friendly farmer who drove me home. i collected more wheels ( ln106 hilux )and got help to get both cars home. next day rob transmission line from my parts car and fit into my wheels. drop sump ( very clean ) and change filter while i'm there. refill etc with auto fluid.
cross fingers and take it for a drive. no issues at all. changes up / down as if nothing had happened.
i've now put 1000k's on the auto box and it hasn't missed a beat.

the project car :-been told it had lost fluid because of blown torque converter seal. undid the round access panel underneath and checked bell housing. no oil anywhere.
i filled it with oil and fired it up. oil was pouring out of the fitting from auto box outlet to pipe . the fitting was loose. !!! replaced "o"ring and refitted pipe etc. filled her up and away it went. slow off the mark. once cruising it changed up at roughly the correct speeds. so a project for the future i think. pete :-)

p.s it took weeks for all the transmission oil to finally stop dripping from every nook and cranny under car. :-)