Gasket replacement Took my 2001 Taurus to dealer and was told timing cover gasket, transmission pan gasket, and axle seals @ transmission all need to be replaced. Does leak a very small amount of transmission fluid on driveway. Question is: how critical is this? Can I get another 6 months or year out of this vehicle?

Broken line, loose or broken clamps, cracked fitting, loose or broken gasket, missing gasket material, cracked housing, pan or drain plug and gasket if you have one. Drive axle shaft seals bad.

Check the axle shaft seals where the two drive axles enter the transaxle. If leaking there the axle will have to be removed to replace the seal.
Look at the bottom pan of transaxle. If leaking from pan gasket, the pan will have to be removed and transmission drained to replace pan gasket.
There is a transaxle main shaft seal on the front of transaxle, hidden by the bellhousing that mounts to rear of engine.. If the shaft seal is leaking, fluid will be dripping from bottom of bellhousing, and when inspection cover is removed, fluid will be evident inside the bellhousing.
Check also the transmission fluid cooling lines, where the two lines exit the transaxle case, and go to front of car to an external cooler mounted in front of radiator, or going into a separate reservoir in the radiator.

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You do not put anything in any transmission
but the correct fluid

Any leak requires replacing the gasket

If it is a transaxle pan gasket that leaks that rubber &
cork auto parts store gaskets are too expensive & leak

You need to go to a trans repair shop & get a neoprene
gasket,it looks like cardboard & has a waxy finish & goes on dry

You can do that yourself

You need to be under the car & shown what your told
or your dealing with a wrong shop & will be taken advantage
of some day.

Stay with a 30 year old local father & son repair shop
you can trust. ASE Certified Mechanics

You would need a toolbox full of tools-wrenches, 1/2 inch drive ratchet wrench and several size sockets, one large socket for the big axle nut at the center of the wheel-possibly 30 mm, not sure. Yes, quite a number of common hand tools required for the job, because you have to remove that axle from the transaxle to replace the seal. It's not a simple job, but one that DIY'ers are always doing.
I would not rush to do it along with the pan removal. When you have the necessary tools and have consulted a repair procedure for your Taurus so you see what is involved, then you could do it. The amount of fluid you will lose when the axle is pulled out will be minimal, a quart at most and usually about a half quart. Generally, the axle removal requires the lower ball joint separated, the tie rod removed from steering knuclkle, the axle pushed out of the wheel hub and then popped out of the transaxle. The procedure varies according to make of car. But the seal replacement is a piece of cake, once you have the axle shaft out of the way.
If you register for free at autozone.com, and list your make, model, year, and engine size, you will find the procedure for the axle, and for a lot of other repairs as well. It's a great free source for DIY repairs. Good luck.

Pretty tough job,,if you dont work on cars much..You have to remove the water pump,,and also alot of the accessories around the water pump..You also have to drop the front of the oil pan down ,,to remove the timing cover..I always like to remove the oil pan and replace the gasket on it as well...

oil cooler lines, transmission pan, power steering leaking or axle seals. All are pretty common.

IF you open up the access cover for the oil filter you will see the cooler lines. If they are wet with oil you found the first leak.

The trans pan will be wet if the gasket is leaking

the front axle seal will be wet right where the axles go in the front end.

The power steering pump, lines, gear box will be wet if they are leaking.

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Well sometimes.... the front crankshaft seal is usually called a crank seal, or the front timing cover seal but the rear crank seal is (usually) called the Rear Main crank seal. In order to replace the rear seal , the transmission will need to be removed. If its the front, then the harmonic balancer will be removed. $380 sounds cheap. As you will need a oil seal, oil pan gasket, oil, filter, labor and tax. Maybe even a lower engine mount.

CHECK UNDER VECHICLE IF TRANSMISSION FLUID UNDER TRANSMISSION MORE LIKELY PAN GASKET LEAKING FLUID.IF FLUID HAS NOT BEEN CHANGED THE PAN GASKET GET HARD LEAKS FLUID.THATS IF YOU HAVE SLOW LEAK.IF YOU LOSING LOTS OF TRANSMISSION FLUID ITS .LEAKING AT TORQUE CONVERTER SHAFT SEAL.LEAKING AT COOLER LINES.CHECK COOLER LINES FROM RADIATOR TO UNDER CAR WHERE COOLER LINES GOES TO TRANSMISSION. AND CHECK LEAKS AT FRONT DRIVE SHAFT AXLES SEALS

List of possible locations for engine oil leaks:

Valve cover gasket
can,crank and oil pump seals.
rear main seal
oil pan gasket
Transmission oil leaks
Vents, dipstick,torque converter ( need to examine shell to pin point whether its the oil pump or a converter seal)transmission gasket,axle seals, drain plug.

First thing you need to do is actually verify exactly what is leaking. A leak that appears to be from under the engine can be caused by a valve cover gasket (anything up top will run down) I have no idea what valve would need replacement but on the valve cover towards the rear, there is a orifice fixture that replaces the pcv valve. they can be cleaned out and re-used by spraying carb cleaner through them and using a thin piece of wire to loosen any crud in there.(remove from cover to do that) Make sure there is vacuum in the line going to it so it is able to work. (clean out line and fitting if no vacuum). Doing the above lessens crankcase pressure and often will stop leaks.
If the leak is from the rear of the pan, there are two gaskets (a gasket and a seal). The oil pan gasket rarely leaks and most often it is the rear main seal that needs replacement. To do this correctly the transmission needs to be removed. If the leak is slight, consider using lucas engine sealer. It is one of few products that will not harm any internal components and will in many cases either lessen or stop a leak.(takes some time though as most leaks are caused by hardened seals that take time to soften up again).
Did the shop cause the leak? It's possible but only if they loosened valve cover or pan bolts on purpose....I can't see any shop doing that as part of a trans service and if done intentionally to cause a leak, they would be causing themselves far more grief than it is worth!!! So, my answer to that is no.