Transmission Fluid Leak?
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 138
Likes: 0
From: Richwood NJ
Transmission Fluid Leak?
So I was under my car changing oil last night and noticed the bottom of my transmission is "wet" with what appears to be an oily substance (probably trans fluid). I've never noticed anything leaking under the car where I typically park, but it does seem like something is leaking.
The wet area is shown highlighted in yellow in the image below. NOTE: I didn't have my camera on me, so this is just a stock image of the underside of our transmission. I just highlighted the area I recall being wet.
The obvious culprit to me is the gasket where the two cast pieces mate together. Has anyone else ever had trouble with this gasket? Is this a typical problem?
Ever since I started driving the car, I've noticed a few things "off" with the transmission. The shifter seems very stiff and tough to get into gears sometimes. This especially happens when I try to shift into 1st, down from a higher gear when the car is still moving. With the clutch fully depressed, it still feels like there is some resistance there. No clue if this is related but I thought I'd throw it out there.
Thanks again!
The wet area is shown highlighted in yellow in the image below. NOTE: I didn't have my camera on me, so this is just a stock image of the underside of our transmission. I just highlighted the area I recall being wet.
The obvious culprit to me is the gasket where the two cast pieces mate together. Has anyone else ever had trouble with this gasket? Is this a typical problem?
Ever since I started driving the car, I've noticed a few things "off" with the transmission. The shifter seems very stiff and tough to get into gears sometimes. This especially happens when I try to shift into 1st, down from a higher gear when the car is still moving. With the clutch fully depressed, it still feels like there is some resistance there. No clue if this is related but I thought I'd throw it out there.
Thanks again!
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 138
Likes: 0
From: Richwood NJ
Guess I probably should have done that yesterday when I had it up on jack stands 
Looks like I'll be putting it back up! Would low fluid account for what I would call "notchy" shifting?
Looks like I'll be putting it back up! Would low fluid account for what I would call "notchy" shifting?
Instructor
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 167
Likes: 6
From: DFW Texas
The simple fix is to clean the area with brake cleaner and apply red RTV along the seam. I did this to mine and it hasn't leaked since. There is another post regarding this with additional pictures - check the search function.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 19,470
Likes: 1,170
From: Dyer, IN
That's not a fix, that's a bandaid. Putting RTV on the seam only causes fluid leaking from an internal seal to pool. The only thing you fix by doing that is the oil on your garage floor.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 138
Likes: 0
From: Richwood NJ
Putting RTV on the seam only causes fluid leaking from an internal seal to pool.
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Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 138
Likes: 0
From: Richwood NJ
Gonna have to take the tranny out.
