hatrick6

So I am afraid my transmission may be leaking, there is fluid drips under the center of the car, and when I crawled under there I saw fluid on this piece:



Now, the fluid appears to becoming out of the rear of the transmission, and then getting on the driveshaft as I drive, because there is fluid residue all around the underbody where the rear of the transmission is and the front half of the driveshaft (as if the fluid leaks onto the driveshaft and then it gets sprayed onto the underbody by the spinning driveshaft). Best pic I could get of this:



Zoomed in, On the above pic the bottom darker half is where oil got to, the top lighter half is the way it should be (you can also see this in the first pic, all that dark red color is where fluid has been).

Now this is the piece that fluid seems to be leaking from:



So any ideas where I might have this leak at? I'm 99% sure its tranny fluid and not engine oil. However with that much fluid leakage you would think the fluid in the tranny would be low, but it's not, and the engine oil isn't low either. Also, whatever that piece is in the above pic, is it suppose to look like that (it looks rather torn up, but I ave never looked at it closely before)? Also, there is about 1/8" play in that piece, as in it travels forward to backward across the driveshaft about 1/8" distance, is it suppose to do that?

So, any ideas guys on where to find this leak at?

1SXY240

The piece you are talking about is just a dust cover from what I have been told by a few shops and can actually be removed by tapping it with a hammer. As for the leak, there is a transmission seal right in front of the drive shaft, maybe that seal is leaking some fluid.

jramosthe1st!

iTrader: (1)

it could be the seal but i don't recommend you get rid of the dust cover.

hatrick6

anyone know the exact name of that seal so I can get it ordered up?

jramosthe1st!

iTrader: (1)

http://www.frsport.com/Genuine-OEM-N...ft_p_9010.html

battosaii930

iTrader: (2)

holy crap i payed $3 for mine lol ebay ftw and yes mine was oem

battosaii930

iTrader: (2)

btw you can just go to the dealer its the same seal as the z32 transmission dosnt matter what year or turbo or not its all the same seal

edit forgot you have a KA just get a ka seal its the same seal either way lol

hatrick6

Ok, 2 more questions:

1. Never done this before, so anyone have little write-up on with and/or pics?

2. Do I need to drain the tranny fluid before I do it?

jramosthe1st!

iTrader: (1)

it's just like any other seal, once you get the old one out you just need to press the new one in evenly to prevent damaging it. you shouldn't have to drain the tranny but if you're wearied about more fluid leaking during the process, just raise the rear end and you should be fine.

hatrick6

Ok, did the job this morning, not bad but took me about 2 and a half hours. 2 reasons it took me so long:

1. Filling up the trans fluid takes forever, I run a small hose from the engine bay and then down into the fill plug and pour small amounts of fluid in the hose with a funnel. Does anyone else have a better idea?

2. For some reason it took me a long time to get the drive shaft back into the trans after I put the new seal in. After playing around with it it slid right in, not really sure what I did or what was stopping me in the first place.

Also, I forgot to put the dust cover back on before I but the drive shaft back in the trans, and the thing was such a pain to get back in I didn't want to take it back out again to put the dust cover on. So question is, is the dust cover that big of a deal? Should I take the drive shaft off again and get it back on there asap?

Anyway, drove the car around for 10 minutes or so, came back and checked the leak, doesn't seem to be leaking anymore so I'm happy

jramosthe1st!

iTrader: (1)

it would be a good idea to put the dust cover back on when you get a chance. also, it's faster to fill the tranny by pouring the fluid though the shifter.

hatrick6

Done, took me all of 40 minutes this time

Biggamehit

iTrader: (2)

you can just pour the fluid into the shifter hole in less then 10 seconds. two bottles and a half... good to go right at spec level.

also with your drive-shaft.. a long time ago back when I was a boy. I was working on a s13 and the shaft would NOT slide in.. what happen was the metal around the back of the gear box was bent while working on the trans. I looked at it carefully. Just had to bend the metal back in place.