Bottom of tranny is really wet.....

[my95tsi]

Ok i just got my clutch, flywheel, and lsd installed about a month ago and i changed my oil today and noticed that the bottom of my tranny is all wet. I'm guessing tranny fluid but how could i tell its all black with dirt. Anyways i ahve no idea where it's coming from but it seems to be all over the place. It's on the lower engine mount even as far back as sway bar. It's in odd spots and most of it seems pretty recent. The bootom of the engine mount is where most of it meets becasue there is a small drip forming but barely that. I thought it might be my axle seal but they seemed perfectly fine before we put the axles back in. What could this be......

 

[my95tsi]

update****

I removed the drain plug and stuck my ponky finge rin too see if there is any fluid and it seems to be be normal to me. I can only get the tip of ym finger in but when i pull it out it's completely drenched in fluid.

 

[1fast97gsx]

I had a leak from the oil return line and it would drip onto the front motor mount and go all over the bottom of the car when it was moving. Same thing with the bottom middle bolt on my exhaust manifold ... turns out there is an oil passage back there. :thumbdown

 

[my95tsi]

Well their definitely has to be leak somewhere. I'm leaving little spots all over the place when ever i park. Its dripping right off the center engine mounting brace and right onto the ground. I can't tell if it's oil leaking or tranny fluid. Both are brand new and mobil 1 and penzoil syncromesh look almost identical. I'm still thinking it might be the axle seals but i want o know for sure without pulling everything apart. Whatever it is it has to be slow leak b/c i've been driving my car for aslmost 1500 miles on the new clutch and the tranny fluid was still full. I tryed to add some and it started coming out almsot instantly. It all over the place. It almost seems as iff wherever is leaking is hitting the axle and when it turns the axle spits it all over the place. But it isn't wet aboxe the axle and it's only wet towards the rear of the motor alittle past the firewall but not muc, but the whole bottome of my tranny is wet and its all over the engine mount.

 

[gigahz95]

axles use grease, i dont think it would drip like motor oil.

 

[Omega]

I had very similar leak charactoristics as you and it was the axle seal (but mine wasn't all over the mount). It could be the drain plug, trans case, oil return line.

Since you said that it is all over the front trans mount, I am leaning towards the return line. I would clean everything really well then when you get home that day (after driving for a few hours) take another look.

You did say that you think that you think the axle is spitting the fluid all over the place. I would also check the boot. The easiest way to check that is take it out.. you can check the seal at that point too.

 

[jeff01]

Sounds like axle seals. Only use genuine mits. Differentiating motor oil from gear oil should not be that difficult. They are very different viscosities and smell different.

 

[my95tsi]

Ok well it was the axle seal after all. The passenger side seal was so bad i could move the axle freely as it was in the transaxle. I got 2 for $20 from mitsu and they took less than an hour total since i was using a lift and air tools. It was kinda a combination of the axle seals and the drain plug being loose. What was happening was the seal was leaking and as soon as it hit the axle it would spit it all over but when the car was sitting it would just drain out. I was very obvious that there was no fluid above the axle at all or infront of the tranny. It was all towards the rear of the car and it was dripping right beneath the seal and onto the lower engine mount.

 

[my95tsi]

axles use grease, i dont think it would drip like motor oil.