transmission fluid leaking after clutch job

[Hitmachine101]

hey guys, just did a clutch job on my 95 gsx and everything went smoothly and i just took her out for a test drive and when i got back she was leaking transmission fluid everywhere. ( it wasnt engine oil that i know for sure, smelled like tranny fluid )

anyway got her back on the rack and found it was coming from the back of the transmission right where the transfer case bolts up

the thing that really has me worried is that i found fluid coming out of the rubber boot for the clutch fork ----- is the tranny fluid inside my transmission and now coated all over my new pp and clutch disk??????


is there a seal that im missing here? is it possible that the tranny isnt flush to the engine? wouldnt i feel that in the test drive though because she worked great as far as i can tell.....

i got a gut feeling im ripping this allll apart again and i really dont want to do that again.......

oh and the transfer case is full so its not leaking from there-- deff coming from the transmissions supply of oil

got any ideas as to where this is coming from and what ill have to do to make it stop?

anything?

 

[projekt1]

I too have gone through a few tranny removals/installs and mine is still leaking.
I had the leaking fluid between the t-case and tranny as well so I removed the tranny, put in a new output seal and it seemed to have fixed the leak (I think). I also had, and still have, the tranny/engine oil in the bellhousing that comes out of the fork boot which leads me to believe that I still have leaks, obviously. Then I had a leaking rear main seal to took care of that and the oil pan at the same time. Now, I'm leaking from the passenger output seal which I had replaced about 6 months ago. The removal and installs suck but I hate spending all the $ on redline tranny fluid!
In short, yes you're going to need to remove the tranny and replace a seal if not both. Hope your clutch isn't glazed but of course this is all worst case scenario. Good luck!

 

[extremeatheist]

Did you replace all the seals?

 

[myaceofdiamonds]

looks like pullin the trans and replacing the seals is the thing to do.

 

[BrokenTsi]

Why would you have to pull the transmission to replace seals? Its probably the driverside axle seal over the transfer case. I bet it was damaged moving the axle around. It could even not be damaged at all, the axle just may not be seated all the way in. Unbolt the intermediate shaft and check to make sure its secure inside the transmission. Sometimes, when people muscle out an axle out of the way, they tear it or accidentally remove that inner spring that prevents it from leaking.

It probably leaks down the transmission and towards the clutch fork and its making you think there is fluid inside of the transmission. Replace the seal first. Or if you have the time and you don't mind doing it, remove the transmission again and replace both seals before reinstall. Its always a good thing to have spare axle seals and to replace them every time the trans comes out.

 

[jmartinez1228]

Why would you have to pull the transmission to replace seals? Its probably the driverside axle seal over the transfer case. I bet it was damaged moving the axle around. It could even not be damaged at all, the axle just may not be seated all the way in. Unbolt the intermediate shaft and check to make sure its secure inside the transmission. Sometimes, when people muscle out an axle out of the way, they tear it or accidentally remove that inner spring that prevents it from leaking.

It probably leaks down the transmission and towards the clutch fork and its making you think there is fluid inside of the transmission. Replace the seal first. Or if you have the time and you don't mind doing it, remove the transmission again and replace both seals before reinstall. Its always a good thing to have spare axle seals and to replace them every time the trans comes out.

What he said. I had the tranny axle shaft seals break when I pulled mine out and didnt realize it. You can replace them with the tranny still in the car its just a little bit of a pain thats all. You will need a big socket or something that you can put around the seal because in my case i had to smack it in with a hammer.
The seals arent that expensive.
Also what brokentsi said about the axle not being seated properly. If you see any of the splines on the axle when its in the car then its definitely not in all the way. You should feel some soft of a pop when you put it in. Use a crows foot to get it out, much much easier .

 

[BrokenTsi]

The driverside axle can be deceiving. It can appear to be in all the way, you won't see splines and it will leak. Unbolting the intermediate shaft, pushing in the axle or tapping the whole thing with a rubber mallet is a good way to ensure its in there, or else the transmission fluid will POUR out until there is only little fluid left. Ive seen it happen too many times. I've done it myself a few times as well.

 

[extremeatheist]

A local kid fried his transmission because of a bad seal, and his constant abuse.

 

[Hitmachine101]

The driverside axle can be deceiving. It can appear to be in all the way, you won't see splines and it will leak. Unbolting the intermediate shaft, pushing in the axle or tapping the whole thing with a rubber mallet is a good way to ensure its in there, or else the transmission fluid will POUR out until there is only little fluid left. Ive seen it happen too many times. I've done it myself a few times as well.

ok sounds like we have 4 seals here -- two inside the tranny one for the input into the flywheel clutch assembly, one to the transfer case -- and then ive got 2 axel seals --


could the drivers axel ( assuming its not seated properly ) actually leak into the transmission and cause an internal bell house leak like that? i was thinking it would just leak outside the tranny if it wasnt seated properly

 

[BrokenTsi]

It just leaks outside of the transmission for the axle seals.

The seals inside of the transmission are not going to be easy. I'm pretty sure the whole trans has to be disassembled completely to do an input shaft seal. If they are not leaking, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Hitmachine101]

ok i just ran her on the lift with the transfer case off and my dad watching, got her up to 5th gear and after about 20 sec she started leaking out of the clutch fork boot first then it started pooring out of the low spot right next to the transfer case,, my dad said the top of the rubber boot started leaking first almost like fluid was being spun all around the bell housing

both axels didnt leak so were good there -- probably will replace them when the trannys out the second time anyways

ok so im thinking its the input shaft seal going into the flywheel -- this is going to suck to change that

i dont think the bell housings cracked,, it would leak if the motor wasnt running or the gears wernt spinnign and it doesnt do that --so i can check that off the list

the axels arnt leaking so check those

so its gotta be the input shaft seals for either the transfer case or the flywheel right???????????

 

[BrokenTsi]

Bell housings don't leak, its just a way of bolting the gear box onto the block. Sounds like the leak is coming from inside the trans, which is hard to believe, but it can happen. I would check for a crack near the base of the input shaft on the transmission side.

 

[Hitmachine101]

hey guys, i parked the car in the corner for a little while and now ive musterd up the guts and time to go back after it --

for clarification: to replace the main input seal ( the seal that is right behind the input shaft going into the clutch/flywheel assembly,, the transmission must be removed from the car ( obviously ) and then dissesembled pulling all the gears out to actually get at and replace that seal???? theres no way of pulling this from the bell housing??? i really dont want to go after this by litterally tearing the tranny apart but i will if thats the only way to do it

also the transfer case output shaft going from the transmission into the transfer case.... how do i remove this?? i know this is accessible from the bell housing side without ripping gears apart,,, is there a seal puller of some sort??? because its real tight in there and ive had little to no luck getting it out yet

thanks for the information ahead of time