Leaking Transmission

Isotope9

Isotope9

Daily Driver
My tranny seems to be leaking pretty badly. The pic is what has accumulated over the last couple of weeks or the car sitting (it hasn't been driven since last year). There was slightly smaller puddle left behind over the winter, but it looks like with the warmer, and I'm using that term generously for this spring in S. Ontario, that the leaking has gotten worse. Also, at the end of last year, there was an increased incidence of the tranny jumping out of 2nd gear on coasting. It was always an occasional occurrence since I inherited the car, but it seemed to happen more frequently near the end of last summer

I haven't cleaned it up to see exactly where it's coming from, but it looks like its concentrated under the case split line. My father had tranny "rebuilt" by his dipshit cousin, and it was filled filled with GL-1. Not sure what, exactly, was done during the rebuild, but the rebuilder, as mentioned, is a dipshit, so I expect nothing more than the bare minimum.

I purchased Redline MTL over the winter to replace the GL-1 as there were always a couple minor leaks (a drop or two after driving), and it's been mentioned on this forum that MTL is less leaky than GL-1, but I don't think that even MTL's secret 11 herbs and spices can fix this!

So...next steps are to clean the tranny up, drain the GL-1 and replace with MTL and see if I can find where the leak is coming from. I'm also going to check the torque specs on the case bolts...but I doubt that's the issue. Hopefully the case isn't cracked.

My guess is that I'll be rebuilding the tranny this fall/winter if none of the above improves the situation.

2021-05-12 10_30_55-Window.png
 
Sorry to see this. Lots of potential sources of leaks. And if a "dipshit" has been in it, the possibilities are endless.

I didn't take any pictures but I tore down a core recently that someone else had rebuilt. When they took the case apart they, very obviously, used a big flat blade screwdriver to pry the case the halves apart. They obviously put considerable effort in doing this because the screwdriver left deep marks in the case where they levered heavily on it. The impressions were deep enough that the case halves will never seal again. It was obviously leaking heavily for some time.

Sad part is the reason the "rebuilder" thought he had to pry so hard was likely because he didn't know to remove either the stub shafts or main shaft bearing retainer snap rings.
 
Isotope9 said:
I purchased Redline MTL over the winter to replace the GL-1 as there were always a couple minor leaks (a drop or two after driving), and it's been mentioned on this forum that MTL is less leaky than GL-1, but I don't think that even MTL's secret 11 herbs and spices can fix this!
Click to expand...
Hi Isotope9,

I think it is the other way around, MTL is more likely to leak than GL-1. The GL-1 is thicker IIRC. I could be wrong, again. :)
 
Maybe just the axle seals? Mine was leaking pretty steadily, and it was concentrated under the case split line too. It looked like it was coming from between the two halves of the case, but on the advice of others here I tried doing seals. And sure enough, new axle seals did the trick. (Also concur that MTL seems to be substantially thinner than GL-1 and therefore more likely to leak. But still worth it.)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top