scsponger31

Posted this on 6spped as well. I am little worried.

http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/9...leak-help.html

scsponger31

Got under the car again today and found some new oil. It actually looks like it is coming more from the passenger side. I put a few more pics below. All input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Danny

Macster

I can't tell from the pics if the car's equipped with a manual or Tip, but if it has a manual transmission this might prove helpful: Impossible to say with any certainity that this applies but FWIW my 03 Turbo's 6-speed manual developed a selector shaft seal leak at one of the selector shaft seals on the passenger side of the car.

It has been awhile but IIRC the underbody cover was removed before this area could be viewed. I had the car in for a preventative transmission fluid change and the tech noticed the leak upon giving the exposed transmission cases a good checking.

The fix was a new transmission. The car was covered by a CPO warranty and the fix was on Porsche so I didn't protest.

But the techs told me that had the car been out of warranty and had I wanted to fix the leak the transmission could be removed and disassembled sufficiently to gain access to and replace the leaking seal.

The Turbo 6-speed and the NA 6-speed transmission share some parts, and seals (some anyhow) are included in the set of parts shared.

The tranny R&R for seal replacement would not have been cheap though, but thousands less than simply replacing the transmission.

Anyhow get the car on a lift or safely in the air and check along the tranny for any signs of fluid coming from a selector shaft seal. You might have to remove a plastic underbody panel if one resides under the tranny. In my car's case the oil leak wasn't bad (yet) and there was just fluid leak sign on the transmission housing. There may have been some fluid on the top of the cover but there was no fluid under the car on the ground and no signs of any fluid elsewhere.

A long shot but is the fluid oil or is it water soluble? If the latter it might be power steering or power clutch fluid of course if the car is a manual.

Sincerely,

Macster.

scsponger31

Thanks for the reply! The car is a manual and the fluid is with out a doubt oil. I will get back under the car and see if I can find anything new. Stay tuned....

scsponger31

Trans and the cover under it are dry. My guess is it is coming from some where near where the trans and motor are bolted together. I am slightly worried that this is not going to be a cheap repair.

Kevin

Do you know what gear oil smells like? The gearbox can be leaking from the axle shaft flange seal or you might have a broken tranny VENT, from a over zealous slave cylinder fix/replacement.

If it isn't gearlube, then it could be Pentosin from a failing slave. Take your power steering FILL cap off to smell Pentosin. If this is it, then you need to open your front hood and check for Pentosin leaking out of your clutch slave reservoir.

If it is engine oil then you most likely have a rear main seal failure.

scsponger31

Thanks for the your input Kevin. I have no idea what gear oil smells like, but I will look into it, and everything else you mentioned. Would gear oil feel a little less thick than engine oil? Also, if it is the RMS, am I ok to drive the car till I replace the clutch? I never like leaking fluids, but I am hoping to be upgrading the clutch in the near future. Again, thank you very much for your input.

LVDell

You'll know if it's gear oil. Gear oil will smell like rotten eggs. My wife knows when we are changing gearbox oil at my place versus doing oil. She comes out to the garage and says "dear god, y'all must be changing gearbox oil, it stinks in here!"

scsponger31

Just got under the car again, there was some more fluid/oil under there (nothing dripping though) and it was odor-less. Did not even really smell like oil.

I am stumped . It almost looks like the oil is sweating through, is that even possible?

Macster

No. Oil will not sweat through. If oil is outside of where it should be there's a gasket, or seal leaking or less likely but possible nonetheless there's a crack or porosity in the housing.

In short, there's a leak.

You need to widen your search for the source of the leak.

A fluid 'leak' under the car, signs of fluid at the bottom of some component, can be from a fluid leak higher up.

I've never smelled the power steering or power clutch fluid but it is water soluble. Get some fluid on your fingers and see if the fluid dissolves in plain old cold water.

If it does it is power steering or power clutch fluid or possibly brake fluid, which can be a sign of a leak unless you or someone (and anyone that's been at the engine and its fluid reserviors can have done this) has been sloppy and overfilled a fluid reservior...

In some cases the accumulator can fail and the clutch slave cylinder too and this can push fluid out of the clutch fluid reservior under the plastic panel under the front trunk cover ahead of the driver.

Sincerely,

Macster.

scsponger31

Again, Thank you very much for your help. I have not driven the car for a few days, so I figured I would go back under and take a look. There was a small amount of fluid and it seems that I was even able to locate where is was coming from. Also, I tried the cup of water trick and the fluid seemed to dissolve, and nothing was left floating on the surface. The fluid was no green though, like I would expect Pentison to be. I attached yet another image. Is there is an output seal that can be replaced behind the axle?

Macster

I'm not up on the colors of Pentosin but if you do not believe it to be Pent. and the liquid is water soluble it can be one of 3 things: brake fluid; anti-freeze; or windshield washer fluid. That is I can't think of any other water soluble fluids the car should have.

Coolant (the anti-freeze in it) has a very sweet taste. Coolant also has a very pronounced 'oily' characteristic between one's fingers.

You are looking at where the fluid ends up. You need to look up higher and possibly forward of that location. However, in the engine compartment and in the case of the Turbo with its engine compartment fan sometimes air flow in the engine compartment can cause a leaking fluid to travel a direction counter to what 'logic' says it should travel.

But assume the leak source is higher at least and forward of the location where you spot the fluid.

Get get the car safely in the air and with a bright flashlight (those new LED lights are like the sun!) shine the light at every hose, line, and every seal, or gasketed joint. Look for a cleaner area. Often times a leak will wash away the engine's coating of cosmoline and grime and a cleaner area is where the fluid is coming from.

If you can with the engine/exhaust/drivetrain cold and of course the engine off the key in your pocket use your hand to feel along the surfaces above where the pics show the fluid to be and examine your hand often to see if it has picked up any fresh fluid sign. A leak's path is not always obvious to the eye. But it will leave a trail that one can follow with his hand.

Sincerely,

Macster.

kamkaz

So what happened....

32krazy!

danny sold his car a long time ago and moved into a 2015 mustang

kamkaz

I can tell you I had the same problem and in my case the clutch reservoir (which is location on up of this drip location) had gone and way leaking. The mechanic new it was not oil rather pentosin. They just missed the leak the first time. Cost me $2000 to fix, no engine drop.