Garth S

With signs of spring in the air, and the potential of getting on the road in 2 weeks, went to the garage anxious to get the S4 running again. I did all the usual checks, and found a small pool of ATF 0n the floor. Lifted the car to look for a leaking line, seal, etc. - relieved to find the leak at the transmission reservoir! I could not see the level in the container, so backed off the cap, and out blooped another ounce of ATF!
The ATF level was on the mark before winter hibernation, my first storage period with an auto. While it is not overfilled, it acts as if it were.
So, what has happened? Is this a 'run - down' of fluid held up in the rad cooler? Is there a check valve in the cooler lines that is passing? - or is this common after 3+ months of storage?

Lizard928

edit: my bad didnt read right

Randy V

Not to worry, this is typical - caused by the fluid in the torque converter draining out into the pan and overflowing out the reservoir.

You may need a new reservoir cap seal though.

Jerry 87 928S4

I have the exact same thing on my 928. Didnt drive it much and got a small leak. I added a little bit of fluid thinking it must be low and drove it some. The leak actually got worse so I may have overfilled it.

I can not figure out where the leak is. How does it exit the trans if I have the leak that you mention?

Randy, are you saying I should just buy a new cap and see if that fixes it?

Mongo

oh on a side note... The factory Porsche seal doesn't work too well sealing. I bought one with a new cap and reservoir and I found out a faucet seal from a MOEN type faucet works better than the factory cap seal!!! You can pick one up at Home Depot or Lowe's.

Andy

Garth S

Thanks Guys,
So, it's the torque convertor! Randy & Andy (sounds like a team), I'll check out the reservoir cap and seal. If I have to go to the plumbing dept. for parts, at least Moen is a German name.
Jerry, my leak smeared all over the bottom of the xmission pan, but orriginated at the reservoir fill cap: If the origin is not readily obvious, wipe down/clean the mess - and the 'leak' should show itself. In this case, the extra run down of ATF into the sump created a very 'friendly' type of leak - at the red plastic cap.

dr bob

A while back I did a wholle trans-area cleaning with a couple cans of orange cleaner and the garden hose. Results are quite impressive for so little work. This is, in my opinion, a key first step in hunting down any leaks on the car, especially atf leaks. Seems that a tablespoon of atf can easily cover the whole trans in a red film and still manage to make a two-foot puddle on the garage floor nowhere near where the actual leak. Clean makes it easier to find the source.

There's an o-ring or some similar kind of seal on the reservoir on mine, where the tube ataches to the plastic reservoir itself. Worth a look!

Randy V

Couldn't hurt. You may be able to just replace the rubber gasket that is located within the cap - this may be missing.

Also, a leaking reservoir could be due to a failed O-ring at the reservoir junction to the trans body - another relatively easy fix.