Rob Edwards

I had an initial look at a shark today, a nice original '90 GT with great cosmetics and a thick stack of service records. (The TB/WP was done 18K ago and retensioned, but no evidence of the tensioner being rebuilt - the TB warning was on in the digital dash display...... ) I didn't get a chance to really get under it, but the rest of the underside looked clean and dry. However, from the passenger side I got this shot of the transaxle:


So what are the potential leak sources that would cover the transaxle like this? I presume it's high and anterior (?)

The car drove beautifully, so if the PPI doesn't reveal too many gremlins, the car will come home and immnediately have the TB/WP/tensioner/hoses/rack/mounts done. PPI is scheduled for next Saturday.

RyanPerrella

Mine looks just like yours.

I believe but i could be wrong that the top plate is one source of the leaks, and there is also a breather on the top of the trans as well. I bought the gaskets and the breather but I dont feel like dropping the trans to replace them

Daniel Dudley

Incorrect top gasket can cause a leak out the breather. Front seal could be suspect, and there is a plug above the torque tube that could pop out, and although this is unlikely, it has happened.

You can degrease the transaxle and drive it to see if you can pinpoint the problem. There is also an inspection plug under the torque tube. With an improper top gasket the fluid tends to leak all down the sides. It looks like it is the seal at the gasket, or a defective breather. You cannot use silicone to fake a gasket, or make a gasket unless it is an exact match for an original with the center flap. YMMV

cfc928gt

My '89 GT looks like it as well. I definately have a leak at the input shaft seal but from what I can tell they're known for that and several have replaced the seal only to have it leak again. Very annoying but not a big deal.

Scott M.

My experience is that all later 5 speeds leak like that. Mainshaft front seal is the culprit. Heck even my 20k mile 93 is seeping there.
The PITA part is you have to pull the gearbox to fix it.

johnf95111

Mine looked like that. It was constant source of thick oil drips on the garage floor. When I did my clutch and torque tube, I pulled the tranny/differential and refreshed all the external seals; I think there were two that required too much diassembly so I left them. It was pretty straight forward to do. The only real b*tch was the monster snapring on the front you need to remove to slide the input shaft out. I modified a pair of needle nose Vice Grips for the job.

I pre-disasembley pressure wash makes the job much cleaner.

If you have any questions, let me know.

Cheers,

John Fagerlund

'89GT 4 years without a leak

Chris

You talking about this seal here ?



I managed to replace when doing the TT, sometimes get the odd occasional drip but it is much better than it was before.

Chris

johnf95111

That's one of the seals that do tend to leak. The other major player in the drip is the paper seal on the top cover.

Cheer,
-j

Rob Edwards

Thanks for all the info! The current owner hadn't noticed, and he was a bit annoyed since he had the gear oil changed last time he'd had it at the shop a few months back. So either the front seal is going or the shop overfilled it? Either way, the car shifted and drove perfectly (at least it did to me, based on my n of 3 cars.....) so it doesn't sound like an immediate issue. I'll keep an eye on the oil level, after I buy the car, of course........

-Rob

Dangerm

I've got the same on my '82 Euro. Garage said that it is just a simple seal problem, but requires 2 days labour to remove the transaxle and replace, wheel align etc etc - so the seals cost only a few dollars but the labour costs are fairly big.

jon928se

Thats where all the oil from an often driven Manual with a leaking Engine oil pan gasket ends up. If you drive it everyday the oil from a leaking sump (oil pan) never drips under the engine it makes it's way to the tranny in the slipstream then catches and drips there. Ask me how I know.

You can smell the difference between engine oil and gear oil - gear oil smells very sulphury Clean engine oil doesn't really smell used engine oil has a kind of burn't hydrocarbons/cancerous smell.

cobalt

Mine leaks there too. I find it only leaks while driving and what is left on the floor is residual. No difference in drip size no matter if the car sits for a week or months. I was barely down on fluid after 4k miles of driving.

I figured it was easier to clean and leave then replace.

Jascd

My s4 auto had a transmission leak when i bought it and it troubled me for a while, a few drops each couple of days. Then I had to have the TT rebuilt and then the kick down switch fell to bits, then my mechanic said one of the transmission oil hose connections was leaking and then... Anyway, he fixed the hose and and in the last 6 months I have not had one drop of oil on the garage floor from anywhere on the car but i will not feel smug as that is certain to tempt fate. I'll pitch it as a temporary repair thats holding well!

9x8

Another thread resurrection!

Wish I had read this thread earlier and particularly the part about using only factory gasket for top plate.

I had a pretty annoying oil leak at the tranny as well.
PO mentioned that he had the tranny rebuilt and that folks at the shop probably forgot to place a gasket at top plate.

Well, I dropped rear suspension and transaxle recently and used silicone make-a-gasket () to re-seal the top plate. Yep, it's an easy guess - it's leaking again!

AO

Mine leaks too. No biggie.