Mcardenal

Hi all,

I had the GTS up on a lift today to help me reatach front and rear bumpers and noticed a few suttle drops of fluid coming from two locations. One was at what I am pretty sure is the transmission;


and the second was from the (i think) control arm??

any feedback is, as always, greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Martin

ammonman

The first is the torque converter housing for the transmission. Either the torque converter drain plug, front transmission seal, transmission pump cover seal or one of the transmission cooler lines are leaking. The lines wrap around the torque converter housing above the exhaust heat shields If it is either of the seals it requires removal of the transmission and torque tube to repair. The cooler hoses can be removed without taking the transmission out but the exhaust and heat shields must come out. If it is one of the cooler hoses and it sprays on the hot exhaust the trans fluid will catch fire and most likely kill the car so best to replace all the lines if some are starting to go south. The other picture of the rubber bellows is the steering rack. Peel back the bellows a little and see if fluid runs out. Anything more than a teaspoon means time for a rebuilt rack. Not hard to do just takes time. Search the forum for write-ups on these issues to see what's involved.

Mike

Mcardenal

Thanks Mike,

I admit I am starting to feel a little scared about my desicion to get into a 928 but I am not giving up and want to learn. However, if I go the rout of a trained 928 mechanic, how many hours do you think is fair for the described work?

Martin

Bill Ball

The goop appears to be on the front of the torque converter cover. Looks rather old and on the dry side too. This would tend to indicate the residue is blown back from forward, most likely the oil pan area or a power steering fluid leak. If you don't see any red drops on the torque converter and wetness behind it, then it's not likely a torque converter leak. It could be a transmission hose fitting in front of the convter - there is one just above the heatshield braket over the exhaust. If you don't see red drops on the ground under the trans area where you park the car, you don't have much of a trans leak. I'd clean off the grime and see if anything fresh accumulates there.

NoVector

If it is only a couple drops from the TC or front trans seal, I wouldn't rule out adding a bottle of Trans-X (at Walmart, etc.). By no means a permanent fix--more of a "stop gap" as it only swells the rubber seals. Quite a few of us have talked about it at 928 GTGs and it is pretty amazaing stuff. At least 'til you have the time/money for a TT rebuild or other other reason to drop the transmission. I always had drips on the 84, put a bottle of that stuff in there and it completely stopped.

Dave928S

Always a good idea with a new unfamiliar car to see what you've got by cleaning the complete underside, wheel wells, suspension, and engine. Once everything is clean it not only makes it easier to work on, but much easier to identify where leaks are coming from and how severe they are. It could be that what you're seeing is decades of goop, and leaks may be insignificant. It could also be that what you're seeing is being blown from another place .. as Bill mentioned.

Cleaning is time well spent ... and you'll learn a lot about the condition of your car along the way.

Mcardenal

This is really great feedback! Much apreciated.
Any rules to the cleaning of the underside? Is a bottle of degreaser and a couple of roles of paper towels good enough?

SteveG

Yep. Elbow grease. For really bad stuff, some people swear by Simple Green. It isn't green to my mind, pretty harsh and uneven, leaves splotches that look bleached, depending on the surface. The stuff in your pics should wipe right off with degreaser or WD40. Also, I've seen P/S leaks stop once the car is regularly driven. YMMV.

Rob Edwards

Lots of threads on undercarriage cleaning, but elbow grease is the #1 ingredient. Don't stop till it looks like this:

http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/m...4/difftank.jpg

Mcardenal

WOW!

Thats good to know. I got plenty of elbow grease.

antlee928

Thats very impressive! Does it get driven ;-)

Rob Edwards

That's 90 S-4's car, and yes, it gets driven regularly. SoCal is kind to 928 undercarriages. Only place I've ever lived where I'd even think of doing such a thing to the chassis.

dr bob

That could easily be a liftime of cleaning effort, and you wouldn't want to even think of driving it for fear of risking another lifetime of cleaning.

----
OP:

There have been many discussions on what's OK to use cleaning the undercarriage. The Most Important discussion is around avoiding using any of the Purple Degreasers on aluminum bits. These show up with names like magic purple, Castrol, etc, and are of course the most common that you will find. They are caustic, with labels that warn against use on aluminum. They do get the grease off, but also etch aluminum and leave a grey color particularly if left working for a while.

After that, what you clean with depends a lot on what you are trying to remove. Most oil-based deposits come off with detergent and warm water, diluted 50/50 into elbow grease and applied liberally. I've had the car up high on stands a couple times in the driveway, and just crawled under there with the pressure-washer wand. Don't blast electrical stuff under there (starter, alternator, oil pressure sender, switches on the transmission) but generally all else is fair under the car.

Where I live, I need to capture all the runoff if I use anything nasty for cleaning. So most "engine cleaners" that are solvent-based are last-ditch for the most stubborn or thick deposits, and I use them almost exclusively at the commercial car self-wash places where they are equipped to trap the mess better than I am.

Dave928S

Brilliant ... that's the result I'm aspiring too with the GTS. I'm gradually cleaning everything from the back and working towards the front.

I've already done the 82, and that was a bit more of a chore because of much more accumulated crud. I used degreasers, simple green, some aluminium cleaners in selected places with care, and found straight citrus oil to be really good ... it's close to histoclear in action, which you'll see mentioned in lots of threads along with simple green.

+1 on what Dr Bob said.

NoVector

Dirt, oil, crud isn't bad. It's that $*#&ing cosmoline!