Synful

Dripping from center of T5 gearbox.

can only be coming from the front somewhere....where are all the possibly locations. any ones more likely culprits than others?

i put in dexron III atf....could it be that the stuff is so thin it just leaks out?

it is a slow drip

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Countergear bearing

Stretched case

The basic T-5 weakness; the reason that "high-perf" gears won't repair a busted one, and why they won't last any longer than stock ones in anything but a racing application

Synful

where exactly is the countergear bearing at sir

and if its a stretched case wouldn't it leak from the gearbox/tailshaft connection point

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

See pic

The case stretches across the front, which increases the distance between the clutch gear and the countergear, causing them to misalign and self-destruct no matter what you do; and in the process, makes the hole an oval, which (a) allows the fluid to leak which in turn makes the trans eventually run dry and destroy everything inside it, and (b) allows the bearing to spin (note that the one in the pic has been spinning, so that case is garbage)

ZONES89RS

iTrader: (2)

BLAH! ^6speed time!

Synful

so you're saying the case could be stretched which would cause it to leak from the circled area in the picture? ....wouldn't it be leaking where the tranny bolts to the bellhousing if it were leaking from there?

also wouldn't i notice clutch chatter and that sort of thing while driving it if it were leaking from there?

I've been driving it while it's been dripping for the last two weeks and it performs flawlessly as far as that goes.

not trying to shoot down any ideas i'm just trying to get an idea of how it would be dripping from the bottom center of the gearbox if it were leaking from that point.

thanks for the help so far

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Yes. In fact I thought that's where you said it was leaking from;which is exactly correct, as far as that goes. The hole gets oval, the bearing no longer fits tight, fluid leaks out around it, it runs down the case and drips off.Why do you think that you would? How would fluid from clear back there down that low, EVER get onto the clutch?

Instead of a bunch of "maybe it's this, maybe it's that" and arguing with the only possibility that exists, try taking it to the quarter car wash. Take along your Rhino ramps, and stop along the way and pick up a can of engine degreaser, the kind that's diesel fuel in a spray can, such as the store brand at VatoZone or Advance or CSK, or Gunk Engine Bright; clean that whole area up; and OBSERVE where it's coming from.

Synful

pretty lazy.....i love to speculate and get all worried before actually looking at things, heh

i don't need degreaser or anything i cleaned the sheet outta that thing before i swapped it in...it's still extremely clean

will be pretty straight forward to check.....however.....i wonder if it will leak just sitting while running.....or if it only leaks while driving the car?

you're saying this is the only possibility that exists? i thought there were some plugs or some **** around where the shifter bolts to the tranny like right below it

just put this thing in

might be an excuse to buy a TKO 500 or 600 though >=)

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

The shifter is not mounted there.

Yes it is pretty much the only possibility. Or at least, that makes sense. See my signature for details.

Yes you DO need to clean it; that way, the ONLY oil on the outside, is FRESH. That way you can just look at it and directly see where it's coming from, instead of the "maybe it's this, maybe it's that" thing. It's good that it's not "dirty" now, but the purpose is more than just that.

Synful

no kidding i need to wipe away the oil lolz?

i was just saying i don't need degreaser

i'll check it this weekend.

i also just realized i could pull back my inspection plate and see if there is oil in there

i saw a drip coming from the bottom of the inspection plate but i suspected it was leftover motor oil because i recently solved a horrible oil leak from the intake manifold, and thought it was leftover or something......though now that I think of it, it was a dark drop of oil hanging there and i had just put in brand new oil........it's prob actually redish....god damnit

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

The cleaner it is, the easier it is to see where the leak originates.

Plus, since there's about a 99.999% probablity that you're going to be pulling that trans before too long anyway, you might as well clean up the whole bottom of the car all right around there, so you don't have to do that job all immersed in 20-odd-year-old road funk and oil leakage.

Synful

already did it when i put the trans in about a month ago.

Synful

found it.

I think...

I brought the car in the air, and by this time all of the loose drops of fluid have fallen off the car, so i decided to not wipe anything off, as the suspected leak points would still be wet.

I looked first at where the tranny bolts to the bellhousing....bone dry. not even a trace. i also looked at the inspection plate....small small traces of engine oil, i'm not worried about it but slightly concerned as I just solved a massive engine oil leak at the rear of my intake manifold...but anyways

secondly I looked all around the tranny. finally I found that the lower most bolt on the passenger side of the trans was wet with tranny fluid. there is one right above it, which looks to be sealed with some sort of white stuff. there are small traces of that white stuff on the lower bolt but it looks eaten away at, or broken off, or something. I'm going to try to tighten it down now while it's in the air, but I'm also curious if I should add some sort of sealant to it?

I looked in my service manual which unfortunately doesn't show that side of the trans. however, it lists one bolt going into that side as being the drain/fill plug. is this it? i'm not sure where it would be because when I drained it the first time I took it out of my 88, I drained it through the tail.

See the following pics of where tranny bolts to bellhousing....the two bolts on passenger side of trans in relation to one another.....leaky one up close....dry one right above....and finally leaky one after i wipe my finger on it...can see the red atf on the tip top of my finger

L69norm

The bottom plug is the drain plug. The white stuff is teflon tape (plumbing) sealant. Tighten it a bit a see it it stops. Check how much is left by taking the top plug (fill plug) out. The level should be at the bottom of the hole.

If you pull the drain plug out (to re-tape it), all the oil will drain out and you'll have to refill via the top plug which can be a bit of a bear.

Synful

the drain plug was hand loose.......i tightened it and put some silicone on it after spraying it with carb cleaner

im just going to guess I lost about a 1/3 of a quart and add that to the tranny. should be fine. i'll keep an eye on it though for sure.