this not ******* normal???



today I decide to try to finally find the leak around my tranny and I take the starter off and I find this ****. obviously the person that put my motor in for me didnt put the long bolt closest to the fire wall back in the starter when they changed it. ***** leaking all the way from there back down by the VSS and all over the tranny and driver side axle seal area. I didnt think MTF should be leaking from that area though even if the bolt was missing. am I correct in thinking?

 

Red X?

 

I doubt its anything coming from the bolt missing. I bet it is the thermostat housing that is leaking and slowly dripping coolant from the bottm, it's hitting the starter area and puddling up until it accumulates enough coolant to drizzle down to the speed sensor. Just a wild guess though, cuz that's what was happening to my z6'

u can also see, that on the right side of where the starter bolts up, the stuff that is leaking seems to be coming from above and ddropping down, because there is a wet looking stain in that area (very right side of pic)

try running the car, until it warms up (thermostat opens) and then feel around the areas where there could be a possible coolant leak. I would check the bottom of the thermostat though. If it's the thermostat housing, it's most likely the gasket. easy fix though.

 

yeah, I had two cooling system leaks already (water pump bolt backed its self out and I fixed that then the U hose on the back that goes from the intake mani to the thermostat housing had a tear in it) and I fixed those. what you are seeing in the pic where it looks like the housing is leaking could be that and whats leaking seems to be dirty MTF and not coolant (hell, its mostly water in my system now after those damn leaks). Im going to take your advice and check that though and see if that is the prob and then after that I guess the only thing I can is take off the whole tranny.

 

it could be oil leak from the rear main seal behind the flywheel

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by eK9aT10pSi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">it could be oil leak from the rear main seal behind the flywheel</TD></TR></TABLE>

the leak is DEFINITELY mtf from the trans. took off the flywheel cover and checked everything and its bone dry on that side, the oil level has changed at all in weeks, engine oil isnt dirty either, and I already had to refil the MTF fluid with about a quarter to half a bottle.

it has to be something inside the tranny housing leaking. I cleaned everything up in the engine bay today (top and bottom) till it was bone dry, Im going to replace the starter bolt and then hope for the best otherwise Im taking off the tranny and inspecting it and buying another... unless someone else can think of what this might be.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by luti &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">the leak is DEFINITELY mtf from the trans. took off the flywheel cover and checked everything and its bone dry on that side, the oil level has changed at all in weeks, engine oil isnt dirty either, and I already had to refil the MTF fluid with about a quarter to half a bottle.

it has to be something inside the tranny housing leaking. I cleaned everything up in the engine bay today (top and bottom) till it was bone dry, Im going to replace the starter bolt and then hope for the best otherwise Im taking off the tranny and inspecting it and buying another... unless someone else can think of what this might be.</TD></TR></TABLE>

1.) the starter has no fluid in it.
2.) the bellhousing of your transaxle has no fluid in it.
3.) there are several very common leaks on that side of the engine that could explain why you're getting an oily discharge in that area.
- one could be the clutch line(s) leaking thereabouts
- one could be the cam or distributor seal leaking
- one could be a small intake manifold or valve cover leak, etc.
4.) oil has very low surface tension and just because a leak is big enough to detect doesn't mean that you're losing enough of it to be able to read on the dipstick or with your finger through the transmission.

If there is enough oil being slung around in your bellhousing that it's coming out in the starter area, you're in much more trouble than the mild annoyance of having an oil run in your engine bay. The likelihood of such a phenomenon without concurrent symptoms such as clutch slippage and/or bearing noise from the crank moving around is virtually nil. My advice is to ignore it and keep an eye on your oil level to make sure the problem isn't getting worse.

 

you sure it isnt the distributor o ring? most people overlook that and they let them get all hard and worn out and they start leaking everywhere. i see alot of hondas with leaks from it.

 

lol first read the title and then saw the pic and was about to say "dude, no, you should have a starter there" but then i read the description

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Sleepy_Red_hatch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">lol first read the title and then saw the pic and was about to say "dude, no, you should have a starter there" but then i read the description </TD></TR></TABLE>

lol, i thought that at first also.. thats definetly not normal to not have a starter. how do you start the car?

 

Archidictus - I know thats why I was soo stumped but I havent run the car since taking a lot of things apart, fixing the axle seals, and cleaning up everything while looking for the leak. I will run it a few more times and see what happens and hopefully the leak stopped. (Im thinking/hoping the mtf is low because of the previous axle seal leak). if its not that I will take everything out and trouble shoot.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mike93eh &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">you sure it isnt the distributor o ring? most people overlook that and they let them get all hard and worn out and they start leaking everywhere. i see alot of hondas with leaks from it.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I havent even thought of that. I will def. check that tomorrow when I wake up. thank you all for all the possible hints.

 

just go ahead and replace that o-ring, wont cost more than a $1 at a hardware store.

i think the size is 27mm and 3mm thick.