My stupid effin' car!

I just finished the auto/manual swap in my '88 CRX DX, and fired it up this afternoon...

Everything works perfectly except for the fact that after idling in my driveway for 5-10 min, about 1/2 cup of oil has leaked out of the trans bell housing! I'm thinking that it has to be the input shaft seal, but before I pull the damn trans back out, does anybody have any ideas? Is there maybe an overflow or vent that will leal if the trans is overfilled? I added 2qt of oil (the auto parts store said it took 3.9xxx pints of oil), so it shouldn't be overfilled.

....I can't tell you all how pissed I am about this right now.... HELP!

 

did you replace the rear main seal ????

 

You sure its not coming from the axle seal in the tranny?

 

You're going to have to pinpoint exactly where the oil is coming from, because there are a number of possible leak points (axle seal, mainshaft seal, case seams, etc.). Clean everything off under there and watch it. If it's leaking as much as you say it is, it shouldn't take long before you see it coming out. Make sure to add oil beforehand; you don't want to run the engine while the transmission is low on oil because it will destroy the mainshaft bearings.

2 quarts in a D-series is not overfilled; it's the correct amount. Even if it were overfilled, it shouldn't leak if sealed properly. I always overfill my transmission by 1/4 quart, and it doesn't leak.

 

1) I didn't replace the rear main seal since the engine wasn't leaking... I figured best not to fix what isn't broken.

2) I planned to replace the input shaft seal, but overlooked it until I had the trans stabbed so I'm a bit worried about that. I did replace the axle seals though so I don't expect any problem from there.

3) The oil is dripping off of the sheet metal flywheel cover at the bottom of the bell housing, and also down the back side of the transmission from somewhere near the left side axle/CV joint, but the bottom of the axle seal is still dry from what I can see.

4) the tiny spot where I can see the flyweel, the back side of the flywheel is not wet with oil, so I'm pretty sure it's not the rear main seal.

5) It only seems to leak when the vehicle is running, and the 1/2 cup or so of oil is a small enough amount that I don't think it'll be low on oil yet, but I'll top it off in the morning before I clean all the drips off with brake cleaner and start things back up.

6) the case halves haven't been apart before, and I didn't see any signs of leakage before I installed it. I can't imagine a leak of this magnitude from the case halves

Well, that's all the details I have for tonight. I'm going to put some effort into tracking the leak down in the morning, but am not happy about the prospect of pulling the trans back out again. At LEAST it will be an easy out & back in this time though.

 

Update: I pulled the flywheel cover this morning and started the car... Was discouraged to see oil slinging off the clutch side of the flywheel...

The trans is now out and it looks like oil is leaking out the front seal, down the input shaft, and then slinging out on the clutch.

Is the sleeve for the throwout bearing cast into the trans? I don't see any way to get to it to remove the input shaft seal....

 

Jeez, this day is just getting worse and worse....

So the trans I have (supposedly out of a '91 DX) does have the throwout bearing collar cast into the trans housing. and the only way I can see to get to the seal is to split the trans (what a dumb design!). So I've got the case halves split but I can't get them to separate more than about 1/2" or so. Do I have to pull the clip that you access through the large plug on the far right side of the trans housing? The PDF manual I have is next to useless for these kind of details...

Also, with the case halves apart, I fished out a handful of little plastic pieces, kind of triangular in shape.... I know that they went to something, but no idea what. Any ideas

 

You have to open the case to change the mainshaft seal.

Get the cases apart, pull the main and countershaft assemblies as a unit (I use zip ties to hold them together), then knock the inboard mainshaft bearing out of the case to access the mainshaft seal. You might as well replace that bearing while it's out, since they're failure-prone. Make sure to note the order and direction of the two washers that go between the mainshaft assembly and the mainshaft bearing, because one of them is a spring washer and must be installed in a certain direction. You'll need some Hondabond or gray RTV to seal the case back up when reassembling.

I would recommend a Helm service manual if you don't already have one.

 

Yes; you must take the large plug out of the end of the trans. Behind that plug, you'll see the ends of a snap ring. Spread the ends apart, and you'll hear the shaft drop inside the case. The cover should come right off at that point.

 

Yup, got the cover off. It took a little finagling and swearing to get the mainshaft to drop so I could pull the case halves. (Have I mentioned what a stupid design this is?)

The plastic pieces appear to be from a spare speedo drive that's floating around in the bottom of the trans case. I just swapped the one from my auto trans so I should be OK once I can fish the old parts out.

Now I'm just trying to figure out how to remove the forks and mainshaft... Once I get those out it should be smooth sailing. I might even decide to drop in the HF final drive I have while everything is apart so I can make my freeway flier transmission....

I think the PDF manual I have is a the Helm, but the way it's broken up and the fact that the sections are all split up into different folders makes it a royal PITA to use, and it's short on actual descriptions and instructions... Anyway, it's the one that I was directed to by members here when I asked about online manuals.

 

Online manuals are not only illegal, they're garbage.

Spending the $62 on an actual manual was the best investment I made for my car.

You'll regret swapping final drives. It's a lot of work anyway; requires swapping everything on the countershafts.

 

Doesn't matter anyway... The input shaft seal is bad because the front mainshaft bearing failed. The bearing destroyed the bearing surface on the mainshaft. Also, one of the shift forks is broken....

I do believe that at this point the trans is garbage can filler. I'm sure it could be repaired, but just not worth the cost and time to do it.

 

I hate when that happens.

 

I talked to the guy that sold me the trans and I'm 99% sure he was unaware of the situation. Hopefully we can come to an understanding so I'm not out the entire sale price.