Transmission leak?

[Drw814]

Hello everyone, first time poster here. A couple weeks ago I bought a 2003 mach 1 5 speed. So far the car has been good, especially the sound lol, but I am having some issued with it.

The first is what appears to be a transmission fluid leak. It wasn't leaking when I bought the car, and just started about 2 days ago. When the car sits overnight I end up with a very small puddle (about the size of a quarter) under the middle of the car. I clean it up with a paper towel, and sure enough its red fluid. I got under the car and cant seem to pinpoint where its coming from, its such a small amount it dosent leave much of a trail. It appears to gather/drip off the bottom of the transmission right before it thins out to meet the driveshaft. There also seems to be a little on my o2 sensors/wires. It is NOT coming from the seal where the tranny meets the driveshaft. The previous owner said he recently installed a short shifter (pro 5.0), and I am wondering if it is possible for fluid to escape from that area. The shifter also transmits a lot of tranny noise (sounds like metal gently rubbing other metal, especially in 4th and 5th, dont know if thats normal or not).

Another thing is my LSD is not working. I did a rather embarrassing one wheel peel a couple days ago, and that obviously let me know i am running in open diff mode. I am thinking the clutches in the rear end need refreshing (108k miles).

So my main problem is the transmission leak, followed by any suggestions advice for the rear end. Thank you in advance for any assistance.

 

[the5.ohh]

I'd check the shifter, but also check the fill and drain plugs! They might not be tight. As far as the rear end goes, your clutches are indeed worn out. I'd recommend the Ford Racing Trak Lok rebuild kit, and get you 2 bottles of Royal Purple 75W-90 Gear Oil and a bottle of friction modifier. I have the same ford kit in my rear, its been going strong for three years, can't even begin to fathom how many burnouts, donuts, launches its seen. Highly recommend it.

 

[the5.ohh]

Tranny noise is normal with short throws. I had an 04 Mach, put an MGW short throw on, and the trans seemed louder. Its normal.. if it sounds like you've got marbles in your trans bouncing around, you have an issue. The 4th to 5th, is it grinding when you shift or just giving you noise while in those gears? How's the clutch cable, check that out.

 

[Drw814]

Ok, crawled under the car today and came to the conclusion that the shifter is indeed where the leak is. So now I am trying to remove the shifter, problem is I can't get the shifter assembly off. It looks like the previous owner used some kind of very strong sealant, and it won't budge, I have all the necessary bolts ofF already, just the sealant is holding the assembly in place.

Thanks for the input on the rear, I'll give that stuff a look.

The transmission dosent sound bad, more like a soft metal on metal rubbing, it's probably normal, I've just never had a car with an aftermarket shifter. Can barely even hear it with the windows down.

 

[wmfateam]

I had a hard time getting my Steeda Triaxle off of my daily because of the RTV as well. I had to remove the center console and use a pry bar. Pooped right off with a three footer.

 

[Drw814]

I just finished applying a good layer of rtv around the seam. I couldn't get the shifter off, and I feared breaking something. I went around the entire seam applying a thick bead, and leveling/filling it in with my finger. Hopefully that stops the leak, and if not, I'll have to go with the prybar approach and re seal again in a few days.

 

[07GtS197]

Be careful with the trans case its very soft aluminum. I stripped 2 shifter bolt threads because my bolts were too short and I overtorqued them. My 02 has a leak in that same spot. I remember a member of another forum made replacement gaskets as I dont think anyone else does. I hope the rtv works for you, keep us posted.

 

[the5.ohh]

Low key, stand outside the passenger door, give the shifter a good kick.. it'll pop off. I did that on my Mach, pry bar didn't do jack. But a kick on the side of the shifter. It'll work.

 

[Drw814]

Ok so it appears it's still leaking. I drove it for about 1/2 hour yesterday with no shift boot or cover, to try to see in real time where it's leaking. Every few minutes I would stop and run my finger around the seam where the shifter meets the tranny, and every time it was bone dry (so I guess my sealing worked). Nothing dripped from under the car yesterday so I figured my sealing got the leak and that was the end of it.

Last night I drove about 45min back from a party to my house, and parked. I came outside for work this morning , and what do ya know, there is a fresh stain on my driveway. At this point I'm at a loss, I'll probably get under the car again tomorrow, but I doubt I'll find anything new.

I am probably going to bring it to my mechanic this week to see what he has to say about it. Where could it be leaking from? There seems to be fluid/grime from top to bottom of the tranny right around where the shifter meets it. It leaves the stain right under the shifter, in fact, the fluid is dripping off my o2 sensors, meaning it's getting on the o2 sensors from above I assume.

I checked the drain/fill plugs and they are both tight (didn't suspect them anyways as there is no fluid that far forward on the tranny.)

Any help is appreciated, I would like to deal with this myself, but I feel like a mechanic bill is in my future.

 

[wmfateam]

Not sure if you already checked it, but my T45s have a breather valve on the passenger side. It is a ruberish ball. It could be leaking from there, or it could be clogged causing fluid/pressure to find another way out. Mine leaked after my first track day and I replaced it with my parts cars vent.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

[Drw814]

Got under the car again today. I still can't pinpoint the source of the leak, it did seem like the speedometer sensor area could be the source, but it's hard to tell.

I dont think it's the breather, as that is closer to the front of the transmission.

 

[Drw814]

Here is a pic of the speedometer sensor (drivers side) and one of the other side (passenger side) of the transmission. It looks like the speed sensor could be leaking as it appears to be more moist than the other parts, and there is more grime on that side of the transmission. Still unsure, wish I had a lift, I have been putting the car on ramps and crawling under it. Sorry for poor images, it's somewhat difficult to maneuver my phone under the car.

http://i1286.photobucket.com/albums/a613/drw814/D59D56F6-3A2F-4D19-B8E9-B077C6E97B1E_zpsddgzgmo1.jpg

http://i1286.photobucket.com/albums/a613/drw814/2E3859D5-CD6A-40EB-A041-CEEDB5320A29_zpsihmiy2qv.jpg

 

[wmfateam]

Always a good idea to take a couple cans of brake clean and get EVERYTHING off the trans and then it should be easier to see anything.

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[Drw814]

I would like to but I would have to crawl under the car and get it all over myself lol. Anyway I brought it to my shop today and they put it on the lift. They think it's the speed sensor as well so we're gonna seal that up. Also the lsd worked fine on the lift so I'm gonna do a fluid change on the rear to see if that will do it, before doing a full rebuild on the rear.

 

[Drw814]

Status update: The leak is still present and I'm getting very irritated. The shop re sealed the speed sensor, and the leak still persisted. Brought it back to the shop and they replaced another seal. Car is still leaking. I'm now at a loss, shop can't pinpoint the leak, I have no idea where it's coming from, and I don't want to just dump money into replacing parts/seals until I get the leak by chance.

 

[the5.ohh]

Dude do yourself a favor. Get that thing on jackstands and take a video of underneath. Go from the front of the trans to the rear, up on the sides, shifter area too. Post the vid here. One of us might be able to spot the issue, or you might! Sometimes another set of eyes or a lens helps.

 

[g36 monkey]

Well, I think your shifter seal may not have actually worked. Rarely, if ever, does adding RTV to something without re-mating the surfaces make it seal better.

I believe it was "cobra bob's" gaskets that were referenced earlier. Basically it's a nice gasket that goes in the area where the shifter mounts and gives a good seal. I have used them several times.

If you are having trouble removing the shifter, take the center console off to get some more room to work. Hard left and right motions while in neutral should work it off.

This is a quick and easy fix, and if it does not work, you at least haven't thrown a shop a bunch of money to do it.

Albeit, if I was taking off the shifter I would drain the trans, flush it and fill it back up with new fluid, and top it off with an MGW

 

[the5.ohh]

Well, I think your shifter seal may not have actually worked. Rarely, if ever, does adding RTV to something without re-mating the surfaces make it seal better.

I believe it was "cobra bob's" gaskets that were referenced earlier. Basically it's a nice gasket that goes in the area where the shifter mounts and gives a good seal. I have used them several times.

If you are having trouble removing the shifter, take the center console off to get some more room to work. Hard left and right motions while in neutral should work it off.

This is a quick and easy fix, and if it does not work, you at least haven't thrown a shop a bunch of money to do it.

Albeit, if I was taking off the shifter I would drain the trans, flush it and fill it back up with new fluid, and top it off with an MGW

Top it off with an MGW. #winning

 

[Drw814]

Thanks everyone for your patience, I think I have a video from a couple weeks ago of the underside of the car, if I can find it I'll post later today. If not, it's gonna be a while until I can get another video, we're in the middle of some snow today, and we're gonna get a big snow storm Tuesday.

 

[the5.ohh]

Thanks everyone for your patience, I think I have a video from a couple weeks ago of the underside of the car, if I can find it I'll post later today. If not, it's gonna be a while until I can get another video, we're in the middle of some snow today, and we're gonna get a big snow storm Tuesday.

We're all here to help! I hear that we got snow today, and supposedly a Noreaster on the way soon.