leaking fluid

rowdygls · 04-09-2008, 10:05 AM

My car has been stored all winter and the last time it was ran was sometime in December. I was going to move the car to the other side of the garage to have more room to install the supercharger. Needless to say the original battery gave up and finally died (6yrs old). So rather then buying a new one to move the car a couple feet, I decided to push/pull it around.

Well on the last attempt to put it in garage nice and straight, I noticed oily looking spots on the driveway and in the garage. It is reddish brown and is coming from the driver side in the general area(above/around) of the cv joint. It slowed down overnight but has not stopped. This morning I have a nice spot about the size of small/medium sized pizza.

Anybody have any ideas what it might be and/or what the hell went wrong to cause this mess ??

[ion] C2 · 04-09-2008, 10:25 AM

woohoo transmission fluid

rowdygls · 04-09-2008, 10:31 AM

I was pretty sure that is what it was...but my problem is why it would start leaking after pushing the car around.

surreal_awakening · 04-09-2008, 10:33 AM

Yep... sounds like transmission fluid. Probably an axle seal that dried out while sitting and cracked when you moved it.

rowdygls · 04-09-2008, 10:37 AM

^^ so with that being said...is this a pretty costly fix and or would I be able to make it to the dealership if I got a battery. The dealership is about 10 -15 miles away.

cherrington17 · 04-09-2008, 10:38 AM

nvm.... its tranny... already solved... i'm dumb.

[ion] C2 · 04-09-2008, 10:53 AM

if its leaking that bad it's not a good idea to drive it, what happens when there's actual pressure being attempted to be made in the system, there goes the rest of the fluid (i know little about transmissions but i think that's what would happen)

rowdygls · 04-09-2008, 11:03 AM

I'm in the same boat as far as knowing transmissions and I had the same thought in my head as well. I have a couple more hours before I call it a half day and attempt the drive so I'll wait for a little more feedback.

Thanks for the help so far guys !!

surreal_awakening · 04-09-2008, 11:06 AM

I would say only you know how bad it is leaking. My axle seal started leaking in 2000, and I drove it that way up until I parked it I think in 2005. Just kept the fluid topped off. But if it really left that big of a puddle, I'd be careful with that. Got a picture of the puddle it left and how long did it take to leak out? The axle seal itself is about $25 I think, $180 for a complete set of tranny gaskets and seals. But I'm sure they will get you on labor.

**Edit - I see how much of a puddle it left/how long.... I need to read better

That's quite a bit for overnight. I might top it off and drive it up and down the street once or twice and then park it over some cardboard both running and turned off and see how fast it's leaking. If you can watch it drip out, I'm not so sure I would drive very far with it. **

rowdygls · 04-09-2008, 11:15 AM

At first it would kinda mist when it came out and then after sitting it started to just drip. It slowed quite a bit while I was watching it. The size that I gave may not give the best idea seeing how concrete kinda absorbs. I think it may have seeped and spread due to that fact. Looks like I may have to find some tranny fluid and hope the snow we got last night is melted off the roads.

meadus101 · 04-09-2008, 01:03 PM

Are you good with mechanics at all? Would there be that much to change the gasket yourself?

What about something like a temp fix to get you to the dealership?

rowdygls · 04-09-2008, 01:09 PM

Yeah, I'm pretty handy on the car. I just can't exactly see where it's leaking from. If it held fluid under pressure I could fill it back up and drive it

Could this also by some chance be power steering ??

cherrington17 · 04-09-2008, 01:47 PM

power steering would be easy to check... since its not really THAT much fluid... just put the car into "ON" then turn the wheel back and forth. if its really hard(if fluid is low/gone), or the fluid really pours out, then its that.

or... just pop the hood and check the power steering fluid level. lol...

jayson_waltz · 04-09-2008, 02:36 PM

if its leaking that bad from a presurized area you shouldn't drive it to a dealership. but if its a non-presurized area just fill it up and go.

Redog · 04-09-2008, 02:41 PM

The thing with tranny fliud is that it expands when it hits the ground so it looks like more than it really is.

CV joints I don't think are under pressure, but look into that. Last time I had to change one was in 92 on my mom's 87 Nova

surreal_awakening · 04-09-2008, 02:51 PM

If it was power steering fluid it wouldn't be red/brown, it would be clear, or maybe lightly discolored brown/clear. Also, the power steering lines run from the passenger side of the engine back behind the engine and down to the rack. They never really pass through the area you are describing the leak. I don't know what's involved in changing an axle seal, or if it can even be done by a shadetree mechanic.

rowdygls · 04-10-2008, 09:22 AM

Well after looking more closely when I got home, it is actually leaking above the tie rod boot. Which at that point I guess is the rack. Woohoo.