7rrivera7

Please refer to the picture...

My 350Z is leaking what I believe is tranny fluid at the mating surface of the transmission and the engine block. What's the procedure to troubleshoot this issue?

zakmartin

Did the leak just start spontaneously or was work done on it prior to the leak?

7rrivera7

I just purchased the car recently but was told a new clutch had just been installed

travlee

iTrader: (8)

if you are leaking trans oil into the bell housing you are in more trouble, you prob have a seal going and you could get the oil all over the flywheel, pressure plate, etc

but, to me... it looks like good ol engine oil... see the red circle. do this. get a paper towel and find a area that is about to drip. dab the paper towel against it, what color is it

7rrivera7

Here's a pic of the fluid on white paper towel. Seems to be engine oil right? I am going to try and get a sample of the tranny fluid to compare...

travlee

iTrader: (8)

definitely oil, trans fluid is red

7rrivera7

Thanks for the confirmation - so what am I looking at as far as resolving this issue? Can/should I use the car as long as I monitor the oil level or will this cause more damage?

travlee

iTrader: (8)

you need to track down the leak, as long as you watch the oil you should be okay

7rrivera7

Ok, but is this a main seal issue which requires transmission removal?

travlee

iTrader: (8)

hard to say

7rrivera7

Travlee it seems you are the only member assisting me. I hate to keep pressing but if this was your 350Z, how would you proceed?

travlee

iTrader: (8)

i would start at the top backside of the motor and see if you can find where it is leaking... you may have to get a mirror or something to help you see some of the tighter spots.

zakmartin

FWIW, I go with the easy (but more expensive) route of using a trace dye kit and a UV light and goggles to find sources of oil leaks. You clean stained areas, add the dye to the oil (don't use the coolant dye), and after a quick drive, the the leak will show up as a nice glowing line. Like Trav said, follow the line to the highest point and go from there. A bottle of dye, a light and a set of goggles will cost around $50-$60. Go with a light that has a 6-foot usability claim on it (because it will only be good for 3 feet in any practical sense.)

zakmartin

If you can't trace the leak to a higher point, you may need to pull the bell housing off to see if it's your rear main seal that's sprung a leak. It's possible that when the new clutch went in, something caused it to go bad (that's assuming that there wasn't a leak already when the previous owner pulled the old clutch). How long has the leak been going on for? Also, what's the mileage on the car?

The placement of that leak makes me suspect that the rear main seal could be the source. If you can trace it to somewhere else, that'd be a better situation, obviously. Let us know what you manage to find.

7rrivera7

Hey guys wanted post the resolution to this issue. It turned out to be leaking valve covers. Cost of the repair was a bit expensive as I had to replace both covers since the spark plug seals were shot too and are not replaceable.

Thanks again to Travlee for your assistance!

zakmartin

bramoz

I know is super late but I’m having this trouble how did you fix it?