Lanesky_OH8RDX

I did an oil change today and I noticed on the seal between the transmission case and engine had what looks like a slow staining of either tranny fluid or motor oil, couldn't tell a color so it could also be a little oil leak. wasn't dripping at all. anyone else ever notice this?

sj993

It is probably the torque converter seal starting to leak, it will appear as a small leak where the transmission and engine meet like you said.

Mr Marco

TqCv?? Wow, lets hope it was an oil spill from a sloppy tech.

sj993

Yeah, I Would clean it Off And keep An Eye On it

dcmodels

Not enough data: car year and miles useful for certain, exactly where did you see 'leak', since I am unable to actually see either the engine rear-main-seal or the transmission torque-converter seal, and a pic would be helpful.

dcmodels

I think that I am sorry that I looked at this thread.

OK, I removed the small (two bolts) cover over the transmission flywheel. And there was a small amount of engine oil, that seemed to run down from the rear driver side corner of the engine oil pan. Or it could be the engine rear main seal, but I cannot see the seal itself.

The oil seems to run into a sort of cavity just under and to the rear of the starter ring - the cavity is actually in the trans case.

No drip on the floor, but I think a considerable amount of oil could accumulate into the cavity in the trans case, under the starter ring/ flywheel, before oil would drip to the floor.

There are a number of threads/ posts in the TL section about leaking engine rear main seals.

For my own 2009 RDX, I would call this a 'seep' rather than a leak, but I guess it will only get worse. Not sure how serious it is, but perhaps I will visit my dealer before my drive-train warranty expires.

Anyone else who is curious, you will probably need to remove the starter ring cover, and look, as on my vehicle there was no visible external oil.

Mr Marco

Holy crap. What? You took the cover off?
Is this for inspection plate with O-ring or is this a cover that needs a sealant applied?

dcmodels

Don't get so excited - look in the FSM (factory service manual) or just look under the car.

There is only one black stamped steel cover, about 4x7 inches (no metric here), it is not sealed, just two small bolts holding it on. Its an inspection cover - just as I used it for. Its right next to (or maybe just above) the trans drain bolt. Sorry, I was laying on my back. There is nothing that requires sealing under the cover, just open space, and of course, up inside are the engine rear main seal and the flywheel and the starter ring. Consider it a 'splash' shield.

737 Jock

We have 122k miles on the RDX and no leaks or seeps.** So the next time I put it up, I wil check under this cover.

I also maintain my MiL's Buick in which coolant, oil, power steering and transmission ALL leak. The car is just out of warranty and tearing the systems apart would be prohibitively expensive and time consuming.

I have had success stopping all of those leaks with high quality stop-leak made for each system. I never add the full bottle though -- just 1 to 3 cl -- and then monitor the leak, adding more if needed. The stop-leak works very well compared to disassembing the system. Added in small amounts, it collects and hardens at the leak site.

If I find seepage in the RDX where you have indicated, I will probably add a few cl of stop-leak.





** But the radar has lost the bleeps, the sweeps and the creeps.

dcmodels

Same with my 98 Chevy 4x4 Blazer S10, which has leaked since 3-years and 30K miles, now at 120K miles. Fixed the coolant leak by replacing the radiator and one of the engine freeze plugs. Oil pan, rear engine main seal, front chain cover, etc. leaks oil, and is keeping the entire undercarriage from rusting. Mobil-1 high mileage 5W30 has slowed the leaks. Only leaks 1/2 qt per 6 months or 3K miles, so cannot afford the 3K dollars to fix all the parts (just gasket replacement). And the trans leaks, I just check the level regularly.

I have some concern about using stop-leak in a turbo engine, I guess. I would be really interested in what you find under the inspection panel in your RDX, and would appreciate an update to this thread - thanks. Same for anyone else who finds a problem in this area.

737 Jock

Will check the RDX when my #$@& GTI comes down (bushings, struts, water pump, etc).

Yeah, I'm very cautious with stop-leak.

It seals at gasket leaks fairly well, but a rotational seal is a different story. Then there are questions about the small lines and high temps in the turbo. I'm still doing research.

At any rate, it would certainly be safer to just top up small seeps.

Apexigsx

I have the same problem on a 2011 RDX with 36k. I took the cover off, cleaned it off, cleaned up residue inside/outside the case under the torque converter.. I'm going to check it again in a few weeks, it doesn't look bad, but a leak is a leak.

dcmodels

Did you snap a pic inside/ behind the black cover? I would be interested in whether you think your leak is the trans (converter seal) or engine (rear main).

I also cleaned and replaced the cover a couple of months ago, and will be taking a picture when I check again, in a couple of weeks.

Apexigsx

I didn't snap a pic inside the cover, I may do that next time I check inside there. I suspect transmission fluid since the car has lost some atf, though I'm not sure if the car loses motor oil too. The car isn't mine so it's hard for me to check the motor oil level on a regular basis, but I do plan to keep an eye on the oil level more often since I did the last oil change on the vehicle.

I also forgot to make a mental note of the color of the fluid i cleaned up from inside the cover. I feel like the fluid had a brown tint like motor oil, but if that's the case I wonder why the car has lost some ATF, evaporation? Today when I topped off the ATF with DW-1, the fluid out of the bottle and existing fluid on the dipstick was pink, so next time I check/clean inside the cover I'll see if there's a pinkish or brown tint to the leak.

Lanesky_OH8RDX

this is what I meant. I cleaned it off when I posted this and a smidge has returned. not worried about it. thanks for the info.

Apexigsx

I took off the cover again tonight to check for leaks, and it was still dry. Here's some random pictures with the cover removed

simplicity

I recently also noticed this on my parents 2011 RDX when changing the engine oil. Checked the ATF level and it's a bit lower than I remembered. Scheduled an appointment with the dealership and will see what they have to say.

simplicity

In case anyone is curious, the seep I was experiencing was not ATF. SA said there was a leak detected from the engine. Valve cover gasket and spark plug seal were replaced per service order.

Apexigsx

A member pm'ed me for an update, but I could not reply back since your inbox is full.

My family only had the RDX for around another 6k / 4 months or so after my last post on 9/10/13. I changed the oil 2 months after the pictures in post #16 sometime in December, and don't recall seeing any oil seepage from the cover when I changed the oil.

Cookco

Thank you so much for your reply. In May I notice the seepage, or leak. I took pictures of it and cleaned it off. I took it to the dealer but since I cleaned it, they couldn't see anything. I was told to drive it for a few weeks. Took it back and they still couldn't see anything. Now 3 months later I see a little bit. This time the dealer suggested putting dye in the trans and will check with black light. It seems that there was quite a bit of seepage and then all of sudden stopped and now starting again. I always check everything at every oil change. And I change the oil at regular maintenance schedules. I can't figure out why so much seepage between the February and May oil change, but not so much between May and August oil change. These are the pics from May. IMG_1957.JPG IMG_1954.JPG

Cookco

I don't know how to attach pictures..

Apexigsx

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