So...I was driving home from Camarillo to Temecula (about 150 miles or so). I pull in my garage, shut her off and run inside to take a quick squeege. I go back in the garage to find smoke billowing from the hood

I pop the hood and smoke is just pouring out and finally after a minute or so, its only coming from the rear of the engine I grab a flashlight and start looking for fluids. Wasnt oil, wasnt steering fluid, not brake, not coolant...WTF???

Jack the car up, and there it is...Gear oil covering the bottom and the tail end of the manifold and CC. I didnt check the level, but its pretty obvious a seal of some sort bursted in the tranny...

Im not sure exactly when this happened during my trip. Everything seemed normal up until I parked

I'm calling Acura TLC tomorrow to have it towed to the dealer. Thank jeebus I'm still under warranty. Can anyone think of why this might have happened? I noticed that when they replaced my clutch a few months ago, they also replaced the tranny fluid with the new stuff they have. Dont know if that might be an issue or not...

 

Ouch man....hope you get it all figured out, good luck. Did you notice anything while driving or did you drive differently on your trip?

 

It's always when we leave our cars that something bad happens. She was probably mad that you left her for so long. ;D

 

The shop probably damaged the oil seal on the tranny while removing/installing the half shaft during the clutch job.

 

Thats the thing, I didnt notice anything odd at all during the whole trip. It drove completely normal. So it must have happened shortly before I arrived home.

I guess I'm going to demand they replace the tranny altogether. Who know's how long it was actually running dry.

 

Is that the seal on the shaft that links the passenger side wheel? I pulled off the bottom cover, but I couldnt tell exactly where the leak was coming from. Where ever it was though, it exploded because there's tranny fluid splattered everywhere underneath.

This sucks

 

Wow, like you said, good thing you're still under warranty!

 

Yes, but the seal is on the tranny casing. The shaft goes through the seal and mates with the spline inside the tranny. There is a seal on each side of the tranny (passenger and driver). If you see oil coming out between the tranny and the shaft, the seal is damaged.

 

Looks like thats exactly what it was. Got the call this afternoon.

So how could this happen? Do those shafts get removed during a clutch replacement?

 

Yes, the shafts come out during clutch replacement. Whoever was prying on the shafts during removal did it incorrectly and damaged the seal.

 

During the call (I assume from the dealersip?), did they say how they plan to fix this? ie: new seals only, or are they tearing down the tranny to look for damage and replacing the necessary parts as required?

I'd be fighting for a full crate transmission to be put in, as you never really know exactly how much fluid was lost, and when, and what damage it caused. Since it was 100% the previous techs' fault it appears, they should not stick you with a possible time bomb of a transmission because of it. Keep us updated!

 

I agree, fight for a full tranny replacement.

 

At minimum, they should extend your tranny warranty with a specific note in your file that talks about this event so that when you get some mileage and something goes wrong, you can reference this incident. Additionally, I'd write Honda North America once this is resolved to comment on the quality of Acura service.

 

Yea, I havent yet. I'm not sure how I can prove that it was damaged during the clutch job. Either way, I will talk to them about a tranny replacement or at the least a warranty extention.

 

Well, I just called and expressed my concern. I told them that they need to inspect the tranny for any damage, not just replace the seals and call it good. They said, as a "rule" they never open transmissions. I said it needs to be inspected and if your policy is that they cant open it, then it needs to be replaced or the warranty needs to be extended on it. They will get back to me...

 

JTso, are these the ONLY seals (Besides the acutal case itself) on the MT that could cause a loss of fluid?

 

Well, just yesterday i started my TSX and smoke start coming from behine the engine. It smell like burn rubber. I check my oil level and it was low, so was my tranny. Refilled it, started again and the smoke went away. I will check on it today to see if smoke still comes out.

 

I agree opening a transmission is often a can of worms and only to be done by trained techs, but in this case, the chance of damage IS somewhat minimal... still, though, I'd fight for at the very least, a good extension of your original transmission warranty, and at the best, a new transmission.

Just FYI, it's more profitable for the dealer to do work on your dollar than on warranty... keep that in mind.

 

What happened to your clutch that made them replace it? (and did they do this as a warranty repair? )

 

Yes, these are the only seals according to your description.

 

There is a thread about it, but basically it started making a loud noise anytime I was on an incline. It was replaced under warranty.

 

Ok. This will help my case.

Any other ways these seals could bust on a low mileage MT? Like I said, it was after a 2 hour drive when it happened, so I guess heat was a factor. What might cause a pressure increase in the tranny? High revs?

 

They probably wouldn't show you the damaged part as it's very easy and obvious to tell if it was damged by a tool prying on it. Normally, one would use a pry bar to pry the shaft free from the internal locking C-clip. Then slide the shaft out of the tranny. However, if someone was prying the incorrect direction - the tool pressing against the seal instead of the shaft, then the seal could be damaged and causing oil to leak.

 

I thought that they HAD to return old parts to you by law if you request it? They always have for me..?

(Not sure if applies to warranty work, and may vary state-state.)

 

would warranty cover this? it wouldn't go under wear and tear would it?

 

i meant the clutch ^^^

 

Again, my clutch was replaced under warranty.

 

Part's replaced under warr. are the property of Acura and the dealer is required to keep them in case Acura calls for them to be sent back.

Most often the axle seal is nicked when installing the axle, as it's can be difficult to hold the axle and guide the inner joint into the trans straight. A little lost fliud looks like a lot under the car....but I doubt the was any damage caused to the trans.

 

Ok, so the car is still in the shop. First off, my service advisor was off on Monday and Tuesday so they didnt even TOUCH the car because of that. Since I have a loaner, I didnt really care, but I thought that was really odd. Why it wasnt passed on to another service advisor, who knows...

So he comes back on Wed. and I get a call around 10am. He said they looked at it and started asking me about the drain plug seals and how they werent from the factory, they were painted black or something. I didnt know what the hell he was talking about and told him his Techs were the last to work on my car when I had my clutch replaced. We went back and fourth a few times, basically he was trying to accuse me of messing with the tranny Apparently, he said that it was overfilled. I told him "Well, then your techs over filled it, because I've never touched the tranny."

So, now the work needs to be "approved", but some regional service manager needs to visually inspect it himself before the work starts, and thats happening today supposedly. Im expecting a call soon...

I really didnt like the fact that this guy was trying to accuse me of this. And I was thinking, after I got off the phone with him, how the hell does he know it was overfilled if half if not most of the fluid is covering my undercarrage and my garage floor???

Not too pleased. More to come...

 

Good luck …

I was accused of not possessing the mad skillz involved with a sway bar install by my local Acura Service Manager and to add insult to injury the Parts Manager agreed with him. I printed out your DIY and claimed it was mine … they still did not care. Thus, my flawed self install broke the mount even though I used your instructions.

But look on the bright side; I know you can fill the tranny correctly, so you have nothing to worry about.

I hope they take care of this BS for you though.

 

joerockt -- that story sounds eerily familiar to me. If you followed the saga of me trying to get my oil consumption problem fixed about 1.5 years ago, you'd know I went through a LOT of shit with my dealership.

I ended up speaking to the Operations Manager at the dealership, who happened to be a huge car racing enthusiast, and he sympathized with me (knowing that my driving style couldn't be enough to blow 1L/800km of oil past the rings. He basically TOLD the district service manager that he's authorizing the warranty work.

Even after all that was done, the original service advisor still tried to prove HE was right (that driving over 3000rpm will blow oil past the rings like the Exxon Valdez). I swear if they didn't have my name in the computer I'd have punched him square in the jaw just to get the BS to stop flowing from his mouth. LOL.

Bottom line(s): Service Advisors are trained to try to get the customer to pay, and not get warrantied. Going up to the dealership manager or district service manager is a good start although you might get similar flak from them. Your objective: Don't stop until you get it repaired... use the tools you have at your disposal as required (Acura America customer care, the local newspaper, etc...).

 

Thanks guys. Hopefully it dosent have to come to that, curls. It really did sound like they were going to take care of it. And they've done nothing in the past to make me think otherwise. Heck, they did the clutch job pretty much with no questions asked. So, hopefully they dont let me down because they will be in for a fight if they do.


BTW, I've been putting around in an 07 AT.


AT's suck.

 

Good luck my friend!

 

6MT > 5AT

Good luck. I'm pretty sure all the drain washers are painted black from the factory. I know my oil drain plug was b/c I still have it in a baggy, but I don't recall the tranny seals. I think they were too. Either way, he's a numb nut because that just means his guys not only over filled the tranny, they reused the seals too. Now that is an example of a fucktard if ever one.

 

Ask the guy how can anyone over fill a MT? The freaking oil comes out the fill hole when it's full!!!

 

You're assuming these guys put the lift's arms under the car correctly and not at a tilt. I'm assuming if they can butcher a clutch job, they can over fill a tranny too.

 

^^^ALL good points guys. More ammo for me. Thanks a bunch.

Im going to give a call now since I havent heard from them...

 

Ryan, would it be possible for you to get a pic of it and send it to me? Or better yet, I should try to find a part number for the drain washers.

I'm wondering now if this guy is just covering for his Tech's mistake...

 

I think the "oil pan" drain plug washer is painted black simply becasue they painted the oil pan black. However, I don't remember the tranny washer being black though...

 

any updates?