subinf

I dropped my 04 tl 6spd off at the dealer to have them look at a leak coming from the transmission. The dealer called back to tell me that the leak was normal. When the transmission heats up I guess the 'breather plate' has some sorty of bypass that 'releases' fluid. It sounds like bullshit but I wanted to get more input on it. Has anyone else heard of this???

Legend2TL

Believe it not it might be a semi-legit response.

The more likely likely reason is that there may have been too much fluid in the 6MT. I've seen that happen a couple times in my experience on friends cars.

Almost all MT have a breather hose associated typically located at the top of the housing.

I also know of someone with a Nissan pickup who had a breather hose fall off which also resulted in a small leak.

subinf

Ok that works for me. Thanks for your response.

mickey3c

yeah every problem is normal to acura!!! If they told you that and you accept it I got a bridge to sell you..!!!

subinf

ok...im not accepting it but i dont think it is some run of the mill response. i looked into it more...their answer is entirely possible. if it develops into something serious later then it will be taken care of.

mickey3c

yeah but a leak being normal? I have a 1930 model A.. there was no recovery system on the radiator until I installed one. Now a leak there would be normal. So what are you suppose to do have newspapers under the car for this leak... So they say a leak is normal... so they must also say that you have to add fluid from time to time? I am sorry none of this makes sense...

scrb09

Did you read what Legend2TL had to say ?

more then likely he has more then required 6MT fluid in the car due to which the "excess" is coming out throught the breather plate. there is no need to add fluid time to time since it wont be coming out once the level is back to normal.

mickey3c

So why is there an excess of fluid ? Is this the superlative survice? Thing is the dealer said this was normal... Normal for what when someone screws up? Did they unscrew it up or say do not worry your 35k car will leak its fluid in the driveway and garage untill such time it determines it is at the proper level... Yeah ok.. Love the explanation and it can be valid...

Maybe we have not heard the entire story where the dealer checked the fluid found it was over filled and removed some... But the person was told it was normal.

Warped rotors are as well...

JDM5lugHatch

I know GM turbo tranny's will do this. A friend of mine has one in his Supra Single Turbo Conversion and it will leak out fluid when it get's hot or he uses the stall converter. So like mentioned by Legend2TL it is possible. However, dealerships like to push off a known problem because they just don't want to do the work under warranty. Just as long as you have it noted/documented that's all you can do.

Legend2TL

One simple thing to do here is to check the fluid level in the 6MT on level ground. It's pretty easy to do, if it is too high the excess fluid will drain out, if you don't feel any with your pinkey finger in the check hole you need to add some.

I've always used the check hole to determine the MTF level, however some mechanics measure out the correct quantity for the gearbox (for a drain/refill amount) and pour that in. That way you don't have to deal with the fluid that runs out of the check hole and gets all over the transaxle. I would not be surprised if most auto manufacturers do this technique since it

FWIW: One thing to be careful is most quick-change oil places use oil hose and the mechanic dials up the fluid amount on a machine and puts the hose nozzle into the oil filler opening on the engine. A friend had Jiffy Lube once put over 2 gallons of engine oil into his Accord. The overflow caused the rear main seal to fail, fortunately it didn't cause any other engine damage. Always check your fluid level after any dealer/service center does a oil change.

Brettg

When I changed my trans fluid, I slightly overfilled it, and did not have
any leaks.
It does NOT sound normal to me, an ooze around a vent maybe, but no way
enough to look like a leak.

They may have fixed a problem like a leaking/loose drain plug and just
told you it was the vent, no way to know...

If I was you, I would change the trans fluid and use the GM MTF fm, and
make sure the fill and drain plugs are tight.
That way, you get the great shifting from the gm stuff, know the level
is correct, get any wear metal out, and may see any leaks or screwups...

You are not supposed to have to do anything with a new car, but I never
use the dealers (or anyone else) to work on my cars if I can avoid it.
I take matters into my own hands and make sure things are done right,
and dont have to deal with any BS like you may have got.

To me, its a LOT less trouble to just check or take care of a problem/service
rather than go back to the dealers and bitch, then getting someone I dont
know, who may or may not know what they are doing, to do whatever to MY car.

Brett

subinf

I am going to call acura about this and see if i can find a definite answer. I am not aware of a way to check the manual trans level since the fill plug is on top of the tranny. its not like on the old acura transmissions where it was on the side. I changed the fluid about 6 months ago or something and put in how much the manual called for. I do all my own work, I think the dealer had a problem with that. in any event, Ill see what acura has to say about it since i cant get a straight answer one way or the other from the dealer. the service invoice they gave me said they were not sure where the leak was...

Champcar1

Hey subinf, I had this same problem. Earlier this year, I took my TL in because of a couple of drips of oil on the garage floor. They determined that the tranny was overfilled at the factory. The oil was indeed coming from a breather tube inside the bell housing. It is designed as a relief in case of an overfill. They told me that they called Acura and were told that quite a few of them had been overfilled from the factory. They drained and re-filled and I have no problems since. So it sounds the same, or at least similar to, my problem. They probably are correct.
Let us know what they say.

KilroyR1

There is an "inspection" hole on the side of the transmission. Open it up, if oil come out, too much was in. As I recall, the hole is very small. If oil does not come out, add a little until it does and then let it run out.

I do not recall any vent tube from changing out the Honda MTL.

Do a search for a post on the tranny fluid replacement, I think Ron A posted a page from the service manual that shows the trans with the drain, inspection and fill holes.

subinf

I started one of the posts showing the tranny fluid procedure...ohhh wait i just looked at the page again...i see it THANK YOU. I spoke with Acura customer service, they told me no leak is normal and want a further explanation from the dealer. I never noticed any fluid leak before. I always pull the skid plate off when I do my oil changes just so i can take a look at everything else. this was the first time i noticed the leak. thast what made me bring the car in. ill put the car back up in the air today or tomorrow to take some pics of where the fluid was coming from. i'll also update once i speak to the dealer again.

KilroyR1

Not trying to be a :postwhore: here is the thread...

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...t=fluid+change

I also saw that the thread originator already changed out his Honda MTL with GMSM-FM.

Don

subinf

yeah thats the one that i just looked at. sorry i didnt notice that earlier. i thought i did a thorough enough search, oh well.

mickey3c

[QUOTE=subinf]I am going to call acura about this and see if i can find a definite answer. I am not aware of a way to check the manual trans level since the fill plug is on top of the tranny. its not like on the old acura transmissions where it was on the side. I changed the fluid about 6 months ago or something and put in how much the manual called for. I do all my own work, I think the dealer had a problem with that.

Some dealers automatically assume that we do not know what we are doing. I had a head gasket (really a seal) that went on a car years back which resulted in motor oil on the engine. When asked who changed the oil, I said I did but there was no oil on the engine at all. So they cleaned it off and wrote that apparently the customer accidently spilled oil on the engine when changing his own oil.

The next day after driving 100 miles, I was back at the dealer asking the service writer to eat the dam receipt that I had been given the day before. There was the oil on the engine again.

One other point is usually the documentation is accurate, but at times it is not. And when it calls for let's say 4.2 quarts, some people error on the side of adding more!

subinf

today i pulled the transmission skid plate off the car to take a look and see if the leaking fluid had come back. i noticed all this white stuff sprayed on the bottom of the transmission where i told the dealer the leak was coming from. i rubbed some of it off...its like a stick chalk. not really like that is on the bottom of a lot of bmw's (the yellow/brown goo) but more like spray paint. also, they took off the clutch notice thing. is this a leak stop?? did the dealer go overboard?

subinf

Ok update on an old thread. The car was back at the dealership because it was still leaking like crazy. This time the dealer actually had thier act together. Turns out the tranny fluid was overfull...dont know how that happened since the check plug was out during the fluid change..

anyway, the transmission has a vent tube between the engine and tranny and if the oil level is too high it will leak out of the tube when the tranny is at high rpms. they gave me a copy of something honda put out about the matter. I'm sure all of you were dying to find out how this would end...

triggle

Could I persuade you to scan the handout and post it ?

Thanks

subinf

ill scan it but i am having some problems finding the damn power cable and i cant order another one from hp since the scanner isnt listed on their web page. ill try to take a picture of it and see how that turns out

subinf

I cut down the picture I took so the file was smaller.

Champcar1

Glad it all worked out. Same problem I had. I just wish the dealer would have read the tech release before THEY PULLED MY ENTIRE ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION OUT!!!!!!!!!
Can you tell us what the date is on that tech release?
Personally, I think putting the vent tube in the bellhousing is a terrible design. The last thing you want or need is oil on the clutch. And I would think the possibility of this happening is fairly good.

subinf

They gave me a copy of whatever they were reading off and no date made it onto the one that I have. I think its fairly new, or was issued after November. I called Acura complaining about the problem right after my first visit and they were not aware of anything in writing and it appears they are now.

Champcar1

Thanks for sharing the info!
Acura always seems to be way behind the power curve when it comes to issues like this.