I was doing my normal look around/fluid checking in my engine bay and saw this. I'm not sure how long its been there because I could barely see it until I grabbed a flash light. Is that trans fluid? None of the fluid levels (that I could check) were low. I'm confused, it looks fairly fresh.

 

OMG, its your blinker fluid!
Oh and check your transmission, it could be leaking from there if the dipstick is not secured tightly in the tranny (in guessing its an auto since you said you checked all the fluids). Check the color if possible, pull the engine cover off and have a closer look, it could be anything.

 

Hey I had the same problem was driving on the highway and it blew a seal it was a pressure seal on the tranny. when i looked into it i noticed that all fluid levels were fine but then i took it to the dealer and they said my rack n pinion and tranny from the pressure something was leaking thank god it was all covered underwarrantee my car has 81k

 

it looks like transmission fluid since there is a gasket that goes there. Is the fluid dripping out or slowly seeping out?

 

No drips, seems like a very slow seep. This looks a lot worse than it is, but I put some gloves on and was able to scrape this off the bottom piece below where it looks to be seeping. Its a very dry, almost doughy sludge. Seems like its been there a while. Its rough. It doesn't even look like trans fluid.



FWIW, I had my transmission fluid changed earlier this year, 3000 miles ago or so. That's why I don't know if its trans fluid or not because its straight up black sludge that has accumulated for a while.

 

Bump. Any ideas?

I showed my dad and he said it doesn't look like its anything to worry about. Huh.

 

as mentioned before with how you trans puked itself or something on you....



yeah more then likely it is indeed ATF coming from the vent, which is also where mine had come from when i was still auto

unless of course the seal between the case halves is leaking

 

My trans puked itself? Its the same one thats been in the car for 102K miles. I don't understand the first part of your post, but it has been a very long day.

Thank you for help though. I searched around more "acura tl transmission leaking from vent" and came across this thread- https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/transmission-leaking-564598/

Sounds like that guy had the exact same issue. It wouldn't surprise me if the geniuses at Acura overfilled the transmission when they changed it last time. I'm planning on doing a 3x3 with a Type-F fluid soon anyway...I'll have to take caution to not overfill it.

 

maybe not, but i thought you had issues with it on the highway though, and 5th gear going mushy or something?

 

No sir.
My trans does shift like shit though. Or did. I just replaced the switches last week. Fluid is next.

 

anyways yeah the vent is hidden up there kinda where that grim starts, so it very could be a possibility of it coming from there (it's like a 3" long hose or so, that about the thickness of a pencil, with one end not really connected to anything)

 

There's a vent for normal expansion and contraction of the fluid. If things get hot enough it can puke fluid. With the crappy base oil of the Z1, you can get quite a bit of vapor when it gets hot. It can also be a seal as already stated. Can't see much with those pictures. Check around the cooler on top and the filter on top.

It's obviously been leaking very slowly and for a long time. I wouldn't worry about it. Clean it off with brake clean and keep an eye on it. Check that the vent is not plugged off. I've seen people put a rubber cap on the vent thinking it's an open vacuum line. If it's plugged you will develop trans leaks but usually at the axles.

 

Thank you both for reassuring me that its not detrimental. I just went down to the garage to peek around and to look for that vent- I think I found it. Where it was is where things looked messiest. I took an old rag and sprayed some degreaser on it to try to clean things up a bit so that way I can tell if it leaks more.

IHC, interesting bit of info on the expansion and contraction of fluid. I cannot wait to get this Z1 crap fluid out. It seems like its the herpes of all issues..

 

yeah every thing normally has to have some type of place for pressure to go (only thing is is a little different though on your car is the brake fluid, but that is taken car of by a diaphragm allowing the expansion and contraction, basically air exchange is a bad thing for brake fluid, with how it is hydroscopic, and likes to pick up moisture from the air)


but yes it is nothing detrimental, BUT is something that needs to be watched closely though, cause it's not something that normally happens



btw you know how to check the trans fluid level? with the engine running and warmed up?

 

I guess I just never realized the expansion of transmission fluid would be released in the form of puking fluid onto itself. I'll be sure to keep an eye on it though.

And yes I do at least know that in regards to checking the fluid.

 

There should be no puking but it happens when the trans gets overheated. Yours didn't fully puke or you would've had smoke and trans fluid dripping everywhere. With a cheap base fluid like factory fluid it can evaporate and come out of the breather. Over lots of time you can get the buildup you have but that much is still not fully normal.

Over filling is another possibility but it would have to be severely overfilled. Mine is always past the full mark and I've never had anything come out of the breather but I also run a synthetic fluid.

I didn't mean just fluid, a place for air to go is just as important. In fact, what I should have said is it provides a place for air to go as the fluid expands and contracts, not the fluid itself. I was being lazy in that last post.

 

it's gotta go somewhere , and that somewhere is out the vent tube (if indeed that) (but yes as IHC mentioned, it's actually only air normally going in and out the vent)


btw here's an example, subie rear differentials, ALMOST never leak, even when not taking care of, BUT the one time they do is when the vent gets plugged up from dirt; such as from living on a dirt road; it builds up enough and plugs the vent, and then it pushes the oil out of the other seals (not enough to drip though); the fix? reaching up (it hidden kinda) moving the vent cap around after digging it out from the grim, and spraying a bit of brake clean up there so it can breath again, and no more leak

 

I had a weird one. I went to the track one weekend and couldn't hold any boost at the line (not using a transbrake). The tires would spin at 0 boost as I was powerbraking. Later on as I was troubleshooting I removed the rear drums and found everything covered in axle fluid, especially the shoes. At first I was scratching my head as to how both sides of my axle seals went out at the same time. Then I discovered the plugged vent. Kind of bad how a plugged vent can cause you to lose the rear brakes.

 

not so much an issue with an independent rear suspension ,
but yeah brakes do not like to be coated in oil (and i bet you may have also noticed your front brakes wearing quicker then normal too, since you would have no assist in stopping from the rears; and it's AMAZING how much longer front brakes can last, when the rear brakes are properly working, and quicker you can stop too)



fyi whenever i change the oil on my beater caviler (not really a TRUE beater, compared to some other cars; biggest thing is the paint's clear coat failure ) i try to rotate the tires every time too, and with that i pull the rear drums off too, and adjust them like a click or two on the adjustor, and even that little adjustment is enough to feel in the pedal being stiffer/higher


now the rear shoes don't last quite as long as on some other cars, but i am also not chewing through front brakes though, so it roughly evens out to about the same amount of wear on the brakes as a WHOLE

 

Take a can of brake cleaner and clean off all that crap, then drive about 200 or so miles and then check for fluid leak. You said you had a transmission flush like 3k ago, I think that may be some spilt fluid slowly leaking down from the service, but thats a long shot. Just wash it all off with brake cleaner and see if its an actual leak and the source of any such leak.

 

That's exactly what I plan on doing, I got most of it cleaned up last night. I have a 300 mile drive ahead of me on Wednesday. I'll see what the situation is like afterwards.