Leaking Transmission

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OriginHacker21

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I've got a 5spd Manual getrag transmission on my 2004 Pontiac Sunfire. I've always wondered what the drops were under my car (wasn't the oil as I was checking several times a week) - finally I looked at my transmission drain plug - liquid was ready to drip hanging on the drain plug... So, I took my finger - cleared the drip and in the morning - the drip was back...

The whole transmission looks greased/wet. Since the manual transmission doesn't have a dip stick - what should I do? I drive 220 miles a day to work and back... I could provide pictures on request - might take a day or so.

Since it doesn't have a dipstick I've read that people fill them up to the top. Manual says 1.7 quarts of transmission fluid and it didn't seem to be overflowing. :P

Advice/comments welcome -Paul
 
Most manual transmissions are "fill till it spills" from the fill port when the vehicle is level. It would be good to check for your specific model. AutoZone has a reference library on line that may give you that information. You may need to check with the dealer. Check the fluid level from the fill port and top off as needed. And tighten the drain plug. If it doesn't respond to tightening, you may need to remove it and possibly add teflon tape. Doing so will of course drain the fluid so you will need to have fresh fluid available to refill.

I would first check the fluid level. Top off as needed. Tighten the drain plug. Keep an eye on it and see if it still drips. If it still drips, pull the drain plug for inspection and teflon sealing.
 
OK mates - I took a flashlight and did a little excursion under my car.

The drain plug was not the problem - it was clean - at the rear of the transmission (think a box |___drainpug____| screw whatever that was loose - and it looks like transmission fluid was leaking out of that all over the backside of the transmission down to the bottom part and dripping near the drainplug.

???? Any idea what this plug thing is? It was very lose so I tightened it. But thats why the whole backside of the transmission was wet/greasy.....

Will get pictures tomorrow.
 
Fill plug is on the top with a red cap - I have no idea what this third plug is. It is perpendicular to the drain plug so it sticks out of the rear sidewall of the transmission.

It doesn't look like it is leaking too badly - there are a few splots on the driveway but they are dry and it takes a many good hours for liquid to show up on the rear transmission to drip to the ground.

After work tomorrow (late tomorrow night) I'll do my best to get some pictures and post the links here. I talked to my dad and he said maybe it is a plug to let mechanics know they overfilled the transmission as the fill plug is a long ways from the drain plug. (Fill plug near oil fill) and transmission drain next to oil drain plugs.


The last mechanic to work on my transmission was earlier this year - so its been like this for a while (since may?). :P I drained and filled the transmission myself about 3 weeks ago (drove 36,000 miles since February).
 
Maybe it is a fill plug for when you are under the car? You'd have to have a weird funnel because it is perpendicular to the ground ___|___ (on the rear sidewall of the transmission).

Thx for your help all.
 
OK mates - pictures have arrived. Sorry they are big but the more the detail the merrier.

Here are the URLs (6 total)

Transmission Fill from engine bay:
TransmissionFill

North view of dirty transmission:
DirtyTransmission

Drain Plug (Driverside (right when facing the car) direction)
TransmissionDrain

Mysterious Plug - Backside sidewall of transmission - perpendicular to driveway...
Mysterious

I will leave these pictures on Photobucket and don't plan on removing them ever.
 
So take the last picture there - Mysterious.

That plug was lose causing the leaking of transmission fluid. I tightened it two nights ago. It was so lose I could move it with my fingers.


Questions: Do I need to worry about a lack of transmission fluid? It has been this way since February and car is still running.

More pictures at different angles available on request.
 
I though that the red cap is the vent? Fill plug right next to the red cap?
That might be the full level overflow inspection plug.
Since the vehicle is 2 years oil, it probably needs a fluid change. Pull the drainplug. Let it drain completely out(go eat lunch). Tighten the drainplug, open the mystery plug, open the fill plug, and add oil. Keep an eye on the mystery plug. If it starts leaking at ~1.7 quarts then you know what it is. If it leaks way before 1.7 quarts, tighten it up, and forget about it. Don't worry about a few extra ounces. Buy 2 quarts of a suitable MTF/MTL, and use it all.
 
Fluid should normally be changed every 20,000 miles or so, depending on driving. Here it can be daily in the rainy season.
I thought I'd be real helpful and pull the location and description of the plugs from my Autodata program, but since the mexican built sunfire never made it to Europe, it is not listed.
Normally you have a drain plug on the bottom, a level/fill plug on the side somewhere that should be the fill level when cold (room temp), and a vent on top. Sometimes the vent can also serve as an easier fill point, depending on the car and your equipment for filling. Sometimes the vent has a valve to avoid ingress of water, but since this rarely works in practice, it is often is replaced with a tube that goes to the engine compartment to avoid water entrance.
 
Most manual transmission just have the bottom drain plug and a side fill plug. What you describe sounds like a convenient top fill plug to add fluid but the side leaking plug looks like the traditional fill plug that you plug when the oil you are pouring into the top plug starts pouring out the side plug. Did you try autozone for view of this trannie and its plugs.
 
Didn't find pictures in autozone but a few year earlier getrag 5 speed and the drain plug , the side plug ( check level), a red vent plug and a fill plug ( the latter two on top).

Here's service instructions from a gm manual on the web-
"Remove the fill plug located on the top/middle of transmission on the driver side, near the red vent cap. If you use the check level plug on the side of the transmission, you will not be able to overfill the transmission."
 
Wow, thank you all very much for the information! I drained/filled the transmission at 36,000 miles. Then again 3 weeks ago at 60,000 miles myself. It looks like the mechanic that did my transmission at 36,000 miles didn't fully tighten the side check level plug and the transmission fluid was splashing out.

Many thanks for the information. I will stop by Autozone/napa and get some synthetic transmission fluid. I had Amsoil MTF and Amsoil ATF in there before. I will unscrew the check plug and put the whole 2 quarts in - check to see if the check plug is leaking (if it is not - then all is well) - then screw everything in.

Again thanks a lot for all the information!!! widman - I will follow the 20,000 miles or so tci (transmission change interval).
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20k with syn trannie fluid seems like overkill even in a getrag with 1.8 qts. On my Mazda with 2.5 qts the dino
looks a little worn at 20K and worse at 30K. I switched to Redline MT that is relatively thin and clear looking when poured in and it looks great at 30K and finally showing some wear at 50K. If you pay 3x for syn I'd expect more miles than dino.

What's factory recommended UOA ?
 
Quote:

20k with syn trannie fluid seems like overkill even in a getrag with 1.8 qts. On my Mazda with 2.5 qts the dino
looks a little worn at 20K and worse at 30K. I switched to Redline MT that is relatively thin and clear looking when poured in and it looks great at 30K and finally showing some wear at 50K. If you pay 3x for syn I'd expect more miles than dino.

What's factory recommended UOA ?

Click to expand...

GM considers the Getrag manual to be a "fill-for-life" unit under all service conditions.
 
That is correct - GM says its a life fluid (or 100,000 miles me thinks)
liar.gif
. When I changed it out at 36,000 miles the mechanic said it looked like someone had thrown a handful of glitter in it. He recommended 30,000 miles.

Yesterday, I picked up some Royal Purple ATF (my manual calls for ATF for the manual transaxle) for $9/qt. The Napa dude recommended 20,000 miles for an OCI due to the fact that it only took 2 quarts.

Because Royal Purple was $9/qt I think I will go at least 30,000 miles - 99% of my mileage is highway anyway... (220 miles every day to and from work - 99% highway).
smile.gif


What do you guys recommend for an OCI?
dunno.gif
 
Last edited:
You should be able to go a whole year or 50K with your driving pasttern on syn aft.Glitter the first time is the new breakin. You get any on your 2nd change? I'd use that 2nd change more as guide to wear.
 
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