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My 99 Corolla VE, 3 speed auto, has been having this problem since the new year 2012. I have taken the car back 3 times. First, about 8 months before the new year, the same transmission shop replace the driver’s axle. It was a re-manufacture one. Then 8 months later, I notice the lube leaking out of the seal area. Took the car in for repair and a transmission fluid service. This place is a good and honest place and this is the first time we are having the problem. They replaced the seal 3 times and finally the owner decided to replace the seal again but this time he also replace the axle with a brand new one instead of the re-manufacture one. The leak stopped about a month. Each week I checked for leaks and it didn’t leak again until I saw it about a month later. This time, the leak is smaller and the gear oil does not leak on the floor. The owner of the shop gave me a few scenarios:
1) Bad engine mounts causing the vibration to damage the seal.
2) Bad transmission bearing where the inner axle is meeting the transmission.
3) Bad tire balancing which is not a problem as the car drives smooth at high speed. Also the tires are pretty new, under 10,000 miles on them.Please give me some ideas what could be wrong with the car or what the mechanic might be doing wrong.
Worse come to worst, could I just check on the fluid every now and just drive it like that? How long before the fluid all leak out? I am worry that the differential will get damaged. How often would I have to check it if I just leave it unrepair?I did some more research and found some more information.
I pulled out my Hayne’s manual and the info is in the front chapter and not in the transmission/differential chapter. For Automatic you use Dextron II or III. For manual you use gear oil GL-5 75W-90. So to me that confirms the searched information.Do you guys think b/c of the gear oil being thicker could cause the seal to leak? In this case, would I replace it with ATF stop the leak? Or do I have to replace the seal again then replace it with ATF?
How after almost a year, how do I convince the mechanic that he should fix this problem for me? I don’t worry about the owner but more so the freaking mechanic. He always seem agitated every time I brought the car back.Now the possibility causes of leak:
1) Worn out with time, which probably happened the first time at about 150k Miles.
2) The vent maybe plugged. How could I check for this? What’s the easiest way to do this? My apt complex won’t let you lay out in the parking area to do this, so the easier and quicker the better.
3) Seal bore maybe damage. Possibility but how unless the driver physically hit something hard to have caused this.
4) Improper installation. Well the seal has been replaced at least 3X and a brand new axle, not reman, was replaced on that side too.
5) Loose bearing, wear and tear maybe? Could be expensive, how to check for this?
Thanks.
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One cause of that type of seepage is from premature seal wear due to the seal being installed ‘dry’.
[quote=”dreamer2355″ post=34881]One cause of that type of seepage is from premature seal wear due to the seal being installed ‘dry’.[/quote]
Except the first time, the other 3X, I watched him installed it and he lube it before installing. He was gently tap the seal in place. So I hope it can’t be any more gentle than that.
Thanks.The surfaces to be sealed need to be clean clean clean. Surgically clean. Really clean.
Also, sometimes the dynamic sealing surfaces are worn, and the new seal just can’t lay correctly.
I’ve not heard of a bad batch of oil seals, but a few years ago there were some fake tire valve stems made of cheap rubber that quickly rotted a leaked. You may have tapped into a lousy batch of seals.
Don’t believe a haynes manual.They can mislead you.
The proper fluids should be listed in your owners manual.
If gear oil is being used instead of transmission fluid thats
a red flag right there.[quote=”college man” post=34918]Don’t believe a haynes manual.They can mislead you.
The proper fluids should be listed in your owners manual.
If gear oil is being used instead of transmission fluid thats
a red flag right there.[/quote]OK. The owner’s manual says Dextron 3 auto 3 speed differential. My concern or so the question is, instead of Dextron 3, the mechanic used gear oil, would this have caused the leak due to gear oil being much thicker? The owner is a good mechanic but he doesn’t work on cars any more. He hires mechanics which I don’t think are very good as this shop used to be. I trust the shop to tell me the truth about the tranny problems if any, but I am not sure I trust their quality and knowledge of work. If I had a garage, I would do it myself. My apt complex does not allow me to lay stuffs all out in the street. Other wise I would have done the work myself. I am anal about being clean.
Thanks.First let me say that I doubt the garage/mechanic is the problem this time. Replacing the axle seals is an easy job for anyone in the field and if it were from being installed wrong it would be apparent right after you got it back because it would be leaking instantly.
With that said there are actually quite a few things that can cause leakage like that but what I find interesting is that this is all on one side of the car. Since it is happening one one side only I would not think it was from a vent plugged or the wrong fluid because there would be more than one seal leaking.
When the motor mounts or transmission mounts go bad or are holding the assemblies in the wrong location they can and will cause rapid axle wear so I would check these as soon as possible. I am not familiar with that vehicle but I am going to guess that the two axle shafts are not the same length. Usually the passenger side is longer than the driver side so if I am correct the leakage on your vehicle is on the driver side. This is just a guess because you didn’t mention which side was leaking but because the shorter shaft has less room to move it is more prone to damage from this issue.
Another thing that you may want to check is that the fluid is not getting overfilled. The proper procedure for checking the fluid level varies from vehicle to vehicle slightly but most of the time it will be something like this. Warm the transmission up by driving for at least 3 miles. Leave vehicle running and park it on level ground. Set the parking brake and put the transmission into neutral and let off the service brake making sure that the vehicle does not roll. If your parking brake does not work you will need to chalk the wheels to keep it from rolling. Pull the dipstick and clean it with a paper towel or rag then stick it back in all the way and pull it right back out. The fluid should be in the hash marks but does not need to be all the way to the top. If the transmission is overfilled it can cause leakage and damage.
Now as far as driving the vehicle with the leakage. If the leak is not from a mount being bad or something like that you could drive the thing for years with no problems as long as you keep the fluid within the safe zone. You can also try using a transmission additive to condition the internal parts and thicken the fluid slightly. I have had very good luck with Lucas Transmission treatment and I actually put it in my personal vehicles before they have any issues when I am changing the fluid and filter.
Hope this helps and keep us posted.
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