Tranny oil leak

[HatchSpeeD]

I recently swapped a b18b1 w/gsr tranny into my civic. I noticed that my car is leaking a lot of tranny oil. Was just wondering, where could the problems be and what to check. I saw it dripping off of the shift linkage but the whole tranny underneath was wet of gear oil. I wiped it off and jacked it up to see where it was leaking but couldn't see anything.

Also, my tranny make this noise and when I let off the clutch I hear this chattering/vibrating noise and when I push it in and goes away. I think that maybe the throwout bearing but I would mainly like to find where the tranny oil is leaking out from.

 

[B16]

check the axle seals in the tranny. when putting back in my axles once i chewed one up putting it back in without care and it leaked bad. you can pull the axles and check to see the ruber seals are still in good condition.

 

[HatchSpeeD]

Yeah, i'm gonna take a look in the morning. Where the shiftlinkage connects to the tranny, fluid wouldn't come out of ther would it? Also, any thoughts on the noise?

 

[HatchSpeeD]

Ok heres the deal, after doing my engine swap my friend filled up the tranny with gear oil in a hole on top of the tranny which I guess is the "breather". I talked to a guy and he said your not suppose to fill it there but its not going to hurt it. Only problem is I think it was overfilled. I figured out its leaking from the mid-shaft. So I guess I need a new seal on that side. I guess it was overfilled and broke the seal. One more thing though, my axles and midshaft didn't come with snap rings. Can this attribute to the problem or could have caused it. Do I need to have these snap rings on? Can I use the snap rings from my d-series axles? Thanks for anyhelp.

Also, is the filler the 17mm bolt on the side of the tranny and the bleeder the one that is allenkey shaped one?

 

[shadowracer95]

Please do yourself a favor and pick up some kinda of manual before you destroy you poor car!

First, You need to take the gear lube out of your trans. You do this by unscrewing the so called "allenkey shaped one?" which is actually a 3/8 drive head. You can use a 3/8 ratchet or breaker bar but please remember lefty loosey, right tighty. Also remember that your trans has an aluminum housing and you can strip the hole very easily. This means when you go to put the plug back in you just snug it and not gorilla tighten it.

Second, You are correct about the 17mm Head plug, this is where you fill the fluid. The fluid that is recommended by honda is 10w30 engine oil if you can't get your hands on OEM HONDA MTF. Now I have put 10w40 in for the summer time due to the high heat conditions from city driving. You do have to take note though DO NOT I repeat DO NOT put SYNTHETIC OIL in your trans. Reason being, there is a molecule I believe it is something like "polybedum" (don't quote me on the name) and it is bad for your synchros. In turn it will make your car harder to shift and eventually destroy your synchros.

Thrid, the noise you heard is most likely your throwout bearing! Althought there are a couple other things it could be. It could be you main shaft bearing in your trans if seen those go a couple of times or your pilot bearing highly unlikely though. You did say "when I push it in and goes away" usually this would be your throw out bearing. With the clutch pedal released your T/B will free spin and the noise you here are loose balls in your bearing. Once you depress the clutch the T/B puts pressure on the diaphram of the pressure plate which in turn reduces the room the balls in your T/B have to move alleviating the noise. I recomend OEM Honda/Acura throwout bearing the rest of em suck!

Lastly, Snap rings. Your lucky it was the drivers side axle that is missing the snap ring. The reason the snap rings are there is to hold your axle in the trans. Due to the fact that it was the drivers side axle with the intermediate shaft that bolts to the block your axle did not come out while you were driving. Im not sure if the snap rings off you D series will fit but I know you do need to get some.

Hope this answered your questions! Now please go get yourself some sort of manual

 

[Citizen_Insane]

Snap rings from a Si/Dx/Ex should work.

Also, I recomend using GM Synchromesh Tranny fluid. I just started using it and it is a HUGE improvement over honda MTF.

 

[HatchSpeeD]

Originally posted by shadowracer95@Jun 12 2004, 11:07 AM
Please do yourself a favor and pick up some kinda of manual before you destroy you poor car!

First, You need to take the gear lube out of your trans. You do this by unscrewing the so called "allenkey shaped one?" which is actually a 3/8 drive head. You can use a 3/8 ratchet or breaker bar but please remember lefty loosey, right tighty. Also remember that your trans has an aluminum housing and you can strip the hole very easily. This means when you go to put the plug back in you just snug it and not gorilla tighten it.

Second, You are correct about the 17mm Head plug, this is where you fill the fluid. The fluid that is recommended by honda is 10w30 engine oil if you can't get your hands on OEM HONDA MTF. Now I have put 10w40 in for the summer time due to the high heat conditions from city driving. You do have to take note though DO NOT I repeat DO NOT put SYNTHETIC OIL in your trans. Reason being, there is a molecule I believe it is something like "polybedum" (don't quote me on the name) and it is bad for your synchros. In turn it will make your car harder to shift and eventually destroy your synchros.

Thrid, the noise you heard is most likely your throwout bearing! Althought there are a couple other things it could be. It could be you main shaft bearing in your trans if seen those go a couple of times or your pilot bearing highly unlikely though. You did say "when I push it in and goes away" usually this would be your throw out bearing. With the clutch pedal released your T/B will free spin and the noise you here are loose balls in your bearing. Once you depress the clutch the T/B puts pressure on the diaphram of the pressure plate which in turn reduces the room the balls in your T/B have to move alleviating the noise. I recomend OEM Honda/Acura throwout bearing the rest of em suck!

Lastly, Snap rings. Your lucky it was the drivers side axle that is missing the snap ring. The reason the snap rings are there is to hold your axle in the trans. Due to the fact that it was the drivers side axle with the intermediate shaft that bolts to the block your axle did not come out while you were driving. Im not sure if the snap rings off you D series will fit but I know you do need to get some.

Hope this answered your questions! Now please go get yourself some sort of manual

Thanks for info bro but i'm not an idiot. I'm learning as I go and your right I probably do need to pick up a manual. I pretty much learned everything I know about cars/hondas from this website and then did my own swap, so take it easy on me. B) Now, about the snap rings, I have another b-series midshaft from an auto that has one so I can get that from there. But the d-series axles I have is from a "CX", which wasnt mentioned. Can they be used? Also, would I need one on the driver side axle going into the mid-shaft itself?

Lastly, do you think the problem is the axle seal? I only say that because it looked like the oil was leaking out of the part where the mid-shaft goes into the tranny. If anything, the passenger side axle looked to be coming out not the driver side, yet it look to be leaking from the midshaft. Thanks again guys.

 

[HatchSpeeD]

Your lucky it was the drivers side axle that is missing the snap ring. The reason the snap rings are there is to hold your axle in the trans. Due to the fact that it was the drivers side axle with the intermediate shaft that bolts to the block your axle did not come out while you were driving. Im not sure if the snap rings off you D series will fit but I know you do need to get some.

As far as I could remember, both axles nor the mid-shaft did not have a snap ring on them. Like I said, whats the possibility of it being the fact that I had no snap rings on and thats why it was leaking, rather than the axles seals?

First, You need to take the gear lube out of your trans. You do this by unscrewing the so called "allenkey shaped one?" which is actually a 3/8 drive head. You can use a 3/8 ratchet or breaker bar but please remember lefty loosey, right tighty. Also remember that your trans has an aluminum housing and you can strip the hole very easily. This means when you go to put the plug back in you just snug it and not gorilla tighten it.

Why do I need to drain the gear oil out, even though I think it completely leaked out anyways. lol

 

[shadowracer95]

If you think I was callin you an idiot your wrong. I was just tryin to state facts as plain and simple so anyone who reads can understand.


Again if you have no snap rings your axles can come out. This includes slight amounts of play that would let the oil drain out past the input shaft of the axle(s).


Drain the fluid so you can put in the recommended fluid Honda MTF. If you gonna listen to ktanaka make sure it is not a synthetic fluid and does not contain "polybedum" (don't quote me on the name). Althought its up to you what you do please consult a manual first.

Hey mad props on learning on your car and picking up tips off the site. You have to remember like anything else, you need to weed out the good before settling on a decision after all it your hard earned money. i.e. APC timing belt or OEM timing belt? Which would you buy?

 

[HatchSpeeD]

Pulled both axles. The passenger side did have a snap ring on it. Went to the driver side where I suspected the leak. Pulled the axle, then mid-shaft. Turns out the actually midshaft is bent. The seal didn't look that bad but I pulled it out and now I need a new one. Autozone nor Lappens doesn't carry them. Is the axle seal a dealer part? Anyways, I have another mid-shaft but its from an auto but it looks exactly the same. Anyways that one is a little bent too but no where as bad as the one I took off. So I guess I'll throw that one on, get a new seal and see what happens.

Also, should the mid-shaft have snap ring on it too. The one from an auto had one on but the axle wouldn't fit in it until I took it off. Thanks again guys.

 

[shadowracer95]

The axle just dont slide in easy if they did they would slide our just as easy. You need to align the axle in the respective hole then give it a good push. Once you think its in the trans pull out a lil and give it a couple of more good pushes. You should hear a nice solid clunk type of sound.

If I remember correctly only the part of the axle that actually goes into the trans should have a snap ring. The CV joint that connects the midshaft to the outter part of the drivers side shaft should not have one. There should be a dust boot which covers an articulating joint that should move in and out and flex 360 degrees. The last time I bought an axle seal it was $20.00 from the dealer.

 

[B16]

the drivers side midshaft (or whatever you want to call it) does not have a snap ring when going into the tranny, only the passenger side axle does. the midshaft is bolted to the block, so there is no need. however, the axle going into that midshaft on the drivers side does have a snap ring.

edit:
and yes, the seal is a dealer part

 

[cws13]

Dude, don't put a bent half shaft in your car. It will only beat your tranny up worse, and that can't ride well. If you lightly depress the clutch pedal and the sound goes away, it's your throwout bearing. If you have to push the clutch in like normally to get it to disappear, it's your case bearings in the tranny. The case bearings go out more in my experience. I'd say 1 to 5 over OEM throwout bearings.

 

[HatchSpeeD]

Ok, so I called acura and it turns out, the midshaft that was on there in the first place was from an auto! The other one that I had that I was told was from an auto, is actually a manual. Thats why it broke the axle seal. The snap ring is a pain in the ass. Its too stretched for the axle to fit over the midshaft. I think I need a certain type of pliers to tighten it up. I just hope the driver side axle is the for a manual and not an auto.