Where is the Leak? A New Game.

[UNSTUCK]

2001 TJ Teraflex Long arm lift, SYE. 4.0, 5 speed. ARB lockers front and rear. Pretty basic stuff otherwise.

Bottom of the tub is totally wet from passenger side to driver side, and from the the rear output on the tcase to the fuel tank. Rear axle is also covered from tire to tire. Drips coming off park brake adjuster. All four control arms are wet, lowers are very wet. Drops look like dirty ATF. Way to lite to be gear oil. No drops have actually come off the jeep to land on my floor. though it looks several could fall any time, so nothing is actively leaking right now while it sits.

Here is the fun part. Not a single drip or spot of oil on the transmission or t-case. The top the t-case is dirty, but dry. Trans is very clean. Driveshaft is more or less dry. SYE seal is dry. Rear pinion seal is wet, but if that was leak, everything in front of it would be dry.

When I first looked I thought a quart of ATF had spilled inside the tube around the back seat. But the floor is dry.

Owner had just driven it from Springville to my place in Taylorsville and hadn't noticed the leak before. But that doesn't mean it just started. Not sure on that one.

Other random info: I am replacing the rear main seal that is starting to leak, replacing the clutch and the two rear upper control arm bushings that are almost gone. If any of that matters.

Where is the leak coming from?

 

[Tacoma]

HOW clean is the transmission pan? ATF will clean everything it's flowing over-- could it be a leaky trans?

 

[I Lean]

Leaking through the splines of the Tcase output yoke? (instead of past the seal)

 

[skippy]

Leaking through the splines of the Tcase output yoke? (instead of past the seal)

I am going to agreee with Carl on this one, rtv the splines and reinstall yoke or buy a new ones of those goofy rubber washers they use to do the same thing

 

[STAG]

Flux capacitor is about to go out

replace with Graphene for best results.

 

[UNSTUCK]

Drive Shaft is pretty dry. Ujoint is very dry and clean. No leak there. Transmission is dry. No leaks around it. I'll see if I can post some pics up tonight when I get home.

 

[bryson]

Muffler fluid is easily mistaken for ATF... Just sayin'.

 

[chadschoon]

I had an arb in a 44 on a tj that would build pressure after it was installed and blow diff fluid out of the breather at speeds. Not sure if it was just installed or not. Based on your post it doesn't seem to be diff fluid though but it's a thought.

 

[carsonc1974]

Where is the transmission breather located? Possibly overfilled?

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[UNSTUCK]

I need to look and see where the axle breather tube is located. I doubt that it is mounted to the body so far forward. I would have noticed it if it was around the park brake adjuster, which is where I think the leak is originating from.
The transmission breather is located right on top of the tranny. It is totally dry around it.
I didn't really look into it much yesterday. I pulled the oil pan and replaced the rear main seal. Now that that's all done, I can finish up the clutch replacement and get the tranny put back in. I think I'll drive it over to the car wash and spray the underside down and start over. All this for a leak that should be very obvious.

 

[chadschoon]

I believe they tuck the diff breather up towards the gas filler so I'm betting that ins't it if its that far forward.

 

[UNSTUCK]

The rear axle breather was tucked up in the frame between the fuel tank. There's just about no way it could have gotten the tub wet so far forward.

I gave up. I got the jeep all put back together last night. I put several miles on it then got out and looked. It didn't look any wetter then when I left. I needs to be cleaned off at the car wash and then watched. Maybe it was the rear main seal leak and somehow the wind would kick it up and hit the body the way it did. Hard to believe it would do that and never hit the trans or tcase, but who knows?