1990 Grand Prix LE tranny seal problem please help.

[streetmaster42]

I've got a tranny leak that seems to be the tranny seal. The motor is a 3.1, with a 4 speed O/D tranny, thats runs great. But after a short time the tranny starts to wine a little untill i stick more fluid in it. Im starting to get the usual trail under the car when i pull out. My ? is, can the motor be pulled with out the tranny as a unit, or do they have to come out as a unit. Also if they have to come out as a unit, can they be pulled up out of the car, or do they need to be dropped down out. I've pulled plenty of motors in my day, but never a transverse motor of this sort. Infact im making plans to do an S10 V8 swap in the future, so im not afraid to get my hand dirty. So if this job can be done by me and some help, what can i expect to run into that will require any special atention?

[streetmaster42]

Originally Posted by streetmaster42

I've got a tranny leak that seems to be the tranny seal. The motor is a 3.1, with a 4 speed O/D tranny, thats runs great. But after a short time the tranny starts to wine a little untill i stick more fluid in it. Im starting to get the usual trail under the car when i pull out. My ? is, can the motor be pulled with out the tranny as a unit, or do they have to come out as a unit. Also if they have to come out as a unit, can they be pulled up out of the car, or do they need to be dropped down out. I've pulled plenty of motors in my day, but never a transverse motor of this sort. Infact im making plans to do an S10 V8 swap in the future, so im not afraid to get my hand dirty. So if this job can be done by me and some help, what can i expect to run into that will require any special atention?

Anybody ?

[tblake]

Yes, they can be pulled out seperatly. IMO the motor would be harder and more time consuming to pull than just the tranny. The tranny will have to come out the bottom, motor can come out the top. If you do decide to do the work yourself, please use caution as the subframe has to be removed if you drop the tranny, and the motor needs to be supported with a engine hook across the strut towers. Maybe best to do some research, maybe order yourself a repair manual. Its not a hard job at all, just need patiance and proper knowledge. Most importantly be safe.

[streetmaster42]

Originally Posted by tblake

Yes, they can be pulled out seperatly. IMO the motor would be harder and more time consuming to pull than just the tranny. The tranny will have to come out the bottom, motor can come out the top. If you do decide to do the work yourself, please use caution as the subframe has to be removed if you drop the tranny, and the motor needs to be supported with a engine hook across the strut towers. Maybe best to do some research, maybe order yourself a repair manual. Its not a hard job at all, just need patiance and proper knowledge. Most importantly be safe.

Yeah, thanx a bunch for the responce it helped me out greatly. Another ? though, could this be an axle seal leahing aswell, because it was hind of hard to tell whare the leak was coming from since every thing under the car has oil or grease on it. If it is infact the front tranny seal though, i think what ill do is just begin to tear the motor down to the block so i can get to all the tranny bolts real easy. That way if i already have the motor apart, then i have a reason to go threw it, and throw a chain in it, and what ever gaskets that are needed and maybe even the rear seal in the motor.

[tblake]

I dont know if I'd tear the motor down. just remember the refrigerant lines need to be evacuated if you do remove the motor. I would just leave the motor alone. The bell housing bolts arent too bad to access if you get the air box and stuff out of the way. The starter will have to come as well as the plastic flywheel cover. Once the subfram is out of their, its easy to access these. one bell housing bolt comes from the opposite direction and can be accessed with a swivel on the socket and some extensions. You can unbolt the rack and pinion from the subframe and just leave it in the car. remember when your done, since the subframe was just removed, you need to do an alignment.

[tblake]

Make sure to use threadlock on the bell housing bolts and torque them to the correct spec.

BTW, maybe want to change the axel seals and fill it with fluid before you go through the trouble of removeing the tranny. Sure its not coming from the pan gasket? Just a few thoughts.....

You can remove the plastic access cover and take a peek inside the bell housing to see if its full of fluid. This would confirm a tranny input shaft main seal leaking.

[streetmaster42]

Thanx for all the great tips guys, im planning on getting at the problem this weekend. The car realy belongs to my mother, which ill have to wait untill we can get together to get started. I dont know what a job like this would cost at a shop, but if i can help it, she wont have to worry about that anyway.

[tblake]

Originally Posted by tblake

Make sure to use threadlock on the bell housing bolts and torque them to the correct spec.

Sorry, reading that again, I didnt mean "bell housing bolts" they can just be tightened down.

I meant use threadlocker on the torque converter to flexplate bolts and make sure they get torqued to spec. They are rather small bolts and will be easy to break off.