Trans leak???
 

Son just came home from school and smoke was coming out from hood. Looks like sudden bad trans fluid leak right at Pass side axle shaft where it goes into trans. Will have to let it cool down before looking closer.

What could make a axle pop out like that??? assuming thats what it is???

Scott

Re: Trans leak???
 

Scott, it may be as simple as your cooler line getting brittle and leaking fluid, which is running down that side of the trans. I'll keep my fingers crossed that this is the problem. Let her cool down and report back.

Ya know after a closer inspection. There is no fluid where the shaft goes into the tranny, BUT its all over the inner axle boot, converter,etc. I see a p.steering line above the boot....maybe a pin hole????? how common is it that pressure lines go bad???

Scott

I had a power steering line break very suddenly on my SVX a few years ago. I swore, what with the smoke and the steering messed up, that the diff was screwed.

That was the first thought I had when I read that you had an ATF leak - that it was really your power steering.

Pockets, what line was it on yours??? pressure or return??? was just on subaruparts.com checking out potiental prices! of what it "might" be.

Scott

Very common, actually. Happened to mine about a month ago. Has happened to several members. Those hoses get brittle, just like the cooler hoses. That could be your problem. And, if so, you're in luck. It's slightly easier to get to than the tranny cooler hose. :D:D

I had my tranny flushed when I first got the car. Drove it out of the dealer and the ATF hose broke at the radiator.

You don't have to buy the molded formed hoses form Subaru.:)
You can replace all of the hoses with AT hoses at a much lower price. There is plenty of room to route the hoses without kinking them.

After 10 yrs and 100k miles the hoses are all pretty brittle, tranny cooler, PS and rear of the engine to tranny. I think it's a good idea to replace them all. :)

Actually, I don't know. It happened before I had a garage and did more than little stuff on the car myself.

I'm trying to remember, back when it happened, whether I lost power steering immediately (suggesting the pressure line) or after some time (the return line).

Of course, with a broken return line, I don't know how long it would take the pump to empty the reservoir. :D

I suspect that, on my car, it was the return line that broke. I had a local shop replace it for very little money, if I remember correctly. I have the receipt somewhere...

Well after looking from underneath I can see its the return line. Thats the good news! The bad news is that to reach the upper clamp bolt you need to have arms like a monkey! or a very long extension for the ratchet LOL. Like many things it would be easier if car were on hoist and had the right tools.

Scott

My low pressure line off the rack split in the area near the rack. same fluid as in the trans. the cooler lines for the trans are on the drivers side.

Shes up and running again. My son (18) has more patience working on his cars than I ever could have. Just glad it was something we could fix at home and pay through the nose at the dealer!!

How long till the next breakdown??????

Scientifically speaking, it's described by an inverse mathematical relationship: Q*F = T/M

Q=quantity of breakdowns
F=frequency of breakdown
T=transportation, where 1=you REALLY need it everyday, zero=museum piece
M=money in your wallet (zero to infinity)


So, you can see that if you really need the car and have almost zero funds, then the frequency and quantity of breakdowns will approach infinity (a recent weekend wherein I had three problems - 2 of them in 45 minutes - is proof enough for me). The trick is to make the SVX think you got money to burn and that you really only bought it for weekend fun - then you could probably go for years without another problem.

LOL, to own one is to love one!

i tell my son "you have to talk to it" the car needs to know you really care:p He also has a XT Turbo. when he first got it it broke down often because of neglect of 2nd owner. Now a lot of the bugs are out of the way and its a great/fun car to drive! most of the parts for a old XT can be bought anywhere and are cheap..where as the SVX are tough to find and you pay through the nose....but still worth it.