[James Scott]

I have a fluid leak onto the exhaust pipe at about the rear of engine on driver's side...creating oily smoke. I originally thought it was engine oil...as the oil level was decreasing faster than ideal. I thought the valve cover was leaking on the driver's side, but a reputable mechanic put dye in the engine oil and said there was no apparent oil leak. He thought it was the rack & pinion as there was alot of oil all over the unit; he suggested replacing the rack & pinion with a rebuilt unit (about $400). Then I decided to check the level of ATF in the power steering unit; surprisingly, the level (topped off) has not decreased for weeks! Well!...I decided recently to check the automatic transmission fluid level. [Beav had pointed out earlier that the leak might be associated with the AT fluid because the cooler AT fluid tubes pass on the driver's side also!] Again to my surprise, the AT fluid level was about 1/2 inch above the top mark!....whether the car was used (hot) or whether it was cold overnight!

I thought I heard it was bad to run AT fluid above top mark...? Should I drain some fluid out [maybe by disconnecting a cooler tube] to keep the ATF no higher than the top mark? [I guess I didn't check the ATF level after I had a flush/fill 1 1/2 to 2 years ago!]

Also, do you have any ideas about the leak onto the exhaust...?

THANKS!