jon38iowa Posted May 27, 2008 Share Posted May 27, 2008 Today, about mile a mile from work, I noticed a slight smoke plume behind the Forester. No lights on, everthing on dash OK and performance normal. I pull into work and turn off the engine, to find the whitish smoke eminenating from under the hood. Open the hood to find the problem is obviously lower, from the exhaust! Upon looking at the underbelly there is obvious transmission fluid all over the exhaust and much of the plastic engine cover! Check the Tranny fluid, its now down to "cold" mark. After the smoke cleared and it cooled off, I got under to check the obvious- filter and hole plug; both feel tight. My question is this: is there something else that could be identified as the cause for this substanial leak? That is, if I fill back up and put on the ramps, is there an identifiable hose, or whatever, that might cause this? Or, am in for it? The tranny has always performed flawlessly, and never leaked a drop. The car has had a pampered year, with no problems. Thanks in advance for any pointers! John 1999 Forester 2.5 SOHC Automatic with 150K. Fluid changed 3x in a row, just to do it right, eleven months ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVOthis Posted May 27, 2008 Share Posted May 27, 2008 well...if your absolutely sure its coming from the transmission....the next place i would say is check the pan gasket.....was the white smoke coming out of the tailpipe or just from underneath the car? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reveeen Posted May 27, 2008 Share Posted May 27, 2008 Cooler lines? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OB99W Posted May 27, 2008 Share Posted May 27, 2008 Cooler lines?Agreed, it's definitely worth looking at the transmission cooler lines. They run from the trans to the radiator and back, so a leak in one of them could certainly put ATF in the area mentioned. The leak might be substantial and easy to spot, or could be a small/slow one that finally made you aware of it when the fluid got to the exhaust. Fluid can travel due to gravity, car motion, etc., so the source may not be obvious at first. Especially if the leak is small, you may have to clean the area in order to more readily see it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted May 27, 2008 Share Posted May 27, 2008 My vote is a leaking cooler line. The trany pan gasket has about 25 bolts holding it on, so doubtful that a leak the size you are describing could originate there. Besides, the trany plan is some distance back from the motor. It would be rather difficult for trany fluid to spray forward to get the engine compartment wet wit ATF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon38iowa Posted May 27, 2008 Author Share Posted May 27, 2008 My vote is a leaking cooler line. The trany pan gasket has about 25 bolts holding it on, so doubtful that a leak the size you are describing could originate there. Besides, the trany plan is some distance back from the motor. It would be rather difficult for trany fluid to spray forward to get the engine compartment wet wit ATF You are probably right. I would think it odd to go from zero leakage to a gusher like this. Looks like time for the flat bed trailer. Thanks to all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 Please let us know where the leak originated, and that you got it fixed. It is always good to get closure on a problem like yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 Step one, clean the underneath of the car. I'm betting its not the tranny, but maybe one of the other many oil leaks subarus get with time. I dont remeber if this has a plastic or metal seperator plate. Likely canadits: Main seal front Cam Seals Oil Pump Seal These seals have a tendency to spray oil and make you thik the leak is coming from someplace else. Sooby trannies dont usually leak. So get yourself to a self rservice car wash with some engine cleaner. Clean under the car, then check it every day untill you can pinpoint the leak. nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon38iowa Posted May 29, 2008 Author Share Posted May 29, 2008 Likely canadits: Main seal front Cam Seals Oil Pump Seal T nipper Thanks nipper, but, all three of these have been done within last year and a half. Today I wiped down as much of the red fluid as possible and added a quart to the tranny. Started it up, it shot out even faster than I could put it in! It looked to be coming from under the engine area, however, I didn't want to get too dirty,so I didn't take the plastic undercover off to look. At any rate I had it towed 35 miles to my shop,all four paws off of the ground of course. It is definately red, transmission fluid. It took quite a bit of sand to sop it up. My guess is: either it's the cooler lines, or maybe, the PLASTIC radiator has corroded. I get the verdict tomorrow and will post here. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon38iowa Posted May 30, 2008 Author Share Posted May 30, 2008 Good news Good news! The shop called today: As it turned out, the mechanic informed me, a rubber hose (part of the cooler lines I assume) was rubbing on the, "steering linkage," and had worn a hole through it. Cheap fix, made my day. Now I am ready for another 150K! John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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