Potential new ride - transmission issues

[Guest]

Hi All

I'm a fresh member and possibly a soon to be '97 legnum owner.

I've just had the beast inspected by stateroads and haven't spoken to the assessor regarding his comments as yet but I just thought I'd see if the following finding rings alarm bells for anyone. I know the auto transmission has a habit of failing (my mate has a legnum and the auto transmission was sluggish one day, he got it checked out and $2000 later (under warranty) it was fixed and I have done some reading around this forum.

So i get it, the auto box can be a weak point but I dont know what might be an initial sign or risk of a failure, the assessor left the following comment in the under body drive line section:

"Oil dampness visible at transmission casing halves and pan areas"


alarm bells? or no cause for alarm-just monitor the leaks?

Any quick feedback will be thoroughly appreciated as decision time is coming.......

 

[pu-11-me]

Its a surefire sign the box has been taken apart already.

Is it bad? TBH I would be wary. It means that some lazy bugger didn't replace or seal those seals correctly. And if he hasn't done those correctly, who knows what else he may not have done correctly.

Cost to fix? Expect $1500 labour if you choose to repair it.

Implications of it not being repaired? Well as you said, you have read the forums (and no doubt the auto trans thread) and already answered this question. Its a sensitive box at the best of times, let alone when its losing oil.

Would i buy it? Yeah, i'd just get him to knock $2k off the price

 

[Guest]

That may just be from filling the box and has run down the side of the cover or damage to the seal on the cover. It is an easy fix and is just sealed with something like RTV. That isn't the dreaded TC seal causing that as the oil is in the wrong place. It does not look red in the pic either so may be from something else

 

[Guest]

cheers for the advice, i think it might be a handy bargaining tool.

 

[pu-11-me]

That may just be from filling the box and has run down the side of the cover or damage to the seal on the cover. It is an easy fix and is just sealed with something like RTV. That isn't the dreaded TC seal causing that as the oil is in the wrong place. It does not look red in the pic either so may be from something else

Hmmmm.... You have such a brighter outlook on things than I do haha

Its definately not the TC seal yes, but i would be concerned about the casing seal not the sump seal.

Like you say, you could just use sealant and hope for the best... Maybe I am now just overcautious as my other car has been off the road for 8 months with a busted trans

 

[Guest]

Lol. It's the cover for the valve and solenoid block and I have seen a few that have the same signs of some fluid loss there . I wouldn't be overly worried about it but ask them to reseal it as part of the sale if you buy it.

We have just fitted a replacement box after replacing the solenoids as a fault code claimed it had failed but it made no difference and rather than spend more money on valves it was cheaper to swap boxes.

Hmmmm.... You have such a brighter outlook on things than I do haha

Its definately not the TC seal yes, but i would be concerned about the casing seal not the sump seal.

Like you say, you could just use sealant and hope for the best... Maybe I am now just overcautious as my other car has been off the road for 8 months with a busted trans

 

[pu-11-me]

Sorry Pete, I realise that the one in the picture is not what i'm refering to, the one in the picture is this one (this is my box btw) -

I'm trying to find the one i'm referring to.... Give me time, i'm drunk lol

 

[Mac Dog]

Your box looks lovely Dawso

 

[dimi_108]

Travis, I wouldn't be too alarmed.
First of all, that looks like spilt oil during a service which has made it's way down onto the sump.
My sump and undercarriage looks exactly like yours at the moment.

The best thing to do is grab a can of degreaser, get under the car and spray it on all the problem spots, let it absorb for five minutes then blast it with a hose.
After it has all dried off, lay some carboard under the car over-night and check it in the morning for any spots.

If you get spots, it'll either be your automatic transmission fluid leaking from the torque converter seal or your engine oil leaking from the rear main seal.
Whichever it is, you'll need to get both seals replaced. And the good thing is, when one is replaced, so is the other as they go hand in hand.
So you'll be killing two birds with one stone.

 

[bradc]

Looks like it is screwed. Buy a manual or another auto that is in much better condition.

 

[Guest]

Thank for your opinions, Brad what makes you say that?

I spoke to the owner today, says over the last year he has seen no oil at oil on his garage floor which leads me to think it is a spill thats made it's way down to that point.

Looks like I can pick the car up or $10k, its done 82ks and completely stocko.

Came through the state roads inspection essentially flawless other than wear and tear for age/kms

Cheers all

 

[bradc]

I would just check it very very carefully thats all.

 

[SiliconAngel]

Brad just doesn't like autos - what can I say? The guy has taste

If you have the ability, follow Dimi's advice and clean the whole engine down thoroughly with degreaser, blast it off, then get under there with a clean rag and wipe everything down. Take it for a 10min drive, THEN park it on a clean sheet of cardboard overnight. In the morning, check for spots on the cardboard but also traces of oil leaking from anywhere.

I realise it will be difficult to check on a car you don't own - apart from anything else, even if you convinced the current owner to go through those steps there's nothing stopping him from wiping off any oil residue before you get to see it. I've managed to get a number of cars with busted seals through vehicle inspection just by cleaning them down before-hand, as small leaks look terrible after a week but it will take at least a few hours for any noticeable amount of oil to accumulate.

Then again, at $10k that's a cheap car and even if you spend a couple of k on a tranny rebuild you're still doing quite well. Its the inconvenience more than anything (and the dramas of trying to find a good mechanic, as most know nothing about these cars and screw things up rightly trying to work it out).

 

[Guest]

yea i bought the car today, haven't stopped smiling......drives really well and the auto and tiptronic is very responsive, not sluggish in the slightest

as you said a 2k set back still means the car was 12,000 with a rebuilt trans.....so no biggee

thanks again

Cheers

 

[MUNGEL]

Good on ya mate! Nice to see ya happy with it all

Like Trev said, its a cheap car and even if u have to do any repairs, it'll still work out a good price. Altho it would've been good to see the other money go on mods, but oh well

 

[pu-11-me]

Good to hear you got it..... Make sure you keep some money aside until you can CONFIRM the issue with the trans and make sure its not a drama

And like everyone said, what a steal!

 

[Guest]

Hi guys..
Apologies beforehand for hijacking the thread, but I figure mine is somewhat almost related.

I'm looking at a 1988 Galant VR4 where its currently running FWD mode (removed latch + bolt front side of gearbox to run 2WD) due to a rear axle or diff needing replacement.
Would anyone be able to provide a rough estimate to how much a replacement/rebuild would cost?
..and, I'm just wondering if the car can still be used (sparingly), from point A to B, in 2WD mode until it gets fixed?

 

[SiliconAngel]

I'm not that familiar with the older Galants, but from what I know of the 8th gen if you remove the rear drive shaft and keep the transfer case sealed up, there's no reason driving in FWD mode should cause any damage, although remember the gearing and transfer case components are all engineered for at least half power to be transferred to the rear wheels, so with that free-spinning with no resistance and all power to the front wheels those components are going to have literally twice the pressure on them than they were designed for. If you take it easy, it shouldn't be a problem and most components like this are deliberately over engineered to withstand stresses at maximum load anyway. Just something to keep in mind.

 

[Guest]

thanks for that, trevor.

I had that conclusion in my head aswell... but wasnt too sure, but will still seek further opinion.