a/t fluid leak?

[bristol seb]

hi all, looking for a little help/advice!
my 96 legnum vr4 has developed a leak somewhere in the gearbox, within the last 200 miles. only discovered it after a trip home on the motorway due to a film of oil on the rear of the car!
this is a bit beyond me to fix, however i need to top up the fluid, currently at the bottom of the dipstick when hot, and have no idea where the fill point would be. is it readily accessable, or do i fill through the dipstick!?
i know it needs a visit to the doctor soon as but this would at least give me peace of mind in the meantime.
any thoughts appreciated, cheers, seb.

[White Lightning]

You fill it through the dipstick hole. A long funnel helps.

[bristol seb]

cheers lightning, will do.

[bradc]

Search for torque converter leak, I'd say that is the most likely fault

[bristol seb]

just heard back from mitsubishi, its leaking in the box itself or from the tourque converter. they cant do anything with it so its going to an auto box specialist tomorrow. apparently its slipping in 2nd and 4th as well.
is the torque converter fix a big job, cash and parts/time wise?
will keep you guys updated when i hear back tomorrow,
cheers.

[steelie600]

the slipping is probably due to the oil level being low, and as for mitzi not being able to service an auto box WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP!! They just dont want to due to it being time consuming.

Ill put my money on the torque converter seal leaking, very easy fix, hardest part is getting the box off to start with, but when the box is on the floor its only going to take about 5 mins to fix. Also when you do take it to auto specialist make sure they use the correct grade oil!!

[bristol seb]

cheers mate, i'll pass that on tomorrow.
i've been using sp3 as recommended by mitsi. as it'll need a full refill i assume amsoil is the way to go, any spec codes would be appreciated.
hopefully the box mechanics will be a little cheaper for their time than mitsi anyway. only went there as a last resort!
thanks again.

[bristol seb]

right, story so far...
the gearbox mechs now tell me the box is slipping in every gear and i need a replacement box. is this likely, and if so what kind of money am i looking at spending(if i can get one, mitsi quote £4000!!!)?
are the gear boxes prone to faliure like this? it has only done 50000+/- mile and the last gear box service was 12000m ago. i don't know how it was driven before i got hold of it(5000m ago) but it hasn't felt like it has been giving me as much trouble as they say its in, if that makes sense!?
as always any comments/thoughts much appreciated,
cheers, seb.

[orionn2o]

I think Foxdie (Jason) has one for sale. Could be worth talking to him.

But others may have less expensive suggestions first so listen out for them!

[White Lightning]

If you need to get another box then there are a few people on here that may be able to help with a decent second hand one. Try putting a want to buy (WTB) in the parts for sale/wanted forum. A good second hand box will cost you between £500 and £800, I guess.

That said, slipping in every gear sounds to me like it's more likely to be the torque converter that's failed (equivalent to a clutch on a manual geatbox). So, you could try a new torque converter in there (or a good second hand one). You can pick these up for around £100-£200 (second hand) or get yours refurb'd for around £200-£300.

[White Lightning]

I think Foxdie (Jason) has one for sale. Could be worth talking to him.

But others may have less expensive suggestions first so listen out for them!

Good point, Matt.

Yes, Foxdie is selling a good second hand box complete with torque converter because he wants to do a manual conversion ...!

If it's still in the car, you could possibly see it running first.

[steelie600]

seconded try a tc first its the cheaper option, and to save you even more money id bet theres someone in the club who could change it for you

[elnevio]

What I would do if I were you...

For the sake of about £180, plus some labour if you don't do it yourself, is perform a full gearbox flush with Amsoil ATF. Depending how the car's been used previously, I wouldn't be surprised to see SP-III being chewed up after 12,000 miles. The Amsoil is detergent based, so will clean in ways the SP-III will not.

- £20 for full membership, will get you access to the article here: http://www.clubvr4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10475
- and 15% off Amsoil at the official UK supplier: www.performanceoilsltd.co.uk which will be worth more than the £20 for membership!

Give it a few hundred miles, and this will either fix the slipping or not. If it does, then just get the TC seal done. The ATF in the gearbox can be drained and reused, so no losing out on costs there. If the TC itself is knacked, then yes, refurb TC or replacement box. But you can still use the Amsoil ATF you drain off from the old box.

As for doing the work - well don't be afraid to give a copy of the instructions to your garage/gearbox mechs so they know for sure how to perform a full flush and change.

People who know what they're doing on here are Nick Mann, Nutter_John, richy rich and Eurospec, all of whom are probably happy to do the work, I would have thought.

[bristol seb]

membership sorted, i will give the amsoil treatment a go, cheapest option first i think! then see what happens with that.
obviously it is still leaking so i will be keeping a close eye on the dipstick, then take it from there.
thanks for the help all, as always will keep you updated.
cheers, seb