Little background

Tranny was from donor car so I had never actually driven it yet, supposedly had all new seals in it (and they did look new and clean)

When I filled tranny (first time I've done this sort of thing) the car was ass high. The back was about 38" up and the front was only about 10" raised.

I think I put about 3 or more qts in her so I figure all the fluid went forward in the case. When the car was back on the ground I thought better of it and opened the filler but nothing came out.

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After first run with new motor (which is putting about double the stock horsepower) there was tranny fluid everywhere. Got thrown about the motor bay and puddled under the car. The are near the clutch fork looked really wet so I figured it was the input shaft seal or from the breather vent.

I wiped everything clean and after my second race, still more fluid leaking and puddling under the car. Even when I went for a short test drive back home, it was still leaking.

So now I am ready to drop the tranny but figure I'll look in the filler just for the hell of it and the damn thing is full up, right at the bottom level of the port.

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So was the tranny just purging the extra fluid all this time? I could peak in the bellhousing near the clutch fork and see a puddle in there at the bottom. Should I just soak up that area, brake clean the case and see what happens?

I am really suprised it is not totally empty.

thanks

Do you have a pump and cooler on the transmission which can cause level issues? If it were me I'd drain the fluid completely and refill with the car level with the correct amount. I'd also make sure the case vent is setup correctly. Good luck

Lube capacity 2.6 quarts - <3 for those mathmatically challenged - should have been blowing out breather, but can blow seals due to excess pressure and if you're racing, you should have a catch can attached to it.

Cold 90W doesn't move very fast and is very hard to turn. We used to run a 50/50 mix of 90W&ATF - drained after each session - only lost one tranny over 15 years.

Any way to check which way its leaking, from the front seal or vent?

The vent is at 45deg from front, facing passenger side.

The only way would be to spin it up on a rack and look thru the inspection hole in the bottom of the tranny to see if that's where it is/was coming from.

I would also attach a catch can to the breather on the tranny and mount the catch as high as practible.

You could also just drain and refill with the correct amount and try it at the next race session (cross your fingers and pray too!)

I just pulled the vent and it did look pretty clogged up but I will test it to see if it passes any fluid at all before I clean it.

To properly vent the tranny, should I get a metric => AN fitting that matches the vent port? If I went that way then I would not have the benefit of the chisled shape end of the vent tube.

We used to replace it with a pipe nipple and hose clamp a hose over it. When we were richer, we replaced that setup with the AN fitting and SS hose. We also used a pint motor oil can for a catch can - yea we were poor, but we were racers.

If the vent was plugged you would have created pressure inside the case anyway and the oil is going to come out the path of least resistance - say front seal - it pushes the lip out and doesn't seal against the shaft correctly.

Good luck!

I tested the vent with a couple drops of oil and it flowed right out, so it was not blocked.

After I cleaned the vent I realized there is a large port facing the vent opening. I am pretty sure the tranny oil vented out and into the port which is open to the bellhousing. I cleaned everything up and will test after I get the oil sump sorted out.

thanks