Oil leak or transmission leak?

[mat82284]

I recently got my car back from the shop. It was rebuilt to the specs in my signature. I have had the car but 3 days and the last three days i have noticed that a puddle of black fluid was below my car. I went ahead and took it to the car wash and really cleaned the underside of my car to see if i can see where the leak is coming from. It drips where the RED Circles are.

My shop mechanic said that its leaking where the transmission connects to the engine, but i don't believe him. He also said labor is not covered under warranty so it will cost me to fix this. I thought transmission fluid was red, this fluid is very dark like oil. This engine only has 220 miles on it so its just starting to break in and its leaking something. I checked the oil after i drove and it registered full. I waited 2 hours and it no longer registered full, but was very low instead. This is why i think its oil. Where could it be leaking that would cause this?

Also what kind of oil should i buy to refill the engine? I heard you need special oil during the break in process so i need to buy that.

 

[281CI96Coupe]

Im definitely going with a rear main seal leak because it looks all to familiar with me. I just never changed mine because its not bad.

 

[bdcardinal]

rear main seal im guessing. what shop was this that did the work, and why did they think it was ok to leave coolant all over your car? did said shop also build the motor? if so then they should be replacing the rear main seal as well.

 

[mat82284]

rear main seal im guessing. what shop was this that did the work, and why did they think it was ok to leave coolant all over your car? did said shop also build the motor? if so then they should be replacing the rear main seal as well.

Actually that is not coolant. I went to the self serve car wash and sprayed the bottom of the car with engine cleaner, which happens to be green. I also sprayed it down with cold water with the pressure washer there and it might have missed a spot. I did this so i can see exactly where the leak was coming from.

Its the same shop, He said it was the transmission leaking and i told him it was the oil pan but he didn't want to believe me. He actually built the engine as well. As for the Rear Main Seal he actually replaced that as well. Why would a new seal cause this? He said the parts covered under warranty but not the labor so i would have to pay to get it fixed, which ticks me off.

How much does ford charge to fix something like this? Is it expensive?

I actually took the oil pan off today, only to find out you have to pull the stupid transmission. I then decided to put it all back together and double check for a tight fit and tighten the bolts down good. Ill be checking it tomorrow, but I'm hoping that the gasket just wasn't seating right. If not im off to ford because i wont pay that guy another dime if he already screwed this up.

Is the rear main seal, The gasket to the oil pan? Or is this seal connected at all to the transmission?

 

[bdcardinal]

all depends on what dealer you go to to have the work done. mine is $110 an hour, and i could see something like that being at least 8 hours plus parts.

o and that shop you had do the work, should be covering the work under a labor warranty through them. if there was a preexisting leak from the transmission, then they were completely incompetent in not fixing it when the motor was out.

 

[mat82284]

all depends on what dealer you go to to have the work done. mine is $110 an hour, and i could see something like that being at least 8 hours plus parts.

o and that shop you had do the work, should be covering the work under a labor warranty through them. if there was a preexisting leak from the transmission, then they were completely incompetent in not fixing it when the motor was out.

Really that just seems a little extreme for 8 hours of labor. The rear main seal is accessible once the transmission is removed, that should only take 2 hours at most. It should be the amount of same labor as replacing a clutch? Im assuming the rear main seal is near the clutch.

 

[bdcardinal]

rear main is behind the clutch. i dont work in service, just parts, so im not sure what my specific dealer charges, but call one near you and ask them.

if i were you i would be raising hell at the shop that did the work and they would be fixing their screw up without a penny coming out of my pocket.

 

[mat82284]

rear main is behind the clutch. i dont work in service, just parts, so im not sure what my specific dealer charges, but call one near you and ask them.

if i were you i would be raising hell at the shop that did the work and they would be fixing their screw up without a penny coming out of my pocket.

I totally agree with you, but the shop is telling me that the labor is not covered if the part is bad. This is a very small shop as well. I already owe him money for the engine rebuild and i had to go through hell just to get the car back without him holding it as collateral. He only wants $200 to fix it, but im wondering if he even replaced the rear main seal even though eh charged me for it. If i take it elsewhere i can find out, if i let him do it then ill never know. Plus im not sure i trust him to do it again because its supposed to be a new part, yet its leaking already. Something doesnt seem right.

Yesterday i used some gasket sealer and put it around the leaky area to see if i can slow it at least. It sorda works, but still leaks. If the rear main seal is leaking that means oil is getting into the clutch, is oil supposed to be where the clutch is?

 

[mat82284]

My mechanic swears that he did not mess up installing the Rear Main Seal and that it should not be leaking. Is it possible that there is just to much pressure in the engine and its causing this?

I have cams, ported heads, and a vortech v2 with the stock 5quart oil pan. Could all that be creating to much pressure and forcing the oil out? Do you have to have a Valve cover breather in situations like this because I'm not using one?

I forgot to mention my pcv valve is connected to my intake like it was before, could this be causing boost in the crankcase which is causing the oil to be forced out out?

 

[NO BRAKES]

rear main FTL

 

[bdcardinal]

why dont you have a breather setup? if you are building up too much crankcase pressure then by all means it could be blowing oil out of any seal really.

what was the endgap on the piston rings? a friend of mine helped another friend build a mod motor and left the end gaps too loose and forgot one set of rings on a piston and the motor had similar leaks like yours did.

 

[mat82284]

why dont you have a breather setup? if you are building up too much crankcase pressure then by all means it could be blowing oil out of any seal really.

what was the endgap on the piston rings? a friend of mine helped another friend build a mod motor and left the end gaps too loose and forgot one set of rings on a piston and the motor had similar leaks like yours did.

Well the vacuum from the plenum goes to the pcv valve, then on the other valve cover there is a hose that goes to powerpipe, so i guess its allowing it to be able to breath. I did however test it out and blocked the pcv valve and the car is still leaking.

As for the rings i have no clue. The guy built the engine and wants more money to fix a seal he thinks is causing the leak. I didn't realize that the piston ring gap could also cause this. Is there anyway to tell if its the pistons without dismantling the whole engine?