A leaky problem with photos


Neilda

GT Owner
Oct 19, 2005
3,559
London, UK
Went out for a drive today - as enjoyable as ever! Came home and took a peek at the engine. There's a leak down near the axle. The photos are taken from the passengers side rear wheel. Any thoughts?
 

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Neilda

GT Owner
Oct 19, 2005
3,559
London, UK
Having checked the (incredibly useful) technical stickies, it looks an identical problem to analogue designers transaxle leak. I've copied his pictures (thanks for posting those!) and forwarded them to Roush Engineering here in the UK.

My car, for reference, is an August build and has 550 miles on it.
 

Neilda

GT Owner
Oct 19, 2005
3,559
London, UK
Looks the same problem as Analogdesigners... here's a couple of close-ups.
 

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barondw

GT Owner
Sep 8, 2005
1,109
Neil

Install the trans axle cooler which should help prevent leaks

Look at where the crazy muffler is located and heat it transer to the axle. The Roush USA guys recommend this as a must for all GTs not just those driven on the track.

Dave
 

Neilda

GT Owner
Oct 19, 2005
3,559
London, UK
Hi Dave

I'm not sure I fully understand what the transaxle cooler does or how it fits - does it replace the bolt that's leaking in some way? I'll ask the Roush people here if they can fit this thing...
 

analogdesigner

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Nov 15, 2005
949
San Clemente, CA USA
Mine still leaks...

Neilda said:
Looks the same problem as Analogdesigners... here's a couple of close-ups.

Very interesting! So there is a metal washer between this vent and the case. It makes no sense for that washer to be there since that vent plug cannot be tightened enought to create a reliable crush seal.

http://www.fordgtforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=828

Mine is still leaking... I will check the oil level in the next few days.

A tranny cooler? I need to take some measurements first.

Jay
 
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analogdesigner

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Nov 15, 2005
949
San Clemente, CA USA
Need to see bottom of transaxle case vent

I need someone's help to answer my following question:

Could someone remove their transaxle case vent and take an image of what's underneath this part? If you look at the posting of my oil leak problem, the case vent has no baffling in it, just a hole going to a slot. I think that it should have a sintered type of metal filter pressed into it so that oil cannot directly splash through the slotted opening. A 17mm wrench (I think) easily removes it. I don't think that my leak is bewteen this vent and the case. I think that it's sloshing out of the slot.

http://www.fordgtforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=8036&postcount=1

Thanks in advance,
Jay
 

analogdesigner

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Nov 15, 2005
949
San Clemente, CA USA
Something's wrong

barondw said:
Neil

Install the trans axle cooler which should help prevent leaks

Look at where the crazy muffler is located and heat it transer to the axle. The Roush USA guys recommend this as a must for all GTs not just those driven on the track.

Dave
Dave,

How come only a few of the two thousand+ GT's out there have this leak problem? There is something wrong. Please read my previous post.

Adding a trans cooler shouldn't be necessary for street use. I would be further reluctant to see anyone put one on their car because I'm not sure how well "proven" this accessory is. What happens in a year or two, if one of the fittings break (due to an unforseen design flaw) and you slowly pump all of your trans oil out onto the highway? I will install a temperature monitor on mine and give you guys the results in the next week or so. I want to be able to drive for at least 1 hour without stopping. This should be valuable info.

I am designing a pre-oiler for my GT, however it's going to take a while because of what I mentioned above. If this pre-oiler failed, it could cost me a motor, so I am going engineer the hell out of it!

Many thanks as always,
Jay
 
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saber

GT Owner
Sep 25, 2005
153
NYC
analogdesigner said:
I need someone's help to answer my following question:

Could someone remove their transaxle case vent and take an image of what's underneath this part? If you look at the posting of my oil leak problem, the case vent has no baffling in it, just a hole going to a slot. I think that it should have a sintered type of metal filter pressed into it so that oil cannot directly splash through the slotted opening. A 17mm wrench (I think) easily removes it. I don't think that my leak is bewteen this vent and the case. I think that it's sloshing out of the slot.

I had posted on these topic previously as well. Again, I believe that mine was leaking from the slot/vent not the threads. I think the vent is designed poorly and extending it a small amount may solve the problem. The large metal washer pictured above my be an unsuccessful attempt to raise the vent itself.
 

analogdesigner

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Nov 15, 2005
949
San Clemente, CA USA
vent leak

saber,

Good point, I may just design my own vent with some internal baffling so that the oil has to work hard to find it's way out!

Thanks for the data. Jay

saber said:
analogdesigner said:
I need someone's help to answer my following question:

Could someone remove their transaxle case vent and take an image of what's underneath this part? If you look at the posting of my oil leak problem, the case vent has no baffling in it, just a hole going to a slot. I think that it should have a sintered type of metal filter pressed into it so that oil cannot directly splash through the slotted opening. A 17mm wrench (I think) easily removes it. I don't think that my leak is bewteen this vent and the case. I think that it's sloshing out of the slot.

I had posted on these topic previously as well. Again, I believe that mine was leaking from the slot/vent not the threads. I think the vent is designed poorly and extending it a small amount may solve the problem. The large metal washer pictured above my be an unsuccessful attempt to raise the vent itself.
 

Neilda

GT Owner
Oct 19, 2005
3,559
London, UK
Jay - my apologies if you've already covered this, I couldn't find it.... has your leak actually stopped from the transaxle vent?

Thanks

Neil
 

ByeEnzo

GT
Mark IV Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Dec 10, 2005
2,283
Fort Worth, TX
I seem to have the same problem with leakage at the vent. My car is an early '05 with a solid bypass pipe rather than a braided line. It is not leaking at the fittings, but seems to be seeping out of the vent. I may try removing the mis-sized washer and using a rubber O-ring instead.
Does anyone have photos of where the oil intercooler mounts? $1300 seems a lot for such a small radiator and lines. My mechanics think they could construct something similar, but were wondering where the OEM cooler mounts.
 

analogdesigner

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Nov 15, 2005
949
San Clemente, CA USA
needs a new adapter part designed!

Guys,

Since this is more of a problem than I had first realized, I will design an adapter that will fit between the vent and the transaxle. I have been extremely busy with work, however, I can start looking into a solution.

One other problem with the present design is that if you decide to pressure wash the transaxle, a small amount of water can make it's way into the inside, thus contaminating the oil.

I'll keep you guys posted on this new design, okay?

Thanks, Jay
 

saber

GT Owner
Sep 25, 2005
153
NYC
mine is still leaking!
 
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FGT4me

GT Owner
Oct 19, 2005
95
Can someone please educate me as to why a vent tube is needed at all?

I have not seen such a vent on any of my other cars, including vipers.
I have just put a diff. cooler on one of my vipers but it is a track car.

What if the vent was simply closed? Is there such expansion in the diff. from heat that this would be a problem?
Just poor design then?

Please explain.
 

FGT4me

GT Owner
Oct 19, 2005
95
I am not familiar with rear engine (pardon me, mid-engine) cars and was thinking about front engine cars with a conventional tranny and differential setup.

Perhaps a longer discharge hose going upward instead of the short, open vent would help prevent the oil from so easily regurgitating?
 

Neilda

GT Owner
Oct 19, 2005
3,559
London, UK
I'm no engineer at all! I have a vague understanding what the vent does and am irritated that the engine is now so oily - I like to keep my cars clean inside and out, so it's annoying to look in the engine bay and see wet oil.

Hopefully, as Roush told me, no damage is being done and no significant amounts of oil are being lost. I have a 2,000 mile trip in August in the GT, so hope this problem is sorted by then with a 'Ford fix'.

The sun shone in the South of England today, so I managed to notch up 100 miles. It is easy to forget what a true joy this car is to drive - delightful. Kissing the apex of corner on an English country road in early spring.... yum! Some blisteringly quick overtaking and lots of nods of approval from motorcylists and the odd thumbs up from other drivers.
 

saber

GT Owner
Sep 25, 2005
153
NYC
Okay, I think I may have fixed my leak. At first I tried some tread sealer and a short hose over the vent portion but it still leaked. This morning I made a rubber washer that fit very snug on top of the threads and took the car out for some testing. After some hard running I returned and examined the vent plug and surrounding area very closely. All was dry! Originally, I thought the source was the vent itself blowing oil occasionally but I now think the space between the end of the threads and the mating surface was the source of the leak. :banana
 

Neilda

GT Owner
Oct 19, 2005
3,559
London, UK
Saber - that's interesting news. So your rubber washer replaces the aluminium washer? Are there any heat issues? I would imagine that this area gets incredibly hot - will rubber survive direct contact with the hot metal transaxle?

Are you suggesting that it's not actually the vent itself, but the contact points from the thread?

Is it an easy area to access? I took some pictures but was more contorted than Houdini - I can imagine dropping a part deep into the bowels of the engine - eek!

One more question (sorry!)... Over here we are a curious blend of 'imperial' measurements (Miles per hour, pints of beer, lords and princes!!) and metric measurements (milimeters etc). Are the GT nuts and bolts in MM's or Inches? If the latter, I might need to buy some new spanners....

Sorry to ask a dozen questions - it's sometimes hard to picture these things via email.
 

saber

GT Owner
Sep 25, 2005
153
NYC
Neilda,
No problem with the questions. First, I used an 'imperial' box wrench of 11/16ths if I remember correctly to remove the vent plug however metric will work. The area is very accessable by removing the air filter box first. It is a two minute job with two screws (one on each side, 10mm) and the screwdriver to loosen the hose clamp connecting the box from the rubber inlet hose. Don't forget to disconnect the sensor on top of the box (it is a quick disconnect plug). When the air box is out of the way, removal of the vent is easy.
Yes, I now believe the leak was from the threads. It is an interesting plug design. As far as the rubber withstanding the heat, only time will tell. In a pitch, some high temp gasket maker will work.