to rms or not

[xflyboyx]

Hi All,

My worst fears might have been realized.

Bare with me on this. Little history.

So I drove MY03 Boxster Tiptronic 2.7L, 63000 miles plus, last Friday evening noticed little bit of a rough shifting at certain gears not very noticeable, (idle is stable at stops), pulled up into a parking lot (night time) at starbucks and of course parked in the north 40 and noticed what looks like a dust passing on the right side of the car (noticed it thru the headlights), and I thought to myself since it is the north 40, not too many people park there, dust make sense.

Next stop home and then an hour or so later left home came back later that night no problems. Again, just little roughness. Said no big deal. Car takes off just fine.

Next morning went to get breakfast about 4 miles away. Drove back home and as I pulled into the complex drive way and I’m on first gear noticed smoke coming from the right side (passenger side) of the car only. So I park in front of the garage and shut off the engine right away. walked to the back of the car and saw oil is leaking (ok, don’t jump to conclusions yet). Car idle just fine no weird noises (engine purrs like a kitten). So I backed up and put the car in the garage, and watched oil dripping right where the engine meets the transmission (make sense since the plastic panel will collect the oil and the opening is right under the place where the engine and trans meet. took the engine cover checked every where to see where the leak might be coming from, lifted the car up (right side/passenger side) some oil is covering drive shaft and other parts like the exhaust (that explains the smoke) . no oil on the left side/driver side or at least nothing that I can notice on any of the parts.

Got a sample of the oil did not look like engine oil, has some grayish look to it , checked oil level on the obc and by the dipstick, oil level is a ok. I say this because the amount of oil was dripping probably amounts to more than a quart.

Is it RMS leak or Transmission fluid leak? I read about the rms in every post, not conclusive to an rms problem. Or at least I’m hoping it is not!!!

Btw, about a month ago got p1325 fault cleared code , later got fault codes p0300 and 0306 , misfires , after the leak problem checked faults and I only have p1325 code, and

moduleType = HeatingH01 ( heating and airconditioning )

DTC Count = 1

Fault Number:29

Description:Outs./recirc. air fl. mot. Fault

any ideas guys

appreciate any input

[1schoir]

Hi All,

My worst fears might have been realized.

Bare with me on this. Little history.

So I drove MY03 Boxster Tiptronic 2.7L, 63000 miles plus, last Friday evening noticed little bit of a rough shifting at certain gears not very noticeable, (idle is stable at stops), pulled up into a parking lot (night time) at starbucks and of course parked in the north 40 and noticed what looks like a dust passing on the right side of the car (noticed it thru the headlights), and I thought to myself since it is the north 40, not too many people park there, dust make sense.

Next stop home and then an hour or so later left home came back later that night no problems. Again, just little roughness. Said no big deal. Car takes off just fine.

Next morning went to get breakfast about 4 miles away. Drove back home and as I pulled into the complex drive way and I’m on first gear noticed smoke coming from the right side (passenger side) of the car only. So I park in front of the garage and shut off the engine right away. walked to the back of the car and saw oil is leaking (ok, don’t jump to conclusions yet). Car idle just fine no weird noises (engine purrs like a kitten). So I backed up and put the car in the garage, and watched oil dripping right where the engine meets the transmission (make sense since the plastic panel will collect the oil and the opening is right under the place where the engine and trans meet. took the engine cover checked every where to see where the leak might be coming from, lifted the car up (right side/passenger side) some oil is covering drive shaft and other parts like the exhaust (that explains the smoke) . no oil on the left side/driver side or at least nothing that I can notice on any of the parts.

Got a sample of the oil did not look like engine oil, has some grayish look to it , checked oil level on the obc and by the dipstick, oil level is a ok. I say this because the amount of oil was dripping probably amounts to more than a quart.

Is it RMS leak or Transmission fluid leak? I read about the rms in every post, not conclusive to an rms problem. Or at least I’m hoping it is not!!!

Btw, about a month ago got p1325 fault cleared code , later got fault codes p0300 and 0306 , misfires , after the leak problem checked faults and I only have p1325 code, and

moduleType = HeatingH01 ( heating and airconditioning )

DTC Count = 1

Fault Number:29

Description:Outs./recirc. air fl. mot. Fault

any ideas guys

appreciate any input

Flyboy:

Since you have checked the oil level and you are not down one quart, why not check the Automatic Transmission Fluid via the fill plug? IIRC it's a 17mm Allen wrench.

Regards, Maurice.

[RFM]

I agree with 1schoir, it looks like ATF fluid.

[xflyboyx]

Thanks for the reply guys,

Maurice if AFT is the culprit, where do you think it leaking from ( I read the tsb in regards to the Oil Cooler but not sure if that is the transmission oil cooler or not )

off to get the allen wrench

Regards, Jamal

[Loren]

Thanks for the reply guys,

Maurice if AFT is the culprit, where do you think it leaking from ( I read the tsb in regards to the Oil Cooler but not sure if that is the transmission oil cooler or not )

off to get the allen wrench

Regards, Jamal

That TSB is about cooling hose clamps - so if they were leaking that most likely would be coolant.

I am in Roseville so if you can't find the problem - perhaps I can have a look at it.

[xflyboyx]

Thanks Loren, sound great if you can look at it.

Since you clarified the tsb, i'm pretty sure it is not coolant.

I got the allen wrench, first thing i did is unscrew the filler screw to see if any fluid will come out (engine is not running, just curious, trans. temp. 32 C) nothing came out. checked the filler screw magnet (it is black ... seems that previous owner never had to change the ATF and filter, so very near future project once figure out problem).

left car for about 10 min came back to put the filler screw back, and start the procedure called for in the shop manual. found a puddle under the hole, it was about 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup. I think it was from me getting in and out of the car . no big deal.

checked the fluid, it is black from all the metal shavings and it is similar to that you see in the picture on the first post. I think it is the problem.

Next started the car and the durametric hooked up, got temp to 36 C and opened the filler screw nothing came out.

Closed up everything and now I'm wondering. where this fluid is coming from and why?!!! or at least the where part.

Shop manual does not give a clear picture about all the attachment to the transmission. to figure out the next step.

The only thing (I hope it is not) is the SEALING RING behind the torque converter.

Loren I know you are a very resouceful gentleman. Do you have an exploded view that shows the circulation of the ATF thru the system. would be very helpful to check all parts.

so gentlmen what do you think?

[Loren]

The ATF is cycling through the cooler (along with the coolant) so there are those lines and main pan gasket. I would inspect those first.

[AnneH]

Loren,

If you end up looking at this, I would love to come by just to watch & learn (if nobody minds). If that would be okay, just let me know when & where. I'll stop by if I can make it.

Anne

[xflyboyx]

I checked every possible location and no sign of leak location.

I even took the car for a drive (hated doing that) just around the block with the engine top off, there are some weird noises (can't make out these noises), no leaks or smoke during the drive and after shutdown. I did notice some jerkiness on 3rd gear, shifted to 4th ( using manual shifting all the time ) smoothed out but still you can feel something is not right. may because I lost some ATF, not sure.

any ideas guys. I'm cluless at this point.

q: since i have the fault P1325 inlet camshaft bank 2, does that affect anything ( like drivability or any other mechanical/electrical operations) ?

[xflyboyx]

Hi All,

So I decided to change the ATF, Filter, and Gasket. just to keep it simple and see if it is the culprit ( that is if it is the gasket ) here are some pix.

After finishing the job, drove the car around the block. Checked for leaks there was a leak about 2 inches in diameter. Drove it some more harder

in acceleration. got bigger leak. So the gasket was not the culprit.

Next, since I had my suspicion of Seal Ring behind the torque converter, have to remove transmission and since I'm going to do this might as well

change the RMS and IMS.

Following the Bentley workshop manual instructions (BTW I thought this would be a fairly easy job for DIY, or may be I'm making it complicated)

dealing with the coolant hoses was not easy by any means, specially dealing with hoses attached to the ATF cooler.

So got everything off except for the Hydraulic Transmission Mounts, which the Bentley workshop manual is not very clear. and I'm stuck at this point on

how to remove transmission with the hydraulic mounts attached or I'm suppose to separate the mounts from the bracket, looking at it, it is impossible

to remove the mounts attached to the bracket, and pull the transmission out. Bentley workshop manual caution from removing or loosing the M12 Nut

at the bottom of the hydraulic mount ( I suppose that is true if the transmission is not support by a jack ).

What I need to know is what is the size of a socket or wrench that would be used to loosen the nut in the red circle below?

and this is what I found in the process

this is to open the rear trunk in case you need to if everything else fail ( Electric only )

Appreciate any input guys.

:renntech:

[kbrandsma]

Don't remove that nut you will damage the mount. I have a 5 speed and recently replaced my RMS and IMS. To remove the transmission supports you remove the other 2 bolts and nuts (2 bolts and nuts on each side). Good luck!

[kbrandsma]

Also remove the right rear tire and check the bellows from the AOS. Don't rule out the bellows when determining the cause of the oil leak. If you are going to drop the tranny you will need to also drop the muffler and catalytic converters.

[xflyboyx]

Thanks for the reply kbrandsma,

sorry I did not include the pix below in my previous post. this is where I'm at.

and I did remove the 2 bolts and nuts that is holding the Hydraulic Mount on each side, the question is

how in the world can the transmission be moved backward, since the housing for the mount is in the

way.

The leak is definitely ATF. and I will check the bellows you mentioned.

Thanks in advance for any hints.

[kbrandsma]

The support frame for the mount also is removed if I'm not mistaken. I believe it bolts into the tranny. I'll double check when I get home this evening.

[xflyboyx]

Thanks Kbrandsma,

I looked at it for what it seemed forever, and you are right the bracket that is holding the hydraulic mount that is attached to the tranny has to come off before

pulling the tranny out. I did get it out finally an hour ago. Boy it is alot of work for first timers ( next time if I need to to this again, will drop both engine and tranny together)

next pix, if you notice the bottom of the IMS show so type of oil/fluid leak ( sorry for the poor ligthing, will get better pix tomorrow )

but you can see the top bolt of the IMS is clean ( so definitely it is not the RMS or IMS ) will take the flywheel off and get better pix

and on the next pix, just under the torque converter show alot of discoloration and that where the leak is coming from. I'll take better pix during the day.

thanks again for the input.

[xflyboyx]

Ok tranny out

Now I'm trying to get the torque converter out, and it seems to be stuck or is it I'm not pulling hard enough.

BTW the rod that is holding the converter in place is out.

dirty tranny

clean tranny

any hints really appreciate it

[Loren]

It should come straight out if the transmission is horizontal.

[xflyboyx]

Thanks Loren

well it is not coming out even with force. Does the transmission have to be in gear (shopmanual does not call for that and I don't think it

matters), I even used an open wrench long enough, put one end behind the center piece of torque converter and used the housing as support to hit the other end with a mallet and that did not work either. would any inclination even lets say a couple of degrees affect it.

[Loren]

I don't think it matters whether it is in gear or not. I think it is just stuck on the shaft.

I would likely try to pry it a little with two wooden pry sticks - maybe just enough to loosen the stuck shaft.

[xflyboyx]

Thanks Loren

will try the wooden pry sticks tomorrow. hopefully will do the trick.

[Loren]

Don't press too hard - you are trying to loosen it - not pop it off or break the transmission housing.

[xflyboyx]

will keep that in mind, thanks for the tip

[xflyboyx]

Ok after trying everything from what Loren suggested to every tool I can think of nothing worked.

Even going to a transmission shop explained what I need, the guy said bring it over and will take a look at tomorrow, did not want to wait till tomorrow.

Went back home and thought some more, then I thought of this tool

Yes you guessed it, body puller. Had to dig it up.

made sense that the center piece in the converter is to be used for pulling converter in case it get stuck.

and this is the end result after many pulls and getting my fingers caught between the heavy piece of the body

puller and the stop piece, was worth the few ounces of blood I lost in the process.

and this is the problem I'm tackling at this point.

shop manual calls for replacing #2 AND #3 in pix below (have the parts already from dealer, not sure if dealer carries the scored piece, any thoughts!!!)

will update once I have everything reassembled.

[xflyboyx]

seems that the problem is worse than I thought, it is not just the scored part above that I need to replace

the front pump and torque conveter also not to be replaced. according to one shop the pump has spun out,

meaning and I'm quoting " the pump did not have enough fluid to pump so it got hot and went from there "

so pump have to be purchased verses torque converter can be remanufactured.

Does anybody know of good transmission shop that deal with ZF 5 HP 19FL transmission? from my research as far as parts I could not

find any local transmission shop that have the parts.

Help Please!!!

[Roy_Josef]

Back from the dead...How did this all end up? I am in exactly the same predicament. Did you end up needing the front pump? How was the torque converter? Where did you manage to source the parts from and would you happen to have a parts list? Many thanks to any one who can help!