Second T5 rebuilt and leaking

[FFR 5332]

My first T5 leaked out of the input and I figured it was because it was a used doner and the seal must be shot. I put in a totally rebuilt and bench tested T5 about two weeks ago, now it's leaking at the same place. Fluid drips out of the bellhousing telling me it pretty much has to be input shaft seal. Am I just having bad luck with trannys? Or could something else cause this like out of round clutch or pressure plate causing a wobble? Or even overfilling the trans? Hate to pull the tranny again ( Mark 2 )Using Dexron fluid, and leak stops after the car is parked.

[Ed T]

Did you over fill the trans? Is the pilot bearing in the end of the crankshaft the right size for the end of the input shaft. Is the pilot bearing missing

[FFR 5332]

Ed

I filled the trans up to the hole, and screwed the plug in. Pilot bearing is in and is the correct one. I'm stumped

[Big-Foot]

There's 3 places it can leak up there;

1) Input shaft seal
2) Bearing Retainer to case seal (uses RTV)
3) Countershaft forward bearing (sealed again with RTV)

There is a correct and incorrect orientation of the bearing retainer that may play a role in the leak if it's not installed correctly with the oil return slot at the bottom.

[Mark Reid]

Are you using a stock or aftermarket bellhousing? Perhaps you have a runout issue or maybe you were just unlucky twice.

[FFR 5332]

Stock bellhousing.

Good suggestions. Either way, looks like I'll have to pull the tranny. Thanks Bigfoot!

[Cone Basher]

Did you check your bellhousing to see if the trans input shaft is correctly centered? If it is out of alignment it could create a wobble and wear the seal. If you have to pull the trans again I recommend you check this.
HTH
CB

[Humpty Dumpty]

Ford Motorsport has a tech brief on how to check your bellhouse for proper input shaft alignment; I've seen it somewhere. Surf the net, you could have a bad bellhousing.

[gtamustang]

hi this might seem stupid ,but ive seen it happen a couple of times ,is the vent on the trans plugged ,ive seen these get rtv in them and then the trans will pressurize while driving and it will be pushed out of a seal or two ,when you stop driving it will bleed off and stop leaking i have seen this a few times you may want to check it


rick ffr 1948

[Big-Foot]

Rick might be onto something... Check that vent out!

[Ed Reynolds]

I just installed a reman tranny, and had a drip where the tranny meets the bellhousing. I had filled the tranny through the shifter hole, so I had never checked the fill plug. It was loose, and was running down the side of the tranny and dripping...

[1686]

Where is the vent located?

[FFR 5332]

Hey Rick! That's something I hadn't thought of!

FFr 1686, the vent is located on the topside right where the two halves bolt together, on the passenger side of that round tubular part of the trans that the shift rod slides in. About 1' forward of the shifter. It's a little plastic piece on my old T5. Now I gotta jack the car up darnit!

[Aggie_Cobra]

Also, check that there isn't a scratch on the surface where the input seal rides. This could be a leak path. If there is a scratch, polish it out with emry cloth or better yet, get a "speedi-sleeve" or "redi-sleeve" shaft repair sleeve. These sleeves make great surfaces for seals to ride on.

[FFR 5332]

Checked the vent, that wasn't it.

[Luthersnake]

I am having the same issue. I used the proper Anerobic sealer, new seal and bearing retainer, pilot seems fine. I just fired mine up and did not drive it and its leaking already. I put the bearing retainer in with the return at the bottom. There appears to be be two returns...one deeper and wider and one thinner. I put the thinner one at the top, What is a speedi-sleeve and where do you get them? I am using the stock bellhousing and T-5....Help!