Okay... I have a real mystery on my hands here, and I need some keen insight on how to solve this.

So, let me preface this whole thing by saying that I'm not a mechanic at all, and I'm learning about this car (and cars in general) as problems come up. So when I give a wrong term for something, I welcome corrections.

Okay. Basically, I've been dealing with -- what I'm very sure is -- a transmission fluid leak. At first, it was very slow drip. And it didn't happen until the engine warmed up. After about an hour, it'd leave a little puddle about the size of a dollar bill. And after a long drive, the engine would produce steam. So in order to avoid a fire hazard, I decided that I wanted to get that fixed and I took it to a friend's mechanic. They said I had to replace my trannny oil pan seal, and passenger axle seal. At that time, I had no idea what these parts were or where they were located on the car. They said they'd fix it with parts and labor for $200. Sounded good, so I said I'd come back the following week after my paycheck cleared.

But before that, the leak got worse. Way worse. Lots of steam. And when I got home, this happened:

BIG puddle.

And as you can see, the fluid is RED. Soooo..... They said they'd fix it, but the guy ended up going on vacation and I was never able to contact his companion to get the job done. So, yeah, forget 'em.

I posted here a little bit ago, and you guys gave me some really great info about this subject, and I suddenly knew what the heck the mechanic was talking about. So, I was determined to do the job myself. However, before jumping straight to removing the axle and pan, I wanted to SEE where this leak was coming from with my own eyes, now that I was somewhat familiar with where the problem area was. So I jacked up the car, took off the wheels, wheel well coverings, etc, and went to town doing some tests.

First thing's first, I stuck myself under the car to see all the parts in question up close and personal. First off, the pan was caked with dried crud. And a bolt was missing, so I need to replace that.

Missing bolt on the pan.

So yeah, that could be contributing, but the drippage never accumulated there. All drips seemed to accumulate here:

On rear support bar (don't know the real name...) Just in front of the muffler.

Since I've had this problem, this is where the majority of the drips come from, and from that general area.

I also had a look a the right axle, and while it was caked with crud, it was bone dry.

Dirty, but dry axle.

And that general area was dry as well....

So I started the car and checked the fluid level. Fluid was a little bit high (I guess the mechanic over-filled it). I shifted into drive and let it idle, hoping to see exactly where the leak was coming from. However, no leak was found. I let it idle for about ten minutes, spinning the axles in the air. And nothing out of the ordinary happened. Needless to say, I was perplexed. I then thought back to the conditions that occurred to get the steam. It only happened after drives longer than 20 minutes -- usually when I commute on the highway. And on the highway, I'm going around 70. So I put the car back into park, and just revved the engine to around 4500 RPM and let it sit for a few minutes until it warmed enough for the cooling fan to kick in. After about five minutes, aha! Steam! And not only steam, fresh fluid mysteriously appeared!

Leak from a pipe (don't know what pipe this is...) Pic taken from the passenger side wheel well.

Some drops from the speed sensor and wiring harness. Also taken from the passenger wheel well.

You'll also notice that the alternator is also damp in both pics!

And here's a video after running the engine at 4500 RPM for three minutes, showing the aftermath.

So as you can see, the steam is coming off of the MUFFLER. And although I could see some droplets on the speed sensor, its wiring harness, and that pipe, I can't see where it's dropping onto the muffler itself. From my perspectives, the muffler just seems to be steaming all on its own. But the fluid does collect on that support beam just behind it. After that video, I repeated the process again, and saw more substantial drops of fluid on those areas, but I didn't have enough time to take a picture or vid because it started to rain, so I had to kill the test after that. However, I think this is a lot of evidence already. And I'm hoping to the trained eye, we can get to the bottom of this and figure this out once and for all without me wasting anymore time and money.

For starters, you don't have to worry about the pipe that you mention above since it's just a cold air outlet for an auxiliary fan that's mounted behind the carpetting on the right hand trunk wall. There's a second outlet for that small fan directed at the ignition coil. I know you've shown pictures of the right hand axle, but if I were a betting man, I'd say the transmission fluid is coming from the axle seal there. There's not much on the axle itself likely because it only leaks when the axle is turning and then it gets flung radially outwards by the spinning axle. Here's a (rather grainy) picture of how the seal lines up with everything that's soaked in fluid on your car:



Note how any spray would hit the muffler, the speed sensor wiring harness, and the air tube near the alternator. Any fluid that hit the rear crossmember would go through the multiple large diameter holes on the forward side of the crossmember, hit the the back wall of the crossmember, and drain down to the lowest point where there is a small drain hole in the middle. As I said, I'm not a betting man but I don't think I'd lose any money betting on the RH axle seal being the culprit. If you decide to replace it, here's a How-To thread I wrote up last year on replacing a manual transmission axle, although the automatics are almost exactly the same. In your case, your would want to drain the fluid from the transmission before pulling the axle, as someone mentions in a post later in the thread: www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/109708.html

[This message has been edited by Bloozberry (edited 02-04-2012).]

Huge, huge, HUGE help there, Blooz. Thanks so much for the reply.

Quick update: I took the car for a 30 minute road test, driving it hard where I could. I wanted to really replicate the conditions to spring that leak. When I got home, I jacked it up and saw exactly what you were talking about! The axle was wet, and the surrounding area was sprayed with transmission fluid. And the tranny pan gasket was leaking every so slightly near the missing bolt. I was amazed, though, how quickly the axle area dried off. That air condenser pipe was just a red herring. Heh.

I did my very first transmission fluid flush and filter replacement today. Very awesome feeling. Of course, it took me forever, but I don't care. I got half of the problem solved. I have a day off on Tuesday, so I'm going to hopefully do the axle seal then. I did poke my head in to see where that tie rod bolt is located, near the muffler. In fact, the muffler's in the way, and I can't really get any leverage on it whatsoever. A Fiero friend of mine suggested I drop the whole shock absorber tower instead. He said it'd save my knuckles, and a trip to the wheel place to have it realigned. What do you think?

[This message has been edited by Stan Rain (edited 02-05-2012).]

Good! I'm glad you found the source. If you can't reach teh nut on the inner tie rod, you would be better off separating the tie rod at the knuckle rather than separating the strut from the knuckle... that way you wouldn't need an alignment afterwards. Good luck.

Good news!! Successfully fixed the leak!!!

Two of my Fiero buddies came over to help me remove the axle and install the seal. The axle was a little stubborn, but we got it. And the factory seal bent the seal remover tool. Ironic. Lol! We used a pry bar to encourage the thing all the way out. Got the new seal seated flush, reinstalled the axle and surrounding components, and it was mission accomplished. We did what you suggested and disconnected the tie rod from the knuckle. The pin was salvageable, thankfully. And we ended up dropping the whole shock mount. It was all a very educational experience, and I'm glad I was able to do it rather than let a bunch of strangers go at it. I did that before, and regretted it when they busted up the back of the rocker panels, because they thought the car was old and that I wouldn't notice the damage... Jerks. Never again.

Thanks for your advice and guides. Came in very, very handy. And now my car doesn't leak all over the parking lot... Or my poor driveway. Now it's time to dust off the ol' pressure cleaner. Haha!

That's great! Thanks for following up.