Small Leak from under the car maybe transfer case?

[vtince]

Hey Guys,

I pulled the belly pan and noticed that there was some oil collecting near the rear middle bolt of the belly pan. Here the picture. Do you guys know where this is or what this is?

Top of pic is towards rear of car

[vtince]

after 2 years, i was thinking it was rear main seal. But now I'm pretty sure the fluid is power steering fluid. Now I have to check if its the lines, hopefully its just loose....

[john_gonzo]

I'm looking forward to your update in 2020.

[b1337]

I'm looking forward to your update in 2020.

just put it in my 2020 calendar too

[b1337]

looks like oil tho, from the rear main, PSF is more greenish, if your clutch was done around the time of your first post then it could be one of the plugs on the bell housing fell out, happened to me

[vtince]

haha, yea i barely drive my car anymore since I have a work vehicle. Anyway, it smells like PSF, that rancid smell, ooof.

I also checked my oil and it didnt lose any oil, but PSF was at min, I remember filling it up to ABOVE the MAX letter.

It'll take me a while to get to it and diagnose where it is leaking from...2020 it is, I'll keep you guys posted!

[b1337]

haha, yea i barely drive my car anymore since I have a work vehicle. Anyway, it smells like PSF, that rancid smell, ooof.

I also checked my oil and it didnt lose any oil, but PSF was at min, I remember filling it up to ABOVE the MAX letter.

It'll take me a while to get to it and diagnose where it is leaking from...2020 it is, I'll keep you guys posted!

possible the reservoir is cracked and its dripping down the lines to the bell housing

[EuroxS4]

Maybe clutch slave is leaking!!Just a thought.If your not sure what fluid it is,just taste it!!!

[vtince]

Well guys, I just came back from travelling ahead in time 2 years and found the possible source of the leak.

Its actually from the front of the engine on my 3.0. Basically I have a slight leak from the thermostat, and also a slight leak from the Power Steering supply hose which, both thermostat at PS are in close proximity. The fluids is being held and mixed in the cavity of the block under the intake manifold, and when it has accumulated enough and I accelerate, it all flows to the back of the engine and ends up dripping down the bellhousing.

[Spike00513]

haha, yea i barely drive my car anymore since I have a work vehicle. Anyway, it smells like PSF, that rancid smell, ooof.

I also checked my oil and it didnt lose any oil, but PSF was at min, I remember filling it up to ABOVE the MAX letter.

It'll take me a while to get to it and diagnose where it is leaking from...2020 it is, I'll keep you guys posted!

I don't remember PSF ever having a smell. Pentosin CHF11S.
Gear oil / manual transmission fluid has a bad smell. Because it has sulfur in it.

One way to see what leaks, is to monitor what fluid levels deplete. If all your fluid levels stay the same but power steering seriously decreases over time, then maybe it's leaking.
They also have different characteristics.
PSF, a greenish fluid. Engine oil, brownish. And so on.

Well, if it takes 2 years to find the leak, hopefully it's a slow and not major leak then.
Wasn't there an Audi TSB that changed the fill point of the PSF, saying to put it above MAX letter, as you did?

Regarding rear main seals, I wonder how long those last, and if anything else in the engine can cause leaking out of one. Such as pressure forcing oil out.
Either way, it's probably a teflon seal and hard to get to, to replace.

I'm not sure if it would be recommended to clean the area with a strong enough chemical or something, and then maybe protect it from road debris by installing bellypans. If that would make it easier to spot/trace where the fluid comes from.

Well guys, I just came back from travelling ahead in time 2 years and found the possible source of the leak.

Its actually from the front of the engine on my 3.0. Basically I have a slight leak from the thermostat, and also a slight leak from the Power Steering supply hose which, both thermostat at PS are in close proximity. The fluids is being held and mixed in the cavity of the block under the intake manifold, and when it has accumulated enough and I accelerate, it all flows to the back of the engine and ends up dripping down the bellhousing.

As in the $20-30 S-shaped elbow steering hose, atop the pump?
Don't those go bad after like 100k but only suck in air?

Well there is a valley between the V of the V6 engine. Along with a valley-pan and gasket, hidden underneath the intake manifold.

This V6 pic is from a different engine, but it sounds like you're saying it flows through the side channels here.

[vtince]

Yeah the S shaped elbow. I it could be sucking air but right around where it connects to the PS pump it's is very filthy. IMG_1727.JPG

And yes I'm suspecting the fluids flow through the side channels. I'll get some pictures when I work on it when the parts come in so hopefully I'll solve the issue, if not, at least those parts need to be replaced anyway.


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[HUFset]

Pressure line is always sus. “Transfer case” looks cracked in pic.

[vtince]

Pressure line is always sus. “Transfer case” looks cracked in pic.

It was just stains, that just wiped away, thankfully it's not cracked


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[vtince]

Update !!! Found the leak. It was coolant and power steering fluid that leaked into the valley under the intake manifold. It would accumulate in there and when I accelerated, the fluids would move to the back of the block and drip down onto the transfer case.

Coolant leak was from the rear crossover pipe, from the o-ring on the front of the pipe (#12 on diagram), and power steering leak was coming from the small supply hose attached to the PS pump ( it was hard and brittle).
IMG_2042.jpg

Anyway, once I had everything back together, I flushed the coolant and topped off the PS fluid, started the car, and ..... NO power steering.

Long story short, when I was removing the hard brittle PS hose, it basically broke into many pieces and some fell into the supply tube, and when I stated the car it got sucked up into the pump and stayed there blocking flow. So kids, make sure you don’t get anything into the PS system or you’ll have no PS!!





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