transmission front seal leak?

sweesiong78

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originally posted in 6th gen civic forum:

ok, i have a leak, the mechanic said its the transmission front seal and he charges 350 for the job, which would involve dropping the transmission housing in order to replace the seal inside. does anyone know specifically which seal it is? i'm looking at the service manual:

http://laurenstephens.net/uploads/b2f123685c.pdf

can someone point out to me which seal it is exactly ? i count 3 different types in the diagram.

is it worth it to change the seal? i mean how likely is it that the leak will come back?
is the manual transmission for the 96-00 DX model reliable or prone to problems? the leak was very small but i rather fix a small problem than a large one.

PS:/it is NOT the drive axle seal...mechanic changed that and still had a leak...determined leak was coming from the housing of transaxle. mechanic said he would give me credit for the work already perfomed on the drive axle...ie a discount of about $80 to the $350 job.
 

EGHseries

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just run with it till it gets bad the only thing is watch your fluid
 


12.8:1 Ls/vtec

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Are you sure it isn't the motors rear main seal? how could he know which one is leaking. did he check to see if any fluid was in the trans? are you losing oil out of your motor, and have you checked?
 

sweesiong78

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yeah actually he seemed pretty sure it wasnt the rear main seal, but he did say it was kinda hard to be 100% sure since the oil is the same (tranny and engine oil). but it did look like it was cominf from the tranny, and i'm not losing engine oil.

funny thing is, now it seems to be drying up, and the leak is almost not there (will check again when i next drive). the leak was very small to begin with, the driver side axel seal was changed, and maybe he overfilled the tranny....x finger.


anyway i've been doing a ton of research in the worst case i need to DIY drop my motor, and i have one question: do i need to remove the exhaust pipe that connects below the cat? cos thats what the Helm service manual says, but all the tranny drop how to's dont mention this.

Swee
 


12.8:1 Ls/vtec

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maybe the reason the fluid stopped leaking is that you leaked so much out that the fluid is below the leak now...
 

rickles8099

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can someone point out to me which seal it is exactly ? i count 3 different types in the diagram.
the only seals that are in a 96-00 civic d or b is the drive axles. it even says that in that pdf you have a link to.

have you checked the o-ring on the distributor to see if its dry rotted? sometimes ive seen them dry rot and oil leak out of it and over the top of the transmission and it looks like the transmission is leaking.

how far up on the transmission does the wetness from the oil go? if its up over halfway over the bellhousing, i would say its not the rear main seal because that is located below the center of your transmission and it would be hard for oil to leak up against gravity.
 

sweesiong78

New Member
5+ Year Member
the only seals that are in a 96-00 civic d or b is the drive axles. it even says that in that pdf you have a link to.

have you checked the o-ring on the distributor to see if its dry rotted? sometimes ive seen them dry rot and oil leak out of it and over the top of the transmission and it looks like the transmission is leaking.

how far up on the transmission does the wetness from the oil go? if its up over halfway over the bellhousing, i would say its not the rear main seal because that is located below the center of your transmission and it would be hard for oil to leak up against gravity.
hi thanks for you input, but i think you missed the part # 21 in the pdf link diagram, that part is the input shaft bearing oil seal, and there have been numerous posts on the bearing failing. the seal and bearing can only be accessed from the inside of the tranny. in my case the bearing is OK, but seems the oil seal is leaking.

so in conclusing, there are actually FOUR seals in the d series tranny, the two drive axels, input shaft beaing seal, AND the shift linkage seal (part # 71). of these four, only the ISB oil seal needs the tranny to come apart to be replaced, which is a b!tc! ....
 

Civic_Noob90

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hi thanks for you input, but i think you missed the part # 21 in the pdf link diagram, that part is the input shaft bearing oil seal, and there have been numerous posts on the bearing failing. the seal and bearing can only be accessed from the inside of the tranny. in my case the bearing is OK, but seems the oil seal is leaking.

so in conclusing, there are actually FOUR seals in the d series tranny, the two drive axels, input shaft beaing seal, AND the shift linkage seal (part # 71). of these four, only the ISB oil seal needs the tranny to come apart to be replaced, which is a b!tc! ....
So is it worth spending that much to replace these seals...i just found out my tranny was leaking from there
 


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