Hi, I'm an amateur that could use some wise counsel.
Tranny is out (clutch was slipping) - oil/sludge in bellhousing. Rear main looks good. Could it be oil pan gasket or else coming from other engine leak that is finding its way into housing? Is there a front tranny seal behind the hydraulic slave that could be leaking gear oil into the housing? Haynes manual doesn't say anything about trannsmission seal up front. Is it wise to just replace all this stuff along with the oil soaked clutch disc ... pilot bearing too?

I will appreciate any help...mjk

 

Can't say for sure where the oil is coming from without inspecting the truck, however, there is a input/pilot shaft seal in the front of the trans. I would replace the pilot bearing, clutch friction plate, pressure plate, slave cyl and release bearing and have the flywheel surfaced as well as replacing that front trans seal. When your done it will perform like new and you will have the peace of mind that comes from knowing you won't have to take it apart again anytime in the near future.

 

sounds like a rear main bearing seal.. they are a bear to fix... but if u know what ur doing can be done in a day

Matt

 

mjk - Since you have the trans out anyway, you will want to replace many of the things TheDuck mentioned. For the simple fact that it is one giant pain to get the trans down to start, and you don't want to have to do it again any time soon.

Check your clutch fluid level to see if it is low, or have you been putting any fluid in recently? Did you check your trans fluid level before you took it down, was it low? Does your engine loose any oil? If you don't see smoke in the tail pipe then it could be a leak around any # of places on the engine like you said. Is there any evidence of a leak? See where I am going with this...... If there is evidence of a low fluid level then you see where it could have come from.

Also keep in mind, depending on what trans you have, Mazda or Mitsubishi, you may want replace the rubber plugs if it is the Mazda. If it makes you feel any better, when I replaced my trans (died) it was the Mazda 5sp and I had the same thing in my bellhousing. The best I could tell, it was the ATF from the trans. Oh yea, FYI.... if you do have the Mazda 5sp then you don't have "gear oil", it is ATF. The Mitsu is the one that takes gear oil.

 

The Duck, Fordboy-52, G21C-wraith - thanks for the replies.

I am sure it is the Mitsubishi 5-speed, gear oil spilled out the speedometer hole as I was pulling (rolling) it out from under the truck - that's a different story. Anyway I did not think to check the tranny oil level before pulling it so I'm not sure if it was low. Maintenance records I had for the truck show it had clutch assembly installed About 30k miles ago so I was thinking about saving a few bucks with the existing pressure plate.

Is the input/pilot shaft seal in the front of the tranny behind the slave cylinder and release bearing?

Yes, there is oil all over the lower portion of the engine, I think from valve covers - I have no oil drips in my driveway - and outside of bellhousing had the same crud - so now I'm thinking its primarily engine leak. But since I definitely don't want to be doing this again I'm considering changing the rear main (though it looks ok) and the oil pan gasket. Am I right to think that the rear of the oil pan could be leaking into the clutch housing?

I becoming less of an enthusiast as this project goes on. I also have to get a busted bolt out of the exhaust manifold - I'm planning on drilling it out and using a bolt and nut in place of the bolt only - any problem with that?

Thanks...mjk

 

what year is your truck?

 

well while it is apart the wise thing to do would be to get the disk (the pressure plate wouldn't be a bad idea but if yours is in excellent shape then sand it down to help with seating the new disk) have the flywheel resurfaced or replace it if isn't new or already resurfaced. i would put a throw out bearing (release bearing) in along with the pilot bearing (or bushing) and throw a new rear main seal in along with the input shfat seal. if you suspect the slave cylinder for leaking the it would be a wise move to replace it aswell. does this sludge smell kinda like gas? if so it's oil. if it smells rotten then its gear oil. to tell if it is from the slave cyl get some hot water and rinse the area. if this drys it out then is your slave cyl. i doubt the slave cyl is bad because brake fluid does not soak into brakes pads or clutch disks. and it would have to be a high amount of it to make one slip. clean everything with brake parts cleaner to ensure all of the oild and sludge is gone and that the pressure plate and flywheel are clean for the new disk.also does this oil soaked sludge go completly around the housing or just the lower portion?

 

The truck is '90, 2WD with "only" 110k miles. As I mentioned it had a clutch assembly installed at 81k.

The oil had more of a gas smell to it - I'm fairly certain now it is engine oil. The sludge was all around the inside of the bellhousing and fairly thick on some surfaces - about 1/8" or more. I think the slave is in good shape as my clutch fluid has never been low. The oil had to be from outer engine leaks, rear main seal or oil pan.

What is the input shaft seal? Are you talking about where the drive shaft goes into the rear of the tranny? I can not see any seal at the front of the tranny - I removed slave cylinder and bellhousing from the tranny and there is nothing there. Am I missing something?

I had a bear of a time getting the old rear main seal out last night. It had a metal band around the outer diameter - the replacement Fel-Pro seal is all plastic.

I still haven't changed the oil pan gasket or removed the busted bolt from the exhaust manifold. I can't believe how anxious I am about doing this stuff. Remove the distributor, loosen motor mounts, jack the motor to change the oil pan gasket? Every bolt and nut on this '90 is a fight. I replaced a clutch in another car I owned but it was nothing like this.

whah, whah, whah...mjk

 

The truck is '90, 2WD with "only" 110k miles. As I mentioned it had a clutch assembly installed at 81k.

The oil had more of a gas smell to it - I'm fairly certain now it is engine oil. The sludge was all around the inside of the bellhousing and fairly thick on some surfaces - about 1/8" or more. I think the slave is in good shape as my clutch fluid has never been low. The oil had to be from outer engine leaks, rear main seal or oil pan.

What is the input shaft seal? Are you talking about where the drive shaft goes into the rear of the tranny? I can not see any seal at the front of the tranny - I removed slave cylinder and bellhousing from the tranny and there is nothing there. Am I missing something?

I had a bear of a time getting the old rear main seal out last night. It had a metal band around the outer diameter - the replacement Fel-Pro seal is all plastic.

I still haven't changed the oil pan gasket or removed the busted bolt from the exhaust manifold. I can't believe how anxious I am about doing this stuff. Remove the distributor, loosen motor mounts, jack the motor to change the oil pan gasket? Every bolt and nut on this '90 is a fight. I replaced a clutch in another car I owned but it was nothing like this.

whah, whah, whah...mjk
Edit/Delete Message

 

The input shaft is in the front of your trans, the driveshaft would be output. Anyway, if the oil smells like gas then your trans input shaft is not the leak. However, the seal is in the front bearing retainer which is the part your T.O. bearing and slave cyl. go over. It should look like a tube sticking out from the front of the trans with a few bolts holding it to the front trans case. I'm not sure I would mess with that seal if its not leaking, well I probably would but I was a trained professional mechanic for 15 years.

 

Oh Yeah, before I forget. If you have your trans out then do yourself a favor and replace those rubber plugs at the end of the shift rails with metal expansion (freeze) plugs. Those plugs are known to leak and have killed many a trans that was otherwise good.

 

TheDuck - thanks for responding. I'm either incredibly dense on this point or my transmission is set up differently than you describe.

Here's my setup: the input shaft (has splines that go through clutch and into flywheel pilot bearing and then into hole in the center of the crankshaft) comes out of the front of the tranny. Fitting over this input shaft, is the throwout bearing assembly with a spring. Behind the throwout bearing assembly and spring is the slave cylinder. Last night I twisted off the throwout bearing assembly and spring, unbolted the slave cylinder and then the bellhousing itself. What I saw was the shaft coming out of the tranny - there appeared to be no seal around it. Am I wrong? Is there really a seal around the shaft at this point?

mjk

 

Update - finally got everything put back together and drove into work this morning. Clutch feels like new - I can go up hills now without slipping.

Now I've got to clean off the engine and see if the oil leaks are stopped. The main thing I did was change rear main seal and tighten valve covers. Is there some trick getting to the valve cover bolts up near the firewall?

 

Always nice to hear some positive follow-ups.

If you have not tried them yet...... universal joints for sockets and extensions. They make life alot easier.

 

10-4 on the univeral joints. Even so, I think Ford designed this '90 Ranger to be worked on by a contortionist.