C56/C52 Transmission Oil Leak in AE92 - Help?

[Kilo]

I have a C56 Transmission in my 90 Corolla GT-S and it was leaking pretty quickly on the driver's axle side on the transmission. So I bought an oil seal, originally for a C52, fitted it in place perfectly, and stuffed the axle back in. But now it's leaking very slowly again from the driver's axle side on the tranny.

What I'd like to know is would the axle have any effect on sealing the tranny oil in? Worst-comes-worst is the bearing in the transmission needs replacement (thats what I don't want to hear).

Any advice anybody?

Cheers

[Bitter]

its pretty easy to screw up those seals when installing or removing them. if you damaged where the seal seats into then it'll leak until you fix that. if you got the seal crooked or not all the way in, also leaks. if you didn't lube the shaft and seal you may have torn it, etc.

[4doorGTS]

Jack the car up start it and put in gear, watch the axle spinning to see if there is any abnormal movement. Did you knock the new seal in too far out? Mayby its riding on a rough surface of the axle stub that was exposed to the elements before. When axles seals are replaced its good practice to measure the depth before removing the old one. Seals should be the same inbetween c52, c56 I would think.

By the picture in your avatar you drive the car hard so mayby bearings but I would think if it got that bad you would hear bearing noise first.

[Kilo]

Originally Posted by Bitter

its pretty easy to screw up those seals when installing or removing them. if you damaged where the seal seats into then it'll leak until you fix that. if you got the seal crooked or not all the way in, also leaks. if you didn't lube the shaft and seal you may have torn it, etc.

When I removed the seal today there was no tears whatsoever so I'm assuming I installed it and the axle correctly last time. When I installed another new seal today (2nd time) it was flush, not crooked, and all the way for sure. When installing the axle I generously slapped on some grease at the splines of the axle before I stuffed it into the tranny.

Not to mention when I took out the shaft I checked the diameter of the axle, where the seal wraps around with a caliper, it read 34mm I believe, and was the same with the new shaft I bought today. So today there's a new seal and shaft/axle. I ain't taking any chances.

Originally Posted by 4doorGTS

Jack the car up start it and put in gear, watch the axle spinning to see if there is any abnormal movement. Did you knock the new seal in too far out? Mayby its riding on a rough surface of the axle stub that was exposed to the elements before. When axles seals are replaced its good practice to measure the depth before removing the old one. Seals should be the same inbetween c52, c56 I would think.

By the picture in your avatar you drive the car hard so mayby bearings but I would think if it got that bad you would hear bearing noise first.

I had a C52 before and they're pretty much the same as a C56 anything to do with the casing/exterior parts. I didn't see any abnormal movements when we spun the shaft but there was a little bit of give/tolerance when we were shaking the shaft while in the tranny/differential-hole.

Well, lets see if there's any slow leaks from here on out. And yes I do drive/race the vehicle pretty hard as I do rallycrosses. And I haven't heard any bearing sounds yet as there was plenty of fluid in the tranny when I removed seal&axle today with new ones. I know from experience that if the tranny doesn't get enough fluid you will hear sandy/grinding sounds.

[canadianae92]

your trans should have a vent..... if that's clogged it could also blow out a seal that was recently replace because of the build up of pressure and cause a small leak...

if a bearing was gone you would probably hear some intense noise

[Kilo]

Originally Posted by canadianae92

your trans should have a vent..... if that's clogged it could also blow out a seal that was recently replace because of the build up of pressure and cause a small leak...

if a bearing was gone you would probably hear some intense noise

Is there any way to remove that top vent cap? I have no idea how to remove it to check and see if it's clogged. It seems loose, that little cap for the vent, near where the shifter rods/linkages attach to on the top.

[eage8]

the same thing is happening with my new C56 and I haven't even driven it yet. I ordered a new seal for it, hopefully that'll fix it. I hope this doesn't become a frequent occurrence.

I feel sad for the redline MT-90 all over my garage floor

[Kilo]

I used to use Redline MTL also and that works wonders in curing the notchy shifting problem. Like you all that fluid came leaking out (but not on my driveway) before I changed the seal only. Sighs, what a waste!

Now that the 2nd seal and new axle's in I'm now trying out Motul's 75w90 and that works really well too. I intend on trying MT-90 later since I have a Quaife LSD in mine.

Is your new C56 rebuilt?

[eage8]

Originally Posted by Kilo

I used to use Redline MTL also and that works wonders in curing the notchy shifting problem. Like you all that fluid came leaking out (but not on my driveway) before I changed the seal only. Sighs, what a waste!

Now that the 2nd seal and new axle's in I'm now trying out Motul's 75w90 and that works really well too. I intend on trying MT-90 later since I have a Quaife LSD in mine.

Is your new C56 rebuilt?

I use MT-90 because it's 75w90 like stock recommends (I think MTL is 75w80)

no, my new C56 just can on my silvertop :-P . "new" = new to me

[canadianae92]

I've seen the vent cap before but never had to check it... My car is stored for winter but I'm going to college and they have some corolla transmissions there, I'll see if I can find out...

The unit should unscrew? I don't remember lol. The one I took out unscrewed easily but it was on a sectioned display c52 transmission. A clogged vent though will build up pressure as your trans gets hotter and it has to release the pressure somehow, normally through the seals.

Doesn't say anything in my haynes manual.

[Donald]

Sometimes the seal seat in the gearbox gets scoured when the seal is being removed. If that happened it might leak there. If it is scoured, you might want to put a dab of sealant in the scoured area (nowhere else).

[canadianae92]

ok so you should be able to pry the vent cap of, not sure what the actually procedure is taking it off and reinstalling it you could just tap a little dint or two into it to secure it again...

should be easy to check and if the vent is clogged then its the pressure release that's blowing your seal there

could be what donald said too if your vent is good

[Kilo]

Thanks guys, never thought of the scoured area around the seal before. I'll keep that in mind next time I need to take the axle & seal out I'll dab some sealant there. I hope silicon should work just fine, given the tranny pressure build up. What do you suggest using though?

For the vent, that shouldn't pose a problem hopefully when I pry/knock off that little loose cap that's just sitting there. Hopefully some compressed air should fix it if clogged. Had anybody ever had this kind of problem before?

[Donald]

Black silicone oil resistant gasket sealant is the best, but make sure you only put it where there are score marks, and just enough to fill the gaps. That stuff holds!
You might not be able to get the seal out if you put it all the way around.