My car stinks, literally! It smells like burning oil, and it seems that I get a couple of oil drops on the passenger side header each time I drive. No evidence on the dip stick. Does this sound like a common problem?

Gasket bad? Which one do you think? How hard to replace for a reasonably adept shade tree mechanic? If I am tearing down to that point, is there anything else that I should swap out?

 

Could be a valve cover gasket. Not a fun job, but doable. You have to remove a lot of stuff to get to it. It'll be very time consuming. Make 100% sure that's the source.

 

I was about to reply that the passenger, or right, side valve cover gasket on a vg30 in a z31 was cake. I was gonna' tell you, you were nuts and that it was a thirty minute job, most of that cleaning time. But, then, I saw that this question didn't pertain to the catagory in which it is posted. You're safe, for now.

z31 = 1984 - 1989 (make a note of it)

 

I have the exact same problem... one problem, valve cover gasket has been done once by me (didn't fix it) and once by a certified mechanic (didn't fix it) so obviously in my case atleast... it's not the valve cover gasket... O and yes, we checked the valve cover for warps as well

 

Found a leak at the rear of the tranny that is dripping on the passenger's cat.

Look at the picture here - what am I up against? Note that the tranny is clean, and the front u-joint of the driveshaft is still reasonable dry.

 

Looks like a rear tranny oil seal. How hard is it to remove? - the on-line guide show a special puller - can I do it with a "regular tool" of some sort?

 

Definitely rear tranny seal. Tranny fluid stinks really bad; especially when your burn it. We didn't use a special tool when we changed my seal. We used a punch to press out the old seal. Don't ruin the seal though, because it is good too use to press the new seal back in. It's the same as removing one of the cam seals, so if you've done that, then you should be fine. You'll need to drain the tranny fluid, or it will leak out the back.

It's 5 o'clock somewhere. :chug: Almost time to go home. :cheers:

I love the new smilies.

 

Thanks 91 for the TWO pieces of advice that I would have definately overlooked - reuse as a tool and draining it FIRST. (Now that would have been a fun surprise! yeech!) I'll keep you posted.

 

Please make sure it's not a cam seal leak. That's a common problem with the Z32's ... which causes oil to leak onto the alternator and fry it.

 

No problem man. I know from experience. It makes a mess and 90 weight stinks. Made the garage smell for 2 weeks. May be a good time to consider a 1-piece driveshaft since you'll be removing the OEM 2-piece on this job. May want to look at replacing your tranny fluid and using Redline MT-90 also.

 

OK, a couple of stupid questions. Thanks for the patience. I noticed from Svc Manual that my NA 5spd takes about 5 quarts of tranny fluid. Is this correct?

I just had the fluid flushed earlier this year with MT90, and expect that I need only to replace what runs out and what what is leaked out. If I jack the rear of the car into the "ayre" (...as they say here in Georgia...) can I get by without draining the entire tranny?

What is involved in draining and refilling the fluid? I don't see any way to easily "pour the fluid in" - do I need a special tool/pump or is there some technique for adding the fluid? PLEASE don't tell me I have to pull the tranny to flush it!

 

Found this page that seems to answer all of these questions...

http://zhome.com/ZCMnL/PICS/manualTr...Oilchange.html

Thanks anyway!

 

there are two ways you can do this. 1. tranny still on the car. 2. drop the tranny.

method 1. requires you to drop the eghaust and drive shaft, then you will need something to syphen (spelling?) the fluid into the tranny with. this method is less time consuming. if repairing the seal is the only thing you want to accomplish at that time, this is the way to go.

method 2. requires exhaust, driveshaft, and tranny to be droped (in that order). if you plan to replace items such as clutch, pilot bushing, clutch fork etc...this is the method to choose. more time consuming but necessary to replace these sort of things.

this is not all inclusive but meant to give you a general insight for a job of this sort. There are pros and cons with each, so you need to decide whats best for you.

 

I believe that you can buy a pump, or oil already in a container with a pump to pump it in. I'm not sure on the z, but most cars that I've seen, you can pour the oil in thru the shifter hole, after you remove the shifter.

 

The 2nd technique provided by Mousier158 will be an exercise in futility. I just replaced the clutch in mine. It would be virtually impossible to put the tranny, full of fluid, back into the car without it all draining out the back. We had about 2 quarts in mine and we had some spill out. You have to tilt the tranny so far back to get it back into the car that it just won't work.

The link you provided said 5 7/8 pints, not quarts. The tranny holds a little over 3 quarts of fluid, so if you change it, buy 4 quarts. It is very easy to refill the tranny. As CC mentioned, some trannies can be filled through the shifter touret. You could do it this way in a Z31, but unfortunately you can't in a Z32. The shifter touret is remote on the tranny in this car. The upper filler plate is located about 12"-18" towards the front of the car from the gear shift. So, unless you have 3-4 wrists and elbows per arm, then you can't do it this way. The filler you'll use is located on the passenger side of the tranny about 1/2 way up the case. Fill the tranny, using a pump until fluid starts to spill out through the filler. Thread in the plug and you're done.