DAMN! reddish oil dripping from underbody..whats it from?

Post by **MarkEmark** » Sat Sep 14, 2002 12:22 pm

I was lookin at the underbelly of my car today and noticed that a bit of red oil was forming droplets under one of the skidpads...now the oil wasn't dripping per say, but there were droplets, and it seemed like it was from the oil pan, but the drain plug was fine. I have no idea what kind of oil it was/where it was from. I checked my engine oil and the level was fine...this may sound like a dumb question, but is there manual transmission oil? my manual says NOTHING about it...my car shifts and drives fine, although the transmission has been pretty notchy lately when its cold (its always notchy, but it seems exceedingly notchy) So anyway, its a deep red oil...anyone know what thats from? I HOPE its nothing bad...thanks in advance

Post by **MikeS14240sx** » Sat Sep 14, 2002 12:22 pm

Well you can check the level of your transmission fluid. I would check that. Also check the level of your brake and power steering fliuids. Brake and steering fluid usually is a red color and may appear to be oil.

You should always check all your fluid levels anyways.

Post by **GodDrivesA240sx** » Sat Sep 14, 2002 12:22 pm

If you have the 5yr antifreeze/coolant in your car it's a redish color, that could be it as well. It won't really be 'oily' per say but it's redish

I would think it's transmission fluid though. See if you can smell it, if it smells like crap then its prob tranny fluid

Post by **SpeedingMonk** » Sat Sep 14, 2002 12:22 pm

ive only seen antifreez neon green could this red u mean be from rust +D an brake fluid ive never seen red brake fluid either aotimatic

anti freez - neon greenengine oil - clearish yellow (new brownish / black (used)brake fluid - clearish yellow too alot thiner thoAUTO tranny fluid - bright red (new darker shade (used)

manual tranny fluid is different but prob alot more red than n e thing else +D

auto trannys use hydrolics using the ATF to doo everything manual is differ tho

Post by **MarkEmark** » Sat Sep 14, 2002 12:22 pm

thanks for the info..how the hell do i check my manual transmission fluid? There seems no dipstick for it...my power steering fluid looked dark green...

Post by **nismokid** » Sat Sep 14, 2002 12:22 pm

i had the same problem, it was the power steering fluid

Post by **MarkEmark** » Sat Sep 14, 2002 12:22 pm

so is the power steering fluid leaking from the actual pump, and if so, why/how would I remedy this? And again...how do I check the tranny oil? thanks

Post by **TrunkMonkey** » Sat Sep 14, 2002 12:22 pm

MarkEmark wrote:so is the power steering fluid leaking from the actual pump, and if so, why/how would I remedy this?

you need to check the entire system to find the leak (reservoir, pump, lines, ect...).

And again...how do I check the tranny oil? thanks

there's a plug on the driver's side of your transmission. remove the plug and stick your finger inside. the gear oil should be flush with the bottom of the hole.

Post by **GodDrivesA240sx** » Sat Sep 14, 2002 12:22 pm

SpeedingMonk wrote:ive only seen antifreez neon green could this red u mean be from rust +D an brake fluid ive never seen red brake fluid either aotimatic

anti freez - neon green

The 2 year antifreeze with no long time rust protection is neon green yes. There is an red/orange antifreeze. Havoline sells it, Zerxo or whatever sells it. It's the 5 year antifreeze that has long term rust protectants, and no siliconate somethings. Point is there is a such thing as red or orange or orange red antifreeze

Post by **MarkEmark** » Sat Sep 14, 2002 12:22 pm

can i access this plug from the top or the bottom of the car? is it a screw in plug? thanks

Post by **TrunkMonkey** » Sat Sep 14, 2002 12:22 pm

MarkEmark wrote:can i access this plug from the top or the bottom of the car? is it a screw in plug? thanks

you have to get underneath the car. it screws in, but i can't remember if it's an allen screw or socket.

Post by **y3llows14** » Sat Sep 14, 2002 12:22 pm

when you go down there to check you transmission fluid, how do you replace the fluid after you drain it, and with what kind. Dauntt told me that it could be my transmission fluid that is why it is not going into reverse. Thanks. BTW is the gearbox oil the same thing or somewhere else? I heard people use Redline and it works great.

Post by **APEXi240** » Sat Sep 14, 2002 12:22 pm

I have a similar question....I have an S14 and want to change the gear oil....I went under the car and couldn't figure out which bolt drained the fluid...I didn't want to pull out the wrong one, plus mosquitos were eating me alive, so I stopped. Which bolt would be greatly appreciated.

Post by **Sygerwulf** » Sat Sep 14, 2002 12:22 pm

Yeah I have the orange antifreeze stuff. I freaked out when I saw it cuz I thought it was rust too lol

Post by **leper421** » Sat Sep 14, 2002 12:22 pm

To change the MT oil, you have to remove the drain plug on the bottom of the tranny. Its a plug with a 1/2" square recessed into it. Use a 1/2" ratchet with no socket attached to open it. The refill hole is fairly high on the tranny and has a hex head bolt (dont know what size, I used a crescent wrench). You fill it with GEAR oil, not engine oil (I used 75W-80). I also found it much easier to pull out the shifter and add the oil through there then to get it in the filler plug. Either way you fill it untill it starts to drip out the filler plug.

Post by **y3llows14** » Sat Sep 14, 2002 12:22 pm

So you just remove the shift knob and shifter and assembly and just add some gear box oil there? Thanx

Post by **leper421** » Sat Sep 14, 2002 12:22 pm

You can do it without removing the shifter. Take all the boots off, and pour into the notch cut on either side of the ball pivot-point part of the shifter. It will take forever that way. It goes alot quicker if you remove the whole shifter assembly. Then just dump it down there.

Post by **Silvia007** » Sat Sep 14, 2002 12:22 pm

That orangish/redish coolant is called Dex-Acool. Made for new cars and loves to leave all sorts of gunk in the radiator if contaminated. Suppose to last 150k miles. As for filling, I recommend removing the fill hole as to not overfill. The gear oil can eat away tranny seals. When that happens, get ready to pull out some dough.

Post by **SRJesse** » Sat Sep 14, 2002 12:22 pm

Check around your front suspension too. If your tie rod bushings have gone bad, they will leak some kind of fluid that nissans stock bushings had in them. Power steering fluid seems like the only other problem I could think of. Brake fluid is always clear, and yes 5 year antifreeze is a neon orange/redish color.

Post by **leper421** » Sat Sep 14, 2002 12:22 pm

SRJesse wrote:Brake fluid is always clear

NEW brake fluid is always clear. When I bled new fluid through all my brake lines, the old fluid from the rear lines was dark brown. The front lines fluid was actually reddish brown, very similar to old ATF.

DAMN! reddish oil dripping from underbody..whats it from?

DAMN! reddish oil dripping from underbody..whats it from?

red antifreez?

Re: red antifreez?

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