transmission Oil odor

[ajbarnes1]

about a month ago I changed my transmission fluid with some mobile 1 (75w90, I think). The oil that came out was pitch black and had a real skanky smell. The gear box worked great afterwards(although it's a little less noticeable nowadays). Well, for the last few weeks I have noticed the same horrid oil smell when I am just driving around. I put some silicon sealer around the rubber shift boot just to try and seal it up, but the smell is still there.

SO, what do you think may be the problem and solution to this?

[1dollar240]

Did ya spill any in your car? or get some on your hands then touch your interior? My car smelled for a couple weeks after i changed the transmission oil and man that stuff it foul.

[bj180sx]

Well transmission cloud be bad. Check the fluid again. If it is black then you have some problems. Goodluck.

[Bud]

I just got a used '91 and I'm dealing with the same problem. It reeks! It was a mess under the shift boot. I cleaned it up and I think I'll replace the rubber boot if the price isn't too bad - anyone know how much? part #

[ajbarnes1]

well, there's no oil on the interior. Also, and this is the funny part, when the windows are up, the smell is absent. Simply crack the window at normal driving speed, and the smell rushes in. This makes me think that the odor is coming up from the shifter/transmission. As far as a bad transmission goes-- I don't think that it's going dead. It suffers from typical 3rd-gear synchro syndrome, but other than that, just a typical operation. Granted, it has some high mileage on it, I'd like to hold out and possibly get an SR20 this summer and change the drivetrain then.

[nnkfws333]

man ok I thought I Was smelling things...sometimes a dead animal...sometimes transmission fluid but it all went away a month later. I found no spill or leak. I just stuck with the smell for a while.

[Holisticbeatz]

Maybe theres a leak somewhere and fluid has gotten on your exhaust piping causing it to cook and burn. Resulting in a horrible odor.

[Bizz]

Hey random semi related question.......was the drainplug for your transmission a recessed square design? If so what size was it?

[DAEDALUS]

I think I know what you're talking about. Probably a 1/2" square, so a 1/2" drive breaker bar will work. Possibly 3/8".

[djtodd]

ajbarnes1, I'd check the rubber boots around the shifter. Chances are that someone has previously removed it and either tore the rubber boots, or didn't zip-tie them back down. Tie em up good and that might help your smell. Also check and see if there's any oil on the transmission housing itself, if so clean that up.

[Touchdown038]

I am going through the same issue with my car after I had a shop change the clutch for me. Every now and then with the windows down (or the sunroof open) the smell just appears out of nowhere. The weird thing is that it never happens with the windows down. I'm gonna check and make sure the shop put new zipties on when they had the shifter out and I'll let you know what I find out.

[sil80drifter]

I think what it is is that when you put the new fluid in the transmission, some may have spilled/covered the transmission housing, and since you don't smell it inside, the fluid on the outside of transmission gets hot (when you drive on highway or something, or just for a while), and starts smelling. I had same problem, but it just went away, somehow that could have been related to the fact that I drove through a lot of snow (it stopped during winter), and it wiped the fluid off of the transmission's outside. So wash it...maybe that will help. It will definetly help look for leaks if there are any.

sil80

[Queamore]

Febreez? :jump

[mackdaddy240]

I've read a few threads about this because I somtimes smell transmission fluid, after driving down the highway for a while. One thing I noticed is that when you roll your windows up and your running about 65 mph and crack your sunroof in the sunlight you can actually see a little bit of smoke coming from your shifter. almost looks like dust but its smoke. most likely you have a small leaky transmission seal and its dripping on the exhaust and burning and the smoke comes up through your shifter. Try some transmission treatment that stops leaks if that doesnt work I wouldnt worry about it until you do major work. just make sure and check your fluid periodically. good luck

[fiznat]

I changed my transmission oil a few months ago, and I never ever smell anything like what you guys are talking about... That gear oil stuff smells pretty foul, but thankfully the smell stays in the transmission at least for me.

Oh and Daedalus is right, the drain plug requires a 1/2" drive... use a breaker bar or an extension or something.

[Touchdown038]

1/2 drive is correct.

Oh, and the smell just kinda went away for me. Only lasted for a couple of months.

[Def]

There's a vent tube on the top of the transmission. Probably overfilled it a bit and you are getting a strong vapor from the vent tube whenever you crack the windows.

[Dattebayo]

I did the same thing with my differential (i trusted Advance Auto with the fluid fill chart...stupid). It got filled too much and fluid leaking out of the vent tube smelled it up till i cleaned it off, emptied and refilled to factory spec. I had to dig up a j30 manual at a dealership tho