Transmission bad? A leak? Or paranoia?

[BryanWSD]

Guys, I could use some input. Just drove my can from San Diego to Phoenix and back over the Easter weekend. We had 4 people in the car with luggage, plus 1 set of golf clubs (pretty loaded up).

When I pulled into garage, there was a decent amount of smoke and smell of smoke, almost like a light burnt rubber smell. Belts looked good (and were just replaced 6 months ago).

I noticed there seemed to be a lot of moisture around what I believe is the transmission. Could that be the cause? Pics below






Modified by BryanWSD at 8:38 AM 4/15/2009

[BryanWSD]

follow up question - can anyone recommend an good repair shop in Escondido?

[CJD91]

I would double check those belts.

[gwhunt23]

How many miles are on it? Above 100,000 miles, I'd take a look at your valve cover gaskets. Dripping and burning oil may be what's causing that nasty smell you report.

And I doubt your worst fears (transmission) are anywhere near true. With 3 passengers, luggage, rooftop carrier, and towing bikes, I drove my QX4 30 hours nonstop from New Mexico to Virginia. Transmission held up fine and has still been fine ever since.

[K03sport]

I don't see anything on the bottom of the trans pan that would indicate any fluid leaking from it. I also don't think there is anything rubber inside the trans itself.

Most of the rubber bits are under the hood. I will 2nd the "check your belts again" nomination. Just because they are new and look fine, does not mean everything is right with them. Just the slightest bit of slip and those new belts are old in no time flat.

Get a flash light and inspect the belts by hand. A 6 month old belt should still look somewhat new. If it doesn't, then something is not right.

That underside looks clean. I guess that is one benefit to live where it doesn't snow or rain.

[SnowSurfLax]

Sounds like a coolant leak. It smells like burnt rubber when it leaks onto exhaust manifolds. Your transmission pan looks damn clean, I don't think that could be the problem. Trust me, I've had issues with mine. Yours looks fine to me.

[BryanWSD]

Thanks guys. Car only has 72k miles. I'll take another look at the belts. transmission may look clean, but it is "moist" with fluid of some sort.

Coolant always smells sweet to me - that's not what I smelled. Also, exhaust kicked out a bunch of smoke when I started up the car this morning. It looks like the oil is a little overfilled from the last change, maybe there's just some extra burning off?

[K03sport]

Does the fluid have a color? Brown = oil, Red = trans, Greenish = coolant.

Use a white paper towel to take a sample. Are there drippings on the ground after the PF sits for exteneded periods of time. You can use some old newspaper or poster board from the dollar store.

I don't want to speculate something as serious as a rear main seal. If you can get up under the PF (one wheel on the curb or jack stands) what does the back of the engine look like? Is there fluid all over the place and if so, where is it coming from. With 72k it may be difficult, but fresh fluid will be shiney. Is the oil pan all nasty too?

[BryanWSD]

I'll do that later tonight or tomorrow morning when I have some time. Great idea to check.

Funny thing is I'm not worried about a major failure. I bought an extended warranty when I bought the car that will cover most failures. What it does not cover is wearable or maintenance items, such as a fluid / pan gasket change, or belts.

So, I'm trying to narrow this down before dropping a few hundred on having a shop research the issue for me. I did drive it again for a bit yesterday as a test (had to get to the local tax protest rally ) and it had a little bit of that smoke again when I got home. I've got some long driving to do today, so it will sit today. I just don't trust it for a long drive.

[K03sport]

If you are truely worried about what fluid is there, get one of those dye kits that puts a UV dye in the fluid. After driving around, for a while, put on some yellow CSI glasses and shine (the included) UV light in and around the area the leak is coming from. If you see glowing streaks, you know what fluid is making the mess. You might even be able to tell where it is coming from.

These dye kits aren't cheap, but they aren't uber expensive either and can be done by yourself.
Modified by K03sport at 6:10 PM 4/19/2009

[BryanWSD]

OK, got it checked out by an awesome shop in Escondido (American Auto Clinic), probably the best auto shop experience I've ever had.

Anyway, he confirmed it was probably transmission fluid, and that the pan bolts were all loose. The fluid seemed to be splattering back to the cats, and that's what caused the smoke smell.

He tightened the bolts up, and suggested we give it a couple weeks to confirm that fixes the problem, and allow remained fluid to burn off the cats.