Help me save my future clutch!

  • #1

    Help me save my future clutch!

    I posted in my build thread about this but I'd really love a more concrete answer before I put a new clutch in and ruin it.


    ​
    Where did all this come from? It was still very wet before I cleaned it out.

    Here are all the possible places I can think of:

    Input shaft seal
    Through the clutch fork hole
    Rear main seal
    Oil pan seal
    ??? Other locations? Apparently I have a valve cover leak too but I didn't see any drip down

    ​
    There is so much crap in the housing that I can't believe a tiny drip from the oil pan could do it. When i first pulled the transmission down there was a lighter colored drip coming out from the bell housing weep hole so could it just be transmission fluid and clutch dust? The clutch really started to slip badly after I filled up the transmission a couple weeks ago, the fluid level was low. Could it really just be the input shaft seal? Can the shaft housing itself leak around the bolts?


    My steps right now before I put the clutch in are:

    Clean the transmission (done)
    Input shaft seal (done)
    Rear main seal
    Tighten the oil pan? I don't have an engine hoist yet.
    Tighten the valve covers?

    Any tips? Much appreciated.
    Images https://imgur.com/a/RAaGoTy
    Last edited by waynedwops42; 04-30-2019, 01:16 PM.
    '85 2+0 Turbo
  • #2
    Your images aren't working for me, but I can say I once ruined a new clutch by not changing the rear main seal when i had the perfect opportunity to do so. It doesn't take a lot of fluid to ruin it.

    I would definitely replace the rear main seal, clutch fork boot and snug up the oil pan bolts while you got it apart.

    Keep an eye on the oilpan after you've cleaned off everything, if it is leaking, the transmission lower splash guard should keep oil out, but a bad enough leak will find it's way in there eventually.

    Also leaking valve cover gaskets and oil pan gaskets will leave shmutz on the outside of the transmission as well. If all the wet gunk was just on the inside, i would definitely suspect a bad rear main seal.

    If the clutch fork boot was MIA and the slave cylinder was bad, hydraulic fluid (brake fluid) could conceivably end up in the transmission, but there would be obvious witness marks from that.


    84 AE/Shiro #683/Shiro #820/84 Turbo