[Aaron_ST1]

Hi everyone - I have a leak on the top of my transmission. It appears to be seeping past the gasket that seals the shift tower to the transmission:




The car only has 13,000 miles on it, 100% stock (besides swapped front Recaros) and is driven gently. I don't slam it into gear. I've never installed an aftermarket shift arm or even touched anything to do with the transmission. I am worried about this because the only other thread that mentions this problem resulted in the dealer replacing the transmission:
http://www.focusst.org/forum/focus-st-maintenance/16719-transmission-leak.html

The transmission vent is the little white tee in the second pic, and is completely clean. Anyway, I have heard that outside of a reverse switch, Ford doesn't open the transmission for any repairs. Does that mean I can expect to have my transmission replaced? I am dropping it off at the dealer on Tuesday for a diagnosis. Unfortunately it's not the dealer I bought it from, since they are 1.5 hrs away. I'm hoping they don't try to say this is abuse or something.

Has anyone else had this problem?

Thanks -

 

[Aaron_ST1]

Don't know why but I can't edit my original post for some reason. That leakage was at 12,000 miles when I changed my oil. I cleaned it up with brake fluid and convinced myself I must have tipped an empty quart of oil on that spot from the top and figured I check it again. As of today, I'd say the amount of oil is much higher and is filling up the "cavities" at the top and leaking a little down the front of the trans. Its not coming from anywhere around the valve cover or fuel pump. Frustrating.

 

[brian60]

@Aaron_ST1 something is wrong with the forum right now. We can't quote or edit posts it seems for a few of us at least

 

[Aaron_ST1]

Just talked to the dealer. They said it was leaking from around that black fill plug in my first picture, and have corrected it. From the tutorials I've looked at, that's not the fill plug used when changing the trans fluid, but it is probably used for the factory fill. Anyway, just glad they won't be yanking the trans. I'll be keeping an eye on that area to make sure the leak is fixed.

 

[fordboi415]

Just talked to the dealer. They said it was leaking from around that black fill plug in my first picture, and have corrected it. From the tutorials I've looked at, that's not the fill plug used when changing the trans fluid, but it is probably used for the factory fill. Anyway, just glad they won't be yanking the trans. I'll be keeping an eye on that area to make sure the leak is fixed.

Did that seem to fix the issue?? I just noticed oil on the top of my trans that wasnt there last time i checked my occ 1500 miles ago, im going to tear into it tomorrow to find and hopefully fix it.. only has 6000mi total so im hoping its something simple..


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[Aaron_ST1]

Since I've gotten it back I haven't had a chance to check. This weekend I plan to clean that whole area up with brake cleaner and keep an eye on it. I'll post up if it still leaks, but it makes sense that it was leaking around that fill plug. Hopefully it's something simple like that with your car. Good luck-

 

[fordboi415]

Since I've gotten it back I haven't had a chance to check. This weekend I plan to clean that whole area up with brake cleaner and keep an eye on it. I'll post up if it still leaks, but it makes sense that it was leaking around that fill plug. Hopefully it's something simple like that with your car. Good luck-

Well i pulled apart mine, cleaned up the oil, and applied some Permatex high temp tread sealant on the plug. Im hoping this takes care of it, ?...


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[fordboi415]

Well i pulled apart mine, cleaned up the oil, and applied some Permatex high temp tread sealant on the plug. Im hoping this takes care of it, ?...


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Well mine is still leaking so the plug wasnt the culprit. Going to tear into it this weekend and hopefully find out where its coming from.


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[Aaron_ST1]

God don't tell me that. Looked at mine and it's still oily, but I doubt the dealer cleaned it up. Going to finally clean it up tomorrow. My work order said that the fill plug was missing an o ring they replaced. I haven't messed with these fill plugs but on the other cars I have changed trans fluid on, there was no o ring.

While I love my car, between this and the phantom coolant smell in the radiator area, I'm not very happy, though these problems could be much worse I suppose.

 

[fordboi415]

God don't tell me that. Looked at mine and it's still oily, but I doubt the dealer cleaned it up. Going to finally clean it up tomorrow. My work order said that the fill plug was missing an o ring they replaced. I haven't messed with these fill plugs but on the other cars I have changed trans fluid on, there was no o ring.

While I love my car, between this and the phantom coolant smell in the radiator area, I'm not very happy, though these problems could be much worse I suppose.

I put thread sealant on the plug and theres no oil around it currently so its definitely not the issue but there is oil present and i know i cleaned up mine well so the leak is still there.


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[fordboi415]

After a little inspection it looks like to oil may be coming out of where the tower for the shifter bolts to the case of the trans.. other than that i dont see another place it could possibly come from.. my bet is either loose bolt or bad gasket..


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[Unfitproduct]

The problem is you're not driving the car fast enough.

 

[fordboi415]

The problem is you're not driving the car fast enough.

Everyone that rides with me would disagree ..


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[Fordfixer2]

I got this from the WSM, I tried to copy the pictures but I couldn’t. There is an O-ring on that shifter shaft that may be the source of the leak. I would put leak dye in the trans and then clean the area off. Have you drive the car for a week or two and recheck the leak with a black light to verify the exact point of the leak. I hope this helps.

Selector Mechanism
Materials

Name Specification
Motorcraft® Dual Clutch Transmission Fluid
XT-11-QDC WSS-M2C200-D2

Removal

Remove the air cleaner.
Refer to: Air Cleaner (303-12B Intake Air Distribution and Filtering - 2.0L Duratec-HE (125kW/170PS) - MI4, Removal and Installation).
Remove the battery tray.
Refer to: Battery Tray (414-01 Battery, Mounting and Cables, Removal and Installation).
Disconnect the wiring retainers, remove the nuts and remove the battery tray support bracket

Disconnect the shift cables from the transmission and the shift cable bracket and disconnect the reverse light switch.

Place the transmission in neutral and remove the bolts.

NOTE: Make sure that no components catch.

Remove the selector mechanism from the transmission.

Installation

NOTE: The O-ring seal is to be reused unless damaged.

Inspect the O-ring seal for damage and install a new O-ring if necessary. Lubricate the O-ring seal in transmission fluid.
Material: Motorcraft® Dual Clutch Transmission Fluid / XT-11-QDC (WSS-M2C200-D2)

NOTE: Make sure that no components catch.

Install the selector mechanism.

Install the selector mechanism bolts and connect the reverse light switch.
Torque: 18 lb.ft (24 Nm)

Adjust the shift cables.
Refer to: Gearshift Cable Adjustment - 6-Speed Manual Transmission - B6 (308-06 Manual Transmission External Controls, General Procedures).
Install the battery tray support bracket.
Torque: 35 lb.ft (48 Nm

Install the battery tray.
Refer to: Battery Tray (414-01 Battery, Mounting and Cables, Removal and Installation).
Install the air cleaner.
Refer to: Air Cleaner (303-12B Intake Air Distribution and Filtering - 2.0L Duratec-HE (125kW/170PS) - MI4, Removal and Installation).
Page

 

[Aaron_ST1]

Thanks for posting that. Good to know that seal is serviceable if it leaks. Interesting that the procedure doesn't mention replacement of the gasket as well. Anyway, cleaned it all up on Saturday and will drive the car (a lot) again later this week and will be checking if the leak is still there.

 

[Aaron_ST1]

Okay, cleaned it up and it is still leaking. I don't know how I missed this before, but this is also a noted problem on the RS:

leaking shift tower

The problem, as Fordboi suggested above, is a bad gasket between the shift tower top and trans. The solution appears to be unbolting it and using some kind of gasket maker sealant to reseal it. There are some pics in that RS thread. I would just fix it myself, but afraid of having a future denial of warranty repair to the trans. I guess I'll drop it off at the dealer again and make sure the service writer knows the exact problem and solution.

 

[fordboi415]

Okay, cleaned it up and it is still leaking. I don't know how I missed this before, but this is also a noted problem on the RS:

leaking shift tower

The problem, as Fordboi suggested above, is a bad gasket between the shift tower top and trans. The solution appears to be unbolting it and using some kind of gasket maker sealant to reseal it. There are some pics in that RS thread. I would just fix it myself, but afraid of having a future denial of warranty repair to the trans. I guess I'll drop it off at the dealer again and make sure the service writer knows the exact problem and solution.

Probably an updated gasket, only solution unless theres a defect in the matting surfaces.. Keep us updated, im waiting to see how they fix yours before I pull mine apart ..


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[Aaron_ST1]

Finally took my car back in and had this fixed. The repair order states "R&R shift linkage housing and reseal with motorcraft rtv sealant. Recheck and not leaking (was advised by ford to perform this service)."

I took a look and I can see some gray gasket sealant where they took the linkage off and made a new seal. It's similar to the pics in the rs thread I linked, but the sealant on my car is gray instead of orange. Whatever the case, hope it doesn't leak anymore, and hope this helps anyone else with this problem.

 

[fordboi415]

Finally took my car back in and had this fixed. The repair order states "R&R shift linkage housing and reseal with motorcraft rtv sealant. Recheck and not leaking (was advised by ford to perform this service)."

I took a look and I can see some gray gasket sealant where they took the linkage off and made a new seal. It's similar to the pics in the rs thread I linked, but the sealant on my car is gray instead of orange. Whatever the case, hope it doesn't leak anymore, and hope this helps anyone else with this problem.

Im gunna tackle mine this weekend hopefully..


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[mchockeyvette27]

Finally took my car back in and had this fixed. The repair order states "R&R shift linkage housing and reseal with motorcraft rtv sealant. Recheck and not leaking (was advised by ford to perform this service)."

I took a look and I can see some gray gasket sealant where they took the linkage off and made a new seal. It's similar to the pics in the rs thread I linked, but the sealant on my car is gray instead of orange. Whatever the case, hope it doesn't leak anymore, and hope this helps anyone else with this problem.

Im gunna tackle mine this weekend hopefully..


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Did you ever get this done on yours too?

Mine is leaking as well - for almost 2 years and about 25k miles. I've had Ford look at it once and have them tell me I spilled oil. Wrong.

I'm sure most of these trans are leaking, it's just the people that actually look down there that notice it. Glad I found this thread, I'll have to get that sealed up myself now. In due time.