98 SC2 Dumping Transmission Fluid
 

Just bought a 98 SC2 for my daughter last week. I needed to change the rear struts before letting her drive it so it sat in the driveway until I had time to do it today. I came out this morning and transmission fluid was leaked over a large section of where it was parked. It had not been moved or started, so I don't know how it could have happened all of the sudden. I don't know much about transmissions, so I don't know exactly what to look for. There is still a small trickle coming from the tranny area.

I also have a feeling somebody could have been trying to steal something off the car. I had a strange fellow come up and look at the vehicle earlier this week while I was in the front yard working and asked me if the car was for sale. I said "you don't see a sign do you?" and he said his grandpa had one and was looking for another. Anyways, any thoughts on what to look for might help. I started it up and it shifts very hard and the engine lifts up when going to reverse. None of this was happening when I bought the car. Added more fluid and it all came out about 10 minutes later.

Sounds like a seal let loose under there. If you have a ten minute window between when you add fluid and when it starts leaking, put on jackstands, wipe everything dry(REALLY IMPORTANT), add fluid, get under the vehicle safely, and watch. The leak should make itself evident. There is a small chance that the car being on a slight incline by being on the jackstands will alter the distribution of tranny fluid, but if it's dumping that much, I believe you'll still find the leak this way.

Personally I wouldn't drive it in it's current state as damage to the tranny is possible.

What's also possible is the person you bought it from added a bunch of stop leak to it right before the sale and it's no longer stopping the leak.

Keep us posted.

It's also possible the dude who was looking at it may have loosened the filter. I'd check it first before doing anything else to it. If the filter is tight, look at your lines going to the radiator. Maybe one of them came loose or sprang a leak. The filter spins on like an oil filter. It's kind of a pain in the butt to get to without moving a few things, but it can be done easily enough if you have a repair manual to show you where it is. I'm not going to tell you, because you say you don't know much about transmissions and need to learn.

Thanks for the great advice from both of you. I will give those suggestions a shot and let you know what happens.

I found this video. Everything that he mentions has been tampered with. I wonder if somebody was tyring to steal the transmission.

Just watched the video. The only way i can interpret your last post is that it appears that "someone was in there". Could have been the previous owner doing a change. Actually you'll know if the filter has been changed if it's not a saturn oem filter as hardly anyone bought them back in the day and you certainly can't buy them now. It's also possible that the person last in there (previous owner, mechanic) was shall we say less than detail oriented and didn't reassemble things completely after the change.

I highly doubt that someone would try to steal the tranny --it's attached to the engine.it's easier to steal the whole car.

Could that dude have sabotaged it? Yes but unlikely unless he watched the same video and knew what wrench to bring to loosen the drain plug.

Once again I have to agree with derf. Is it possible that you just didn't check it out as well as you thought before you bought it?

No one has mentioned the axle seals. Look for a stream of fluid around them as well as the filter, cooling lines and the drain plug.

LOL. Yes, that's certainly possible. It's just weird that the fluid decided to go bye bye overnight. I'll add some more fluid and get under there and see if I can pinpoint where it is coming out of, but will probably end up taking it to the shop. The fliter was in tact and nothing was leaking around it. Drain plug was also tight.

I would strongly suggest you get under the vehicle safely after adding fluid and see where it is leaking from. This could be as simple as a loose drain plug or a loose filter.

It's also a case where an unscrupulous mechanic may try to sell you a whole new tranny when the only thing it needed was a half turn of a wrench or filter.

Pinpoint the area of the leak:, even if the car does need to go to a shop for repairs, you'll know where it's leaking from and will not get taken advantage of.

Don't be afraid to get to know your car.