Leaking engine oil or ATF? pics included!
 

I have a 2008 gd3 sport automatic with 52000 miles. i've noticed in the past two oil changes my underpanel accumulates this oil.. I knew there was some sort of oil leaking but i guess i am too lazy to deal with the problem the first time around and just wiped it clean. The fluid does not leak enough to drip anywhere (or maybe its pooling on the underpanel?)

well, here are some pictures to illustrate my issue.

exhibit A:
http://i51.tinypic.com/2elcr3a.jpg

close up of where the leak area is..
http://i56.tinypic.com/2ivh7uv.jpg

engine oil side looks clean, where the auto transmission fluid area is seems leaky? I checked the dipstick and levels seem normal.
http://i52.tinypic.com/nupzp.jpg

Do I have a problem or is this normal? could the underpanel cause this? i love that underpanel.

either way I plan to take the car to the dealership to get that recall notice checked out and possible a ATF change (i think its time for that right?)

Have you ever replaced the washer on the oil plug? Did you check the oil level before draining it to see if you are losing any? What color is it, think ATF is red? It might be posible that moisture is getting trapped on the tray and it's not at all coming from our engine.

Looks like your main seal is leaking...

This. Unfortunately.

52,000 miles and 3 years seems a little low for a rear main leak but sure enough that's what it looks like to me.

Should be able to tell whether ATF or engine oil by consistency with your fingers. The ATF should feel thinner and less "oily". That's if you have enough around the moist areas to rub against your fingers.

Clean the area w/ foamy engine cleaner and replace the trans washer as MN stated. See if it comes back it looks from the 1 pic that it's the trans plug.
GL

Thanks for all the replies!

I don't know much about car repair stuff except bolting stuff on and changing oil.. but I looked up what a rear main seal leak is and that sounds exactly what's happening.. I noticed from from what I can see, most of the fluid is between a crack (between engine oil pan and transmission?)

I have not changed the ATF myself so the ATF drain bolt/washer has not been taken off. My engine oil drain bolt was replaced by the fumoto drain valve and has never leaked before.

I wonder if this is covered under warranty :-\ and if not does anybody know an estimated price from the dealership?

do you guys know what causes a rear main seal leak?

edit: after googling.. the common cause for this leak dose seem unlikely (high mileage, age, running on low oil, rarely using car)

There are various reasons why it could go: age, hard driving, overheating, bad seal, etc. It wouldn't hurt to try the dealership for some warranty work, but it's very doubtful it would be replaced.

With that said, it is not something that is what I would call easy to replace. If warranty won't cover it, the cheap way out is to keep an eye on your transmission fluids and ride it out. The right thing to do is have it replaced. In the mean time, I suggest doing what Perrenoud Fit recommended and clean it up (but after you take it in to see about warranty work).

I wouldn't obsess over what you're seeing. Give the engine bottom a thorough cleaning and leave the under panel off for an oil change cycle and keep an eye on things. Often you need to trace up and forward to ID engine leaks.

I wonder how hot that underpanel gets... probably not enough to make a difference... possibly faulty seal.

If the car's still under warranty i'd go yell at the dealership. It will be expensive to replace the rear main seal.

Leave that plate off though if you go ;)

haha yeah that was the plan. i've left the underpanel off for easy access and so they don't lose the mounting hardware. i was going to clean it up like how i did for the last oil change, but didn't this time for someone knowledgeable to diagnose this issue.

Hey guys. Just wanted everyone to know that my wife's '08 manual is leaking from the rear main seal. There's no doubt about it in this case. She lost about 1/4 of a quart of oil over 4000 miles. It's not drastic, but I'm not looking forward to replacing the seal myself.

Kinda pissed that this was not evident a few months ago so it could be covered under warranty. Car's at 63,000 miles :mad:

Dude, don't mess with it till it's a quart every 4k miles. It might run for another 60k like this and as you say, this is a big job. Bigger than you think.

Sorry to hear that!

A part of me agrees with breadtrk and driving it until it leaks more, but that is the half-assed way out. All it will take is your wife (or you?) to forget to check the oil and run down until the light comes on. Not to mention the mess that it will leave where ever it's parked. If I lived closer, I would give you a hand.

And post carnage pics during the repair :D

There are some products that I've used in the past to swell the seal up again. They're supposed soften and seal the ring as it passes with the leaking oil. I've used it and it worked for me. It will probably not work with a major leaks, but it might be worth a try. They usually sell the stuff in places like Autozone, etc. I don't know if anyone here has had any bad experience with the stuff.

this look like for me like the drive shaft seals, before go to the main seal check these first. I doubt an Honda with less than 70K require replace the main seal, sure if you have all the maintenance done at the correct interval.

The same happened with my 07 MDX with 72K miles.I take it to a dealer and they told me that I'll need to replace the main seal I can't believe it then looked for a second opinion and the MDX just had a bad drive shaft seal.

GL people!!

This has to be the most supportive forum on the net! Thanks for all replies guys. My wife's a teacher, so the seal's will have to at least wait until she doesn't need the car on a daily basis. I'm tempted to let it go as long as possible and just check the oil more often (I usually check 1/week now). It's not dripping, but there's a definite sludgy mixture of clutch dust and oil on the housing/block interface. I've cleaned it off for now, we'll see how fast it builds back up again.

Thanks again for all of the support!! I'll be sure to take pictures a few months down the road if I end up doing it.

I have 2008 automatic fit and have this exact same issue. (could swear that the pic you took of the transmission is my car - right down to the purolator oil filter!).

Took it into the dealer a year or bit ago and they said they couldn't find the issue. It's crept back over time, I just keep re-cleaning it oil/trans fluid levels never seem to change much. With my warranty almost up I am taking it in again.

(mine is a DX - not sport and has just over 80 000kms, but issue was noticed at around 30 000kms)

Had the same problem on a GE8, replaced the rear main seal & trans fluid under warranty.:wiggle:

I believe it's the oil
 

I have a 07 sport and noticed fluids at the bottom, thought it was ac water but in the morning I seen a little bit of fluids near the driver tires. So I checked the oil level and the oil is in the middle, between the two dots. So I'm guessing new washer or oil pan gasket, I'll try the washer first.