diff oil leak

[green97gt]

hey, so i put this trans in the 00 outback, put about 300 miles on it, and aside from a p0420 havent had any issues..untill...

this morning when i got to work i noticed the smell of hot diff oil , looked under the car and sure enough, there was diff oil on the exhaust, a decent amount too, enough to have little droplets hanging from some of the bolts, went out for lunch and there were 5 or 6 quarter size spots on the ground.

it seems to be coming from the diff dip stick side of the trans and is all down the side of the trans behind the diff dipstick


so im wondering how often the seal between the mating surfaces of the diff/trans fail?
i really should have done that while i was in there :smt011

is it possible to be leaking from the dip-stick itself? maybe that little O-ring goes bad?
cause that area was also wet with diff fluid.

does the drain plug have a crush washer? if so ill look into that was well, tho ive never seen oil leak up :lol:

the two axle shaft seal areas are bone dry, so its not those.


ideas? thoughts?

[LSiTo5Revo]

Did you over fill?

[green97gt]

i dont believe so, but the dipstick that came with the trans is bent, and i tried to straighten it as much as possible.

and the fluid level sits right at the full mark, if not a tiny bit over. so the combination might mean its a small bit overfull now that i think about it.

if it is over full will it fling out the dipstick hole?

cant imagine it would build up pressure and blow a seal as the dipstick slides loosely in and out, so thats why i was thinking maybe the o-ring on the dipstick was shot, its gotta be there for a reason right?

[LSiTo5Revo]

well if the dipstick is that far off that could be why but you said you saw ALOT of oil. how many quarts did you put in? the The o ring does keep the oil from coming out but its there more for the purpose of keeping contaminants out. If you go to a hardware store in the plumbing section you can get the o ring for nothing. take your old one find one that matches the size and replace it. the rubber compound is tougher than than what is used for factory manu. and consider buying a new dip stick.

[LSiTo5Revo]

also do you know for a fact if that's the rite dip stick?

[j_saffron]

the dipstick that came with the trans is bent, and i tried to straighten it as much as possible.


kinda sounds like the bent dipstick may have been a quick fix for the previous owner. maybe it was the wrong one to begin with...

[green97gt]

I don't know if it is the right dipstick, but it looks like every other 4eat dipstick I've ever seen.

[green97gt]

oh, and i filled with 1.5 quarts of lucas gear oil.

next time i am home i will compare it with the dipstick off of the wifes(now bunk) 97gt

[j_saffron]

i was just thinking if it was a quick fix, it might have been bent to remain properly seated. if it were too long or something...
its a longshot i know, but a bent dipstick to begin with isn't very common.