CluelessOutback Posted December 29, 2016 Share Posted December 29, 2016 Maybe I should've listened to my neighbor who said "I'll replace the engine for you, but I would just cut your losses and get a new car"(when the head gaskets blew for the 3rd time, he was going to replace them but the engine needed a lot more work then just that, you can read more about that here if you'd like) but I'm stubborn and I couldn't afford anything other then slightly newer anyway, so I had him swap the engines. He said the trans fluid showed signs of impending failure, but it wasn't having any transmission issues so I figured it would get by for a while longer(I only put like 6-8k a year on the car). I got the car back on 12/11 and after a few days I started noticing spots on the ground where I park. I thought it was oil but the oil level never got any lower. A few days ago I noticed it started slipping a bit more then normal and then today after I stopped at a stop sign(sorta a rolling stop) when I hit the gas again it sorta didn't go, and then lurched forward to the point there it actually made a tire squealing sound, so I started thinking maybe it's not oil, but transmission fluid. I found the dip stick(hidden low on the driver side in the back of the engine, yellow handle, right? I hope lmao) and when I first checked it(wrongly because the car wasn't running and was cold) the level a little on the low side, but readable(mind you the fluid didn't look anything like the trans fluid I got ). A little later I decided to do some googling and learned that the car needed to be warm and running so I checked it again properly and it barley read on the stick . My neighbor had had me buy a quart of trans fluid so I attempted to add that in, failing miserably as 90% of it went on the ground since the funnel opening was too big, then i had the brilliant idea that maybe trying to poor it in would be better, it wasn't, too many hoses in the way. So i borrowed my neighbors car and went to walmart to get a funnel(and one of those special trans filler hoses) and more fluid. I only ended up adding the rest of the quart(maybe half of it actually made it in) and a bottle of the stop leak stuff(the one thats the 2 different bottles in one, forget the name) and after that I couldn't seem to get an accurate read, but I can clearly see something slowly dripping out from under the car. Before I added anything to it, I stuck a piece of paper(junk mail lol) under the car to get a pic of the dripping fluid and a few pics from under the car. Kudos if you read through all of this. I got interrupted about 15 times so I'm sorry if it's a bit jumbled. Fluid that was leaking before adding anything. the leaking from under the car, engine was running in these I'm 99% sure. FYI, neighbor is away hence why I'm stupidly doing this myself and possibly Fing up my car more , I didn't want to drive it without trans fluid and we're expecting snow tomorrow and while I have permission to use the neighbors car, it isn't very good in the snow, especially when you're used to driving an outback lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted December 29, 2016 Share Posted December 29, 2016 Can easily make a make-shift funnel out of cereal boxes or cardboard. Flatten and roll them at an angle into a funnel shape. 1. Never run a vehicle low on oil or ATF, check levels immediately anytime there are hits of issues. It is guaranteed high dollar failure of the trans or engine if it gets too low. There's no maybe or lucky with no oil. 2. Were those pictures taken after you tried dumping fluid all over the trans? The picture posted is where it would all end up from trying to dump it in the fill tube so it might not be the source of the leak. Otherwise this is really simple - find the source of the leak. Might need to drive it some or clean it off so the spillage doesn't make it hard to find ATF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john in KY Posted December 29, 2016 Share Posted December 29, 2016 Appears to me the pan has been off before and a bunch of RTV was used. My guess is the source of the leak is the pan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CluelessOutback Posted December 29, 2016 Author Share Posted December 29, 2016 Can easily make a make-shift funnel out of cereal boxes or cardboard. Flatten and roll them at an angle into a funnel shape. 1. Never run a vehicle low on oil or ATF, check levels immediately anytime there are hits of issues. It is guaranteed high dollar failure of the trans or engine if it gets too low. There's no maybe or lucky with no oil. 2. Were those pictures taken after you tried dumping fluid all over the trans? The picture posted is where it would all end up from trying to dump it in the fill tube so it might not be the source of the leak. Otherwise this is really simple - find the source of the leak. Might need to drive it some or clean it off so the spillage doesn't make it hard to find ATF. I just picked up one of those transmission filler funnel hose things at walmart (although I couldn't get the stupid funnel to stay in it so I ended up pouring it right into the tube lol, it worked well enough). I know I should have checked trans level sooner, but it didn't really dawn on me that it wasn't oil on the ground until this morning. I checked it shortly after the incident at the stop sign this morning. The first pic (of the fluid on the paper) was taken before I added anything, I stuck that under the leaking area while I left the car run while letting my neighbors dogs out, that accumulated in about 10 minutes. The last 2 pics were taken a few hours after the spillage, it drips off the bolt in the pic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CluelessOutback Posted December 29, 2016 Author Share Posted December 29, 2016 Appears to me the pan has been off before and a bunch of RTV was used. My guess is the source of the leak is the pan. would he have needed to take the pan off while swapping the engine? It never leaked before the engine was swamped Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted December 29, 2016 Share Posted December 29, 2016 (edited) ATF hoses around dipstick are likely leaking. The leak appears to be hitting the exhaust in front of the trans pan so the pan probably is not the cause of the leak. (Looks like it has been resealed it seems). Right above that exhaust and front inner axle joint that looks wet (assuming it's ATF) - there are the transmission cooler lines. There are two rubber hoses attaching right around the dipstick area that supply and return ATF from the AT to the trans cooler then back to the AT. One is probably leaking and dripping on the exhaust. Keep in mind the *source* of the leak matters, rather than where it ends up. So when you look at that picture your first thought should be "what's above that and dripping down?". See if you can get picture of the area above that. Through the engine bay, underneath, or both hood chance that's a simple and easy hose leak. would he have needed to take the pan off while swapping the engine? no. Edited December 29, 2016 by grossgary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CluelessOutback Posted December 29, 2016 Author Share Posted December 29, 2016 Thanks, I will try to get those pics tomorrow as long as it isn't snowing too badly. It's hard to get pics from under the car with the low ground clearance, I can squeeze under but not with much room to move my arms lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john in KY Posted December 29, 2016 Share Posted December 29, 2016 (edited) Maybe the drain plug, that "bolt", needs tighten or a new gasket. Just had another thought. Maybe the transmission's front seal was damaged when the engine was swapped. Edited December 29, 2016 by john in KY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmdew Posted December 29, 2016 Share Posted December 29, 2016 I have a nice rust free pan if you want it. $20 + shipping from CO. A good steam clean is where I'd start and then find the source of the leak, If the TC was pulled out of the trans and then reseated the main seal may be damaged. As others have said, the trans coolant lines may have been damaged when the engine was changed. The trans funnels with a plastic hose on them work great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CluelessOutback Posted January 3, 2017 Author Share Posted January 3, 2017 I was finally able to get some pics today, it was icy and rainy out so I was only able to get them through the top of the engine bay, I can't see anything in them but maybe you more expiranced people can, I tried to get pics from underneath but wasn't able to, if the weather is better tomorrow I will try again. Here are the pics I did get http://s920.photobucket.com/user/Rachel1786/library/2000%20outback Hope that works, I didn't want to post them all individually since they mostly show the same thing, however I thought maybe one angle would be more helpful for someone to see something lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 You can also hop a curb with one wheel or let the front of the car hang over a side walk to easily get room to get under and take a pic....and get all wet while you're at it. Lol 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CluelessOutback Posted January 3, 2017 Author Share Posted January 3, 2017 You can also hop a curb with one wheel or let the front of the car hang over a side walk to easily get room to get under and take a pic....and get all wet while you're at it. Lol Unfortunately there are no curbs or sidewalks around here lol, I'll have to wait for it to dry up a bit and see if I can shimmy under, maybe if the weather is better tomorrow I drive to the drive through car wash and do the wash with undercarriage wash, there should be a curb there I can use afterwards to get a pic of the underneath, or if not at least if I pull into the car wash bay, it won't be as bad as getting under it on the gravel driveway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CluelessOutback Posted January 3, 2017 Author Share Posted January 3, 2017 Also, does the ej22 get significantly less mpg then the ej25? When I first got the car I got about 300/tank, overtime it for worse and I was getting around 240, replaced the knocksensor and it increased it to about 260/270, since the engine swap I'm getting about 220, however I filled up after I got the exhust fixed so maybe that will alter it? I do have some codes, one of which I believe is a rear o2 sensor. Not sure abut the others. P0170 P0139 P0130 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 It depends on driving conditions. Easy driving the ej22 should be fine and not much difference. In some cases it could do better. But as with most things in life it's not black and white. Big hills big tires heavy car heavy loads automatic can bog the smaller engine and lower gas mileage. I dropped an EJ18 into an automatic legacy. In flatland trips I'd get close to 35 in an automatic, wouldnt get that with an EJ25. unfortunately I live in the mountains and it would only get low 20's around here, the grades killed it. It was worse with larger tires, I reduced size and that helped some. That was exaggerated of course due to the EJ18 but an EJ22 may see similar depending on demands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Google those codes and that will share what they are. 0130 is front O2 sensor I think that seems an obvious starting point. Rear O2 is benign on pre-2005 vehicles and can be ignored for the moment. Look at the other codes first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3Pin Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 The 170 code is a general fuel delivery code that the computer hasn't determined whether its too lean or too rich. It could be either. A number of factors determine the fuel trim. It is a code that sets after the computer sees a problem over a period of time. DTC P0139 — O2 SENSOR CIRCUIT SLOW RESPONSE (BANK 1 SENSOR 2) Usually the cause of P0130 is a bad oxygen sensor, however this isn't always the case. If your o2 sensors haven't been replaced and they are old, it's a good bet that the sensor is the problem. But, It could be caused by any of the following: Water or corrosion in the connector Loose terminals in the connector Wiring burnt on exhaust components Open or short in the wiring due to rubbing on engine components Holes in exhaust allowing unmetered oxygen into exhaust system Un-metered vacuum leak at the engine Bad o2 sensor Bad PCM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forester2002s Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 Grossgary: Check supermarket parking lots for concrete curbs. I've often seen shade-tree mechanics at work there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveT Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 A few solid concrete blocks can be handy also. 4x8x16. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.