Transmission Leak
 

New member.
I have a 2007 4 cylinder. I noticed the transmission casing was wet during the latest oil change. I degreased the casing, drained and filled with new Honda tranny fluid. I notices a weep hole where the leak is coming from. The leak is slow and does stain the driveway, but really small stains. The weep hole is more on the driver side. My question is what does this mean and possible solutions?

weep hole??? hmmm...any chance you can get some pics of the suspect area?

At least describe where that weep-hole is located.

Ok. I went to a local Honda dealer today. They said it is a front pump seal or a porous transmission case. They told me I need a new transmission. A rebuilt for $2400 or Honda replacement for $3900.00. The car runs great and only has 51,000 mile on it. Can I run this car and keep an eye on the fluid level? Or another solution?

low miles for the age...did it sit for a while without being driven?

you could also try a "stop leak" type trans fluid additive, although i'm not sure if the honda transmission would be happy about it ;)

No. The car is used everyday. We never have been high mileage drivers. I work less than five minutes from work.
Honda told me not to use any stop leak additives. They said there are small holes and bearings inside and it would clog them up. Apparently Honda trannys are very moody about anything other than Honda fluid.

I'd be calling up Honda about this, with such low mileage they should do something...I have essentially the same drivetrain in my 03 that you have with 180k miles and not one drop of any fluid comes out of it. Otherwise pickup a couple of quarts of the honda atf and keep it in the trunk and check once a month or so.

Suggest draining all the fluid and trying a J&B weld epoxy fix. It should hold on transmission, if you can get clean enough (no oil).

good luck

I called Honda and explain to them the situation. They gave me a case number and will get back to me.
I will research the epoxy. I think this would be an interesting fix, if I can get it completely clean.

Suggest cleaning outside and then forcing a little solvent deep into the crack/defect to clean the defect. Apply J&B and allow to dry overnight before loading ATF again.

I've read of engine block repairs w/ J&B weld so this should be easy,...if it will stick. Thorough cleaning is the key.

good luck

good, don't do anything until you hear back from them.

You need to consider exactly where it's leaking before plugging it with JBWeld.

You first mentioned a "weep hole". *IF* you're talking about the little drain hole at the bottom of the bellhousing, then DO NOT close that up with JBWeld. That's not really the source of the leak - you have to remove the transmission to fix the actual leak.

Honda called me back today. They are going to replace the tranny with a Honda remanufactured one. Wow, I was shocked. He said that it a very unique circumstance and since we also own a Pilot they wanted to make it right.
So thanks Dr. Drivability. It was a path that wasn't thought of.

glad to hear it, sometimes a phone call is the simplest fix :D

Dr Driveability,
I got my Accord back from Honda and it runs great. Interesting enough there was an annoying noise that is now gone. The mechanic said that the bearing seal was bad and it was the best possible fix. I asked if there was an extended warranty now that they worked on the transmission, and he said that they were never in the transmission and therefore there is no extended warranty. I am very thrilled and thankful that Honda stepped up and the car runs great.
Is there anything you can think of that should have been asked?

as long as the leak is fixed...and stays fixed, i wouldn't worry about it too much. you should have at least a 3 month 3k mile warranty on the work they did perform regardless. i would however pop for 3 quarts of honda atf and do a drain and fill once a year just for preventative maintenance.