Kaiser bun

Well about a week and a half ago i was on my way back from a trip to montana in the 8 and about 100 miles from home at a gas station my car was essentially smoking... scared the s&*% out of me but gauges were good, and i thought something might have gotten caught up by the cat or exhaust and it would burn off. When i got home and did not find anything stuck up there i took it to a mechanic here who hoisted it up and immediatly noticed the tranny output seal was going. I called the nearest dealer (100 miles away) and they ordered the part and tomorrow i am driving there to have this nuisance fixed. Just curious to see if anyone else has had this happen, i searched but found very little so my guess is not. Just figured i would share this in case it happens to someone else.

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nycgps

tranny rear seal can but rarely fail.

guess you're just one of the unlucky one.

Spin9k

I'm just noticing a couple drips from that area in my driveway. It's at a gasket a couple inches back from the fill plug. Not sure what it's called, going to try tightening the bolts there.....

Kaiser bun

ya im not upset really because my powertrain warranty is still active so it wont cost me anything except gas 100 miles there and back. I just hope i dont lose too much tranny fluid on the way there...

Kaiser bun

update: Just got a call from the dealership today saying that i guess its not covered so you owe us $200... -.-

Like hell i do, i drove 100 miles to go to you guys because i was told it was covered, i could have had the part and labor for about $120 at a shop in my town and saved 100 miles there and back in gas. Needless to say i called MNAO and they said there should be no reason that its not covered, they then called the dealer and came back and said the the warranty lady there is going to talk to the regional rep because it should be covered and she must have filed it wrong or something... What if i didnt care and just payed the $200? I mean its just another case of the stealership and its really f-ing annoying.

edit: spin 9k i missed your post for some reason ? ya mine wasnt to the point of dripping in my driveway but it was leaking down onto the exhast area which would then heat it up and it smelt really bad.

nycgps

Its like that, its always EASIER to just tell the poor customer that this is not covered and pay full hour/labor than doing all the paper work/filing to get only part of the money back

GeorgeH

Mine went out (not as dramatic as the OP, caught it before it got bad) but I have a custom mid-pipe that puts the cat right next to the end of the tranny. Probably baked it. Also, for 95% of my '04s life, it has been parked in my driveway, nose-up an incline. Not sure if that matters.

Kaiser bun

1+ year bump to share that my seal appears to be leaking again, caught a slight wiff of the same smell, so i took it into the dealer, they hoisted it up, and said I was right... 2 tranny output seals going bad within a year and a half?? wtf

It wont be covered under warranty this time as my powertrain has expired... gonna look around and see if there is a shop in town that would be better and cheaper.

MazdaManiac

Your PPF is probably not aligned correctly. The misalignment puts additional stress on the seal.

I've had one of those seals go bad, but I have my driveshaft out a lot and it is likely that I nicked it at some point.

Kaiser bun

This is exactly what I was hoping I would hear, just didn't seem right to me that it would go bad twice... Thanks.

Kaiser bun

So.... had a shop ready to put a new seal in today and had them try to find why they keep going bad (mentioned the ppf), got a call telling me that the u-joints in the driveshaft are what is causing the problem.. If i want to fix the route of the problem i would have to replace the entire driveshaft ($1600). Assuming they are right, why wasn't this diagnosed the first time the seal went bad when my car was under warranty?? Calling MNAO later today...

Socr8tes

I've had my seal go bad twice. First time was replaced under warranty. I replaced it myself the second time when I did my clutch. Dealership wanted $350 to do it. If I remember correctly, the seal itself is about $16.

I've never looked closely, but I'm surprised the u-joints aren't serviceable. If Mazda doesn't cover the prop shaft (which they won't) and depending on how bad the leak is, I'd either leave it and top the fluid off every few months, or replace it myself. It not a bad job with proper tools and jack stands, though the exhaust needs to come out and that can be a pain. I'm sure someone will correct me, but I think you can even do it without removing the PPF. You just need to cover the prop shaft before pulling it and be very careful not to drop or ding it.

dannobre

Unless you have a lot of miles...or drive on dirt roads all the time they are likely full of it again

Have a driveshaft shop look at it before you drop that kind of money at the dealership

Kaiser bun

I in no way plan on paying the dealership to replace my driveshaft, if for some reason i am able to get it covered under warranty (not likely) I will have it done there. If it is not covered (more likely) I will have a local shop replace the seal for around $150 and hold off on the driveshaft, I do not have the tools or space availiable any more so fixing the seal myself is out of the question for awhile anyways...

nycgps

that sucks.

if I'm u I will see if I can get the drive shaft at a drive shaft shop to replace the u joints.

planning to do that for my RX7. Mazda said it's not "replaceable" but nothing is impossible