brake fluid leaking at front of 5-speed transmission

[fjinva]

I need some help with diagnosis. The symptoms are that the clutch will not engage or disengage while the engine is running. I found out when I tried to start my '74 tii with Getrag 245 5-speed.  It jerked forward with the clutch depressed when I tried to start it (should have taken it out of gear to start). I've had the car for 10+ years with almost no issues and drive it regularly.

Current History:

1. I have been driving it recently with no issues and nothing on the floor. I have not done any work on the car recently.
2. Brake light came on the day before, so I added a small amount of DOT4.
3. Next day, the clutch would not engage or disengage as described above.
4. Noticed dark fluid on floor beneath car.
5. Smells like brake fluid, is very dark and below the front of tranny.  Tranny has new MTL from last spring. I have not checked that level.
6. Brake/clutch reservoir was empty to the clutch nipple. Brakes work fine.
7. Upon close inspection, master cylinder is dry all around, nothing on booster or inside peddle box.  Booster is dry inside. Slave cylinder is dry all around. Hydraulic soft line is also dry.
8. Upon pumping clutch, fluid drips freely from the front of the transmission. Not near the master or slave cylinders.
9. It appears to be coming from the top side, as there is a small amount of fluid that runs down the side of the tranny as well.

 

I'm not sure where this could be coming from.  I can easily replace the master, slave and hydraulic hose, but I'm not convinced that will solve the problem.

It has to be coming from the clutch circuit, but where do I look?

 

Thanks for any wisdom you can share.

Darrell,

Richmond, VA

[Einspritz]

It seems that your slave is leaking into the bell housing..

 

So remove that first.

[John76]

The throw-out bearing release arm is inside the bellhousing on the 5-speed transmissions.

Your slave cylinder is squirting brake fluid into the bellhousing most likely from a bad seal.

Try a slave cylinder rebuild kit.

[fjinva]

That feels exactly right.  I was not sure if there was a way for the fluid to get into the bell housing and leak out the front. I have never worked on getrag 245s before.

Time to replace the slave and master while I'm at it.  It has been over 10 years!

Thanks for the expertise.

[Son of Marty]

When you replace your slave cylinder remember to have the bleeder at the bottom facing down as in this pic.

 

[fjinva]

Seems odd that it faces down, but I did notice that earlier and saw a few posts.  Thanks for reminding me.

 

Final question as I order parts - Does the hydraulic hose that connects the slave cylinder from a getrag 245 mount right up to the regular 2002tii master cylinder?  I did not see any threads that highlighted an issue with this, but thought I would ask to make sure it will screw right in.

[72MetallicMalaga]

How do you undo that top bolt on the 245 slave? Im literally replacing my master and slave right now and i cant get that bolt 

[fjinva]

Not sure.  I havn't tried yet.  I am curious to hear other ideas if it is that hard to access. I have many adapters and thin walled sockets. Maybe a crow foot wrench on a socket extension?

[2002iii]

A crows foot might work.

 

It all depends on how much massaging has been done to the transmission tunnel when the 245 was installed.

 

Lots of extensions, about 3 foots worth, preferably wobble extensions and or swivel joints.

 

You might also need to undo the transmission mount and lower the back of  transmission with a floor Jack.

 

An extra set of hands and eyes help.

[72MetallicMalaga]

I was able to get it with a ratcheting wrench, from the engine bay, but it's not as tight as I want it to be.

Next up is extensions lol

[johnny02]

12 hours ago, fjinva said:

 

Final question as I order parts - Does the hydraulic hose that connects the slave cylinder from a getrag 245 mount right up to the regular 2002tii master cylinder?  I did not see any threads that highlighted an issue with this, but thought I would ask to make sure it will screw right in.

I think It’s a different hose. blunttech.com does a good job of differentiating 4- and 5-speed parts.  

[fjinva]

Well... I'm not sure where to go from here.

I replaced the master cylinder and slave cylinder and installed a new braided hard line between the two.

I bled the system with a Motive power bleeder and it ran clear without bubbles.

The slave cylinder was the correct one for the Getrag 245 5-speed I have.  The master is a replacement of the original one I took off.

It still has a massive leak at the front of the bell housing when I press the clutch pedal!!  And it ill not go into gear.

In the picture, I am pointing to where most of the fluid comes out.  There is also a bit of fluid leaking between the slave cylinder and bell housing mounting flange.

• Did I install a defective slave cylinder?  What else could this be?

TIA for any additional help on this.

[fjinva]

When I mounted the slave cylinder, I could not see or feel any depression inside the bell housing where the slave cylinder shaft would insert.

Did I miss something inside the bell housing that could cause the shaft to not be aligned properly and leak like this?

[72MetallicMalaga]

Are you sure it isn't tranny fluid that is leaking, from a worn seal?

 

Have you tried removing the slave cylinder to see if it's leaking?

 

[stephers]

I wonder if you did not get the slave cyl pushrod into the detent of the release fork?   If you had it off, it might push the pushrod at a bad angle causing the slave to leak      I  would go along with 72MetallicMalaga about removing the slave and checking it, sounds like you may have to remove it anyways to fit the pushrod into the fork properly.  Use a little grease on the end of the pushrod where it goes into the fork detent        Make sure that the pivot at the other end is OK, not broken or worn off but not much that you can do to fix that from outside the trans     Also, remove the lower bell housing cover and that will let you see up into the bell housing better       Sure that it is not oil from the rear main seal?

 

Thanks, Rick