NV3550 leak (shift tower?)

[marcus2137]

Swapped a 3550 behind my 2.5 last year. I daily drive it and hit trails when I can.

Within a month or two of running it, I noticed a small drop of oil coming off the oil pan but it never got any bigger than (never enough to drop) that so I've put off tracking it down, definitely coming from transmission area though.

Hit trails last weekend (not the first time with my newly installed used 3550), and when I got back a large, 2-3ft diameter, puddle of oil developed under the transmission.

At first looked like area of rear output seal but also seemed wet above the rear output.

Pulled the tran tunnel cover and oil is all over the base of the shifter, but also wet on side of shifter base, right up to the boot at the top of the shifter base.

All boots are intacted though, not torn and not out of place.

Pics are as I found it, nothing has been touch or repositioned.

I know the gasket on base of the shift tower can leak, maybe wind blow it higher up to look like the upper boot is leaking? How could either one produce that amount of oil and still be intact?

Ideas?

 

[Rickyd]

Check the fluid levels. it came from somewhere

 

[marcus2137]

The trail goes right up to the base of the upper boot. I know that oil blows around when driving and can be deceptive, but it stops right at the boot on multiple sides of the tower.

Could that much oil come out of the top of the shift tower? Why would I be losing oil there? It has a functional breather hose that terminates in engine bay.

Thanks.

 

[marcus2137]

I pulled the upper boot off tonight after work and the oil is definitely coming from that area. Under the boot had more oil built up that ran out when I pulled it. Doesn't mean it isn't leaking from the base also.

The only way I could see that much oil coming out from there is that it was being pumped out while driving, building up in the skid, and dumped on my garage floor over night while parked.

Just have to figure out why it was fine for 1 year untouched and suddenly did this.

It leaked the day after off roading, when cruising on the freeway.

 

[Rickyd]

Check the vent

 

[marcus2137]

Check the vent

Ya, that's what I'll be doing after work. I pulled the vent cap off and ran a hose before putting the transmission in, maybe it got kinked somewhere.

Thanks.

 

[marcus2137]

So to wrap up, the only possibilities that made sense for what a nv3550 would push a bunch of oil out of the shifter was :

1. It just can't handle the torque of the 2.5L
2. Breather plug got blocked. I pulled the breather cap off and put a hose on before putting the transmission in. Ran for over a year just fine. Apparently, sometime recently, the breather hose shifted enough that it developed a kink that I found after tracing the hose tonight.

Case closed. Thanks Rickyd, sometimes you need hear someone else say something. I thought to myself "I ran a whole hose, it's been fine for a year, shouldn't be a breather problem." But nothing else made sense so hearing you confirm the thought lead me to trace the line out.