So I get home tonight and jack up my car. I wanted to double check all the bolts on my new exhaust system. While under the car I noticed that the transmission seemed a little oily. Not dripping, but an oily sludge. I did have it out in the rain yestderday for the meet so could it just be muddy old sludge. I also think I feel a clutch slip while out on the highway.

Here is a series of pics. Can anyone make anything out of this? Should I bring it to a pro?

I took a bunch of pics to try to capture angles.

_________________
Keith Hultmark
2009 370Z Touring - Sold (5 years owned)
1993 300ZX - Sold (5 years owned)
1976 Porsche 912E. #163 of 2200 - SOLD (3 years owned)
2018 BMW 330i GT xdrive daily driver
2004 BMW Z4 3.0i ….it is a Z

looks like you've just got an oil leak from the tranny..
hard to see where it might be coming from...
Tranny fluid is pretty thin so it doesnt take much for it to leak..

see if you can find some sort of pattern to give you an idea of where its coming from...
eg.. a leaking rear seal (tranny to tailshaft) will usually spit the oil out in a kind of fan around that area..

Looks to me like it coming from midway up the tranny.. Probly the speedo cable input...
its rare for them to leak at the casing joins.. so what else can possibly leak??? speedo input. gear selector inputs. reverse gear sender unit..

DEtermin without a doubt what kind of oil it is. (engine oil or trans fluid)
oil from the motor could be getting flung back on the tranny as you drive...

all in all it looks like a very minor prob...

hope that helps

Thanks for the info, that settle my stomach down a bit. I'll wipe it down and keep an eye on it. I have very little major mechanical experience, so this forum has been great.

I did manage to install the cat back, brake pads, and intake myself and I can muster up an oil change or two.

_________________
Keith Hultmark
2009 370Z Touring - Sold (5 years owned)
1993 300ZX - Sold (5 years owned)
1976 Porsche 912E. #163 of 2200 - SOLD (3 years owned)
2018 BMW 330i GT xdrive daily driver
2004 BMW Z4 3.0i ….it is a Z

Pete's advice is right. Identify the substance and locate the source.

Since you JUST added Cat-Back exhaust, you would have noticed this leak if it had existed before you started that work, right? Now the exhaust is mounted and the first time you look under there again, it's wet. Therefore, you PROBABLY did the "damage" (whatever it was) which caused the leak.

You maybe moved or disconnected something to get temporary clearance for the exhaust, then forgot to reconnect or failed to secure whatever it was. I like Pete's idea about the Speedo hookup. Can you check the fluid level in the g'box to see if it has lowered? Same-same for the engine oil and the clutch master cylinder.

I'd wipe it all down clean, drive it once around the block, hoist it back up and see where it's originating from. Make sure you have enough oil left in it to leak out, before you start.

Don't view this as a catastrophe ~ look at it as an opportunity to get to know your Z from another angle!:lol:

The old muffler came off with little force, and the cat back connections to the cat are not close enough to the tranny to have to remove anything on the Z32. I went back and looked at some notes I took when the I had the timing service done when I first bought the car at 50K miles. They did mention there was a small leak at one of the sensors on the tranny that obsidianpete mentioned. After obsidianpete's post I went and dug those notes out. It looks like I jotted speedo sensor leak down in the notes. The timing service was expensive enaough where they said this could wait. So I waited and apparantly forgot about it, since my garage floor is always clean under the Z. So there is not enough of a leak to cuase a drip.

Frank you a right about one thing for sure. I did spend about an hour last night looking at all the other things under the Z that I did not go near during the exahust install when I noticed the wetness on the tranny.
I am certainly getting to know my Z from another angle and I like it.

Thanks again for the advice. As Frank says: That's what I love about this club"

I'll let you know what this turns out to be.

_________________
Keith Hultmark
2009 370Z Touring - Sold (5 years owned)
1993 300ZX - Sold (5 years owned)
1976 Porsche 912E. #163 of 2200 - SOLD (3 years owned)
2018 BMW 330i GT xdrive daily driver
2004 BMW Z4 3.0i ….it is a Z

If your floor's dry, you should consider what might be happening only when the car is in motion. No pressure on the clutch slave cylinder while parked, for example. As you drive you shift gears constantly and that might be the source of a leak. Your mention of a clutch slip rings alarm bells.

Try to picture what's happening only when the car is in motion. You're getting a dribble from somewhere, but not while it's parked. Also bear in mind that wind only blows in one direction under there, which could force oil or brake fluid backward from it's actual source. The transmission might simply be the first place oil could gather, having been blown backward from some "forward" source. (My teenage buddy once failed to seat the dipstick fully in his Healey ~ took us days to figure out where the oil was coming from!)

Wipe it down, top everything off, and look under there frequently. You'll find it.

Thanks Frank, keep teaching, cause I am still learning. I've got a fun weekend project. Check the fluids, wipe it down, and now the fun part - Drive the Z.

Perhaps I need to have TECHNICAL FUN RUN and have you guys look under my car (more on Funs Runs coming up)

_________________
Keith Hultmark
2009 370Z Touring - Sold (5 years owned)
1993 300ZX - Sold (5 years owned)
1976 Porsche 912E. #163 of 2200 - SOLD (3 years owned)
2018 BMW 330i GT xdrive daily driver
2004 BMW Z4 3.0i ….it is a Z

You know, that doesn't look like oil in the photos. It looks like fluid.
Notice how the passenger side of the transmission tail case appears "washed" cleaner than the driver's side? And nothing appears forward of the transmission case/tail case junction.

Fluids will wash thru oil. The driver's side has some road dirt and oil on it, the passenger side doesn't. I would suspect this might be a clutch fluid (or even brake fluid) leak, which is running down the passenger side of the tail shaft case, washing it clean. If your g'box has an electrically activated overdrive (like my Healey did) the slave cylinder might be located near there. I see a lot of devices up on that side of the case, any of which might be a source.

Start by checking the fluid levels in your brake and clutch reservoirs today. A low level in any of them will give you a place to start looking.

I agree with Frank. Look at the brake and clutch fluid levels. Also, there is a short breather tube on top of the tranny. If at one time the tranny fluid was changed and over filled (not common, but has happened) it could leak out as the car is driven. This fluid has been leaking for a long time as it has a caked on look and this only happens over time.

I agree it does not look bad, but with some exploration you could discover where the source is. Look for the most forward and highest area for wetness on the car, this is usually the source of the leak.

Only worry about a leak if you can watch it drip, but any leak should eventually be fixed. So, could be the gear selector, a sensor, the over fill idea, the casing itself, or just a rear seal which is the most common and sprays oil all over the tranni. tunnel, and that's what it looks like from the photos. Now, if the tailshaft bushing is excessively worn, putting a new seal in is useless. Need to replace the bushing, and unfortaunatly on a Z, you have to buy a new tailshaft, unless some one out there has the bushing. I have replaced this bushing on other vehicles, but have not found it for the Z.

So I decided to drop the Z off at Girard Nissan where I bought Pathfinder and is about 1/4 mile from my house and I've used for the last 5 years as needed. Based all your advice not to panic, and do the following, I checked fluids and wiped everything down, and drove around for an hour on Sunday. All fluids stayed good, using a mirror and flashlight I thought saw a weep out of a sender off the upper part of the tranny and nothing major sprayed or dripping.

It was the Reverse Lamp Switch Assy and is in a location I did not feel like getting into. So Parts ($27) plus 1 hour labor($75) and the leak will be fixed tomorrow after they get the part in. Works for me.

I also dropped off a stack of Z spotter cards to my service advisor Richard Girard(no relation to ownership). He's been with Nissan since the 70's and knows alot about all the modelas of Z's. While they have not sold many Z's recently he still sees most of what they sold come in for regular service. He'll give the a Z spotter card. He thinks a few guys would enjoy the club. They do have a Silver 370Z in the showroom.

Lastly, I saw A Red TT Z32 on southbound I-95 near exit 75 around 5pm today. I was heading North. I will say Z32's look pretty cool on the road.

_________________
Keith Hultmark
2009 370Z Touring - Sold (5 years owned)
1993 300ZX - Sold (5 years owned)
1976 Porsche 912E. #163 of 2200 - SOLD (3 years owned)
2018 BMW 330i GT xdrive daily driver
2004 BMW Z4 3.0i ….it is a Z

AHA! So our winner is ~

OBSIDIAN PETE, who correctly suggested it might be a reverse gear sender unit, which is Australian for "Backup light switch".

Congratulations Pete! You win the "No PriZe" for correctly diagnosing Z gremlins from the greatest distance! Good on ya' Mate!

Frank

awesome.. not bad considering im only familiar with pre 1980 Z's...
if the reverse sender is similar to the early tranny design i would of saved meself the $75 and got my 17mm (or maybe 19mm) , and changed it making sure its clean and that the gasket surface is clean and seals...
but then again your $75 labour is like insurance if it stuffs up.

oh yeah, and my "no prize" is awesome... im gonna add it to my collection of Z car models...hehehehehe