I'm relatively new to aussiemagna.com... and would like to say it's great... have solved a few problems with my car that other users have had... so Thanks...

But moreso, now I seem to have a couple of problems that I havent been able to find anywhere else in the forum... I have a 98 TF 3.0L Magna

1: I have just noticed that my car has a small oil leak.. 2 spots on the ground after about 3 hours, both about the size of a 20c coin. However, it seems to be leaking more than what it appears... about half it's capacity in about a month... I have also noticed oil spray in the engine bay, from the brake cylinder all the way down to the windscreen washer bottle... like its been dripping on the belts while driving. Any ideas on what could be the problem?

2: While investigating my engine oil, I also checked my transmission fluid... when i cleaned the dipstick, the fluid was a silver/grey colour with a tinge of red? this also has me worried, because unfortunately, Magna's arent the best with their autos...

Hope someone can help!

dont wanna be the bearer of bad news but as far as i know auto tranny oil should be redish, id say the silver is small parts of your gearbox, best thing u can do for it is do a full tranny fluid flush.

Bugger... I was really hoping that wouldnt be the case with the gearbox.

It initially had damper clutch problems, with it shuddering between 1500 and 2500 revs... I questioned Mitsu about it and they said it needed a full system flush... The next day it was booked in... It fixed the problem, and the flush was about 6000 k's ago...

Not sure if this is related, but I have also noticed that recently, sometimes the rev's flare from about 2500 to about 4000 on the change between 2nd and 3rd gear. This also adds to my fears about my tranny.

If I do have metal shavings in with the oil, and I do get a full flush done... Would it fix the problem, or would it just give me fresh oil, clean out all the metal shavings, and start the whole process all over again?

If its going to start all over again, would it be worth getting it done? or just putting the money towards getting it reconditioned?

BTW, thanks for the quick reply :)

the whole process will definitely repeat itself. prob quicker with the magna hopeless auto box. as far as i know, it is common to see some metal shavings in the red ATF (even for other makes of auto gearboxes). as long as you still see a reddish glow to the fluid and no burnt smell, it's OK. you're free to change the fluid as often as you want of course as it can only do you better.

and it seems your gearbox is also mis-engaging gears. it happens with my TH occassionally. no i don't think it's the fault of the fluid because after i did a full flush, the prob was still there. i've learnt to live with it and dump the car in due time lol

Most likely the problem that you have with the tranny is the center diff pin. It has most likley worn (and the bushes) hence creating the metal filings. My transmission had the exact same problems as you. It started going a bit iffy. After an ECU reset didnt fix anything, got it flushed. that went well for a while (bout 5000k's), then strated playing up. Gave it another flush and no fix. Got it stripped and rebuilt - Diagnosis, center diff pin worn (common if doing burnouts and general thrashing believe it or not :shock: ) Metal filings went through tranny burnt out clutch plates and bands, got stuck in tranny oil pump and also in torque convertor.
Doing the flush will remove the oil, not the shavings. to remove the shavings, you will have to (minimum) take the tranny sump off to try and clean it. There is a filter in the tranny, you may be lucky to have an external filter, which you should replace. if you have the internal one, well you have to pull the box out.
I do hope for your sake that its not that bad, but from my expirience it was mostly under extended warranty (i wont go into it here, not a good expirience), but the bill came to $2400 2 months ago.
Hope this helps :doubt:

Good Luck
Gazza :cool:

how many kays on the beast?
is it engine oil spray or power steer or?
if engine oil could be cam shaft seals to crank seal.
wont know that unless the front of the motar was apart (the plastic all off).

Well, i have 160 000 on the odo... It went in today to get the oil leak fixed... the mechanics found that the rear rocker cover gasket was completely stuffed... However, they couldnt tell if the cam shaft gasket was stuffed as well.. They said there was oil around it, but that it was probly from the rocker cover gasket leaking...

Fair enough, leave it for a weak, if it still leaks, it goes back. Now I just have to take it back and yell at them for adjusting my revs... cause now its over-revving at 1100 in park, when it should be at around 750-800? :rant:

gearbox... I rang an auto place today... they basically said the same thing to me about metal shavings in the oil... I finally managed to get the car to slip gears with my dad in the car so he could experience it... has him worried slightly.. As for the advice in regards to the center diff pin... i dont do burnouts... much... :redface:

I think it will be something i will wait until it locks itself into 3rd gear, and then get a tow home... gotta love RACQ...

As for the advice in regards to the center diff pin... i dont do burnouts... much... :redface:

I think it will be something i will wait until it locks itself into 3rd gear, and then get a tow home... gotta love RACQ...haha wont lock into 3rd............. if the diff pinoin is on the way out you willknow it when it happens...
you will hear a big noise like a speing snapping (badoing) only way i know how to describe the noise lol ...... and the diff pinion will spit right out the gear box and put a 5mm to 10 mm hole in the box fire wall side near the left side driveshaft and oil will spew out all over the shop but i drove anothe 5 klms to a servo like that and still went like normal but it would have locked up all together if i drove it anyfurther. this happend to me a while ago and i havent done a burnout in it since ......a very costly experience.:D

You can get it towed if you want, BUT it is cheaper to recondition a gearbox with fresh internals, if you don't you can destroy the box, and it would cost a lot more than just internals. Other than that, you could probably pick up a box from the wreckers for around a grand (I was quoted 1200 for my TJ 3.5), + install so expect just under 2000 give or take (dont take my word on labour)

Rocker cover gasket is'nt to hard to do, just takes a while to do, allow a full day to do it (to take intake manifold off, take off cover, replace seal e.t.c) but it would only cost you about 20 bucks absolute tops for the gasket, and save you a lot on labour

As for the revving, no idea, could be a whole range of things

Have fun :D

Arggh! here's hoping its not the diff pinion..

Really, i'd get the box changed/fixed tomorrow, if I only had the dollars to do it...

Not to forget, that I cant seem to get a straight answer from any auto mechanic on the issue. Just because you're young, and not the most mechanically minded, they think they can pull the wool over your eyes... :rant:

Anyway, when I initially got the tranny serviced, I asked them to drop the sump and make sure everything is clean and healthy inside... Until I was told that my gearbox is one complete sealed unit with a drip hole and an external oil filter... which on later inspection, I could clearly see the bolts to undo the sump underneath the car... suffice to say, my car wont be going back there.

Anyway, I dont think i will know for sure whats going on until I can actually get someone to have a real look at it... i.e pull the sump off and have a look around. Until that time, I think the only thing i can do is just nurse it for as long as i can.

Just quickly, would it cost similar to get the car converted from an auto to a manual, or to just reco the auto?

Just a suggestion have the auto power flushed and treated, see how that goes it cleans out the converter and everything. Then they put in a treatment to soften seals and it also puts a teflon coating on all lubricated parts helps in prolonging the life of a gearbox

Thanks all for you advice... I am now convinced that my auto tranny is on the way out :cry:

Just of late, its more regular to misengage/slip into 3rd gear, and now its starting to slip from 1st into 2nd... When it doesnt slip, the change is now fairly harsh, giving me a good nudge, rather than being smooth like it was about a month ago.

Now comes the time where I save my money and pray my tranny holds out long enough for me to be able to afford to change it...

Now, I ask the question... Would it be better to recondition the old auto, or save a little extra and get it converted to a manual?