Leaking differential/clutch fluid out of the rear | FerrariChat
Buy

Leaking differential/clutch fluid out of the rear

Discussion in 'Technical Q&A' started by scottseb, Mar 28, 2010.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

  1. scottseb

    scottseb Rookie

    Sep 14, 2009
    23
    tucson, az
    Full Name:
    sebarna scottsman
    #1 scottseb, Mar 28, 2010
    95 355, less than 500miles since mechanic did 30k workup on the car and I have a heavy leak of differential oil. It appears to be partly on the bleed valve and also on the metal plate at the bottom of the housing that has all the little holes in it (I am trying to find a photo to point it out). This happened all of a sudden. Is this something to do with a gasket under there? I don't know why the bleed valve had some oil over it.

    Is it safe to even drive the car?
     
  2. No Doubt

    No Doubt Seven Time F1 World Champ

    May 21, 2005
    72,740
    Vegas+Alabama
    Full Name:
    Mr. Sideways
    #2 No Doubt, Mar 28, 2010
    Last edited: Mar 28, 2010
    Is the leak color coded? Lots of owners like to use yellow superlight shockproof gear oil or blue lightweight shockproof gear oil...which makes identifying the correct leak a breeze. If you see blue or yellow fluid (same holds for Royal Purple, of course), then you know what leaked.

    The bleed valve would hold clear brake/clutch fluid (or color coded Blue/Gold brake fluid), not gear oil.

    *The gearbox and differential are connected and use the same fluid.

    You can open the transmission dip stick to see the color of your gear+differential oil. Does it match what you see on the bleed valve?



    Also, black grease spots can come from a torn axle boot. The spinning axel can fling the bearing grease quite some distance.


    Another possibility in that area is that the flywheel grease is leaking out.
     
  3. scottseb

    scottseb Rookie

    Sep 14, 2009
    23
    tucson, az
    Full Name:
    sebarna scottsman
    #3 scottseb, Apr 9, 2010
    Definitely clutch fluid. Drove it briefly since finding the leak and now the clutch slips. It never did before. Which could have caused which symptom first.
    Can a bad clutch cause it to leak fluid, even out the bleed and seals? or Can a leak cause low fluid and the clutch to start slipping?

    scott
     
  4. 335s

    335s Formula Junior

    Jan 17, 2007
    870
    SF Bay Area
    Full Name:
    T. Monma
    #4 335s, Apr 9, 2010
    this concentric collar was the subject of an updated version shortly after 96 my intro, we saw 4-5 doulble lip seal versions used to seal this on the collar's sleeve as well...the potential points of leaks are too numerous to listr here...

    this is ntyipcal of 355s...if you tell customer of all potential to likely problems, most say that tech is a bandit and run to the next cheapest estimate....these sorts of cluith problems are why I stopped svcing these in 97...95s can gobble money to get bthewm all the way cuirrent..to suggest that your original car is ok because you've never had the update and all is good with the world is a car begging to show failure upon completion of the "pray it don't fail" methodology....
    sorry to hear your woes, but this is really typical of 355s, ESPECIALLY 1995 iterations due to enormity of sub versions(4?)
    ciao! and good luck with the clutch...don't be allowed to do only seals, mpony up the 1200 for the new collar(last tiime we boughgt it was 1-1200ish....??
     
  5. No Doubt

    No Doubt Seven Time F1 World Champ

    May 21, 2005
    72,740
    Vegas+Alabama
    Full Name:
    Mr. Sideways
    #5 No Doubt, Apr 10, 2010
    Not the clutch itself leaking, but the clutch slave cylinder could be blown (easy, quick, and cheap fix) or the triple seals could be leaking (even easier, quicker, and cheaper fix).

    You'll want to pull the clutch pumpkin off the rear to have a look (easy to do).
     

Share This Page