Hey fellow zedders, My red Z has been on and off the road for as long as I can remember, and is now in a state where i'm happy with the condition of the engine and the power it makes however my gearbox is on the way out. The problems developed after the 'perth storm' where unfortunately i found myself nearly knee deep in water. I've changed the fluid out twice (both times it was a dark blown colour and shiny like it was full of metal from the box) and an after market transmission cooler has been fitted. After changing the oil this 2nd time i took her for a drive around the block (still holding first gear unless i fully back off the throttle), under 1km total and when i got back and parked in the garage and popped the bonnet i noticed smoke pouring from the back of the engine bay. It smells like cooked transmission oil, definitely not coolant or oil. Now the weird thing is that when i shone a light on the dumps the drivers side o2 sensor looked like it was bubbling at the thread Do i: Drop the transmission oil pan and clean the strainer with mineral turpentine, reassemble and hope for the best. Swap the gearbox out for a known working one. Let her sit there for another 6 months until i can afford a manual conversion. Not really sure where i should go with this one, possibly hold a tech day and supply sausages and fermented drinks to those who are more skilled with a spanner than I. Thanks folks.
Well if it's gotton onto the O2 sensor it's either coming out your auto trans dipstick or it's brake fluid. To be honest, they smell the same while cooking, but seeing your having transmission issues then we'll assume it's that. But it's worthwile double checking your master cylinder for leaks. I'm no expert, actually barely knowledgeable on auto trans full stop, but you may have overfilled it, causing it to spill out the dipstick once it got warm, and then onto your dumps.
Definitely not brake fluid, master cylinder is free from leaks. I think the bubbling at the o2 sensor was probably caused by a few drips of dex3 that landed on the dumps when i was filling it back up. Decided to go with swapping out for a known working 2nd hand auto trans. I'll update the thread when the box is swapped out, and maybe some gratuitous auto gearbox failure porn. Cheers.
I'm a fully qualified hater of auto transmissions & I say ditch it & put the manual conversion in you will love the car so much more for it. Fluid most likely spilt on the exh while filling the box. Did you have the car running while topping up the trans? it can cause all sorts of weird shite if you don't.
yep it was running whilst filling. i'm going to have to sell my kidneys i think, a 5 speed box would be more usefull.
