Well, the X-type I bought last week definitely has a leak. It didn't appear to leak when I inspected it, but the leak appears over night. I expect that the heat of driving causes the metal to expand slightly and when cooling overnight metal contracts just enough to create a gap in a seal. The size of the leak "puddle" is about a quarter to a half-dollar when left over night.

It's clearly not oil as I checked the oil and the color is no where near as bad as the leak fluid. The leaking fluid is black and has a burnt smell to it. The location, appearance and smell tell me it's not power steering or coolant or engine oil but I can't tell difference between transmission fluid or transfer case fluid - from my understanding they're essentially the same but maybe different weights. Transmission is shifting smoothly for now but worried that it won't be that way for long. Sincerely concerned here.

Anyone have thoughts on whether the leak here is coming from the transfer case or the transmission or advice on how to diagnose which?

 

alphacat, my understanding is that the tranny fluid is red in color, where the transfer case fluid is a dark grey, kinda silvery, in color. So, that alone should be able to tell you a lot. Also, if the leak is on the driver's side, then you have a tranny issue. If you have the leak on the passenger side, then it is most likely the transfer case. Keep in mind that if you have a slight oil pan gasket issue, that will also leave a little bit of a dark gray/black spot too in the same general area as the transfer case would.

When was the last time you changed the transfer case fluid. If it was recently, then it could be something as simple as you put in the recommended 500 ml of fluid, but you had a bit too much left in the transfer case and now some of the gear lube is being spit out the transfer case vent.

 

The leak is pitch black in color and smells burnt. I checked the engine oil and the engine oil appeared light brown, not black (like this leaking fluid) and the engine oil did not smell burnt.

I've heard that tranny fluid can get black and smell burnt if it has not been changed regularly. The leak appears to be located in the middle of the car, near or underneath the prop shaft on the side nearest to the engine. There's also a slight burnt smell after I've driven it - perhaps something is leaking onto the exhaust.

As I've only had this car for a little more than a week, I've never done a change of the transfer case fluid. The kitty has 81k miles on it and I suspect it probably has never had either its tranny or transfer case fluid flushed and renewed.

Anyone have pics of doing transmission flush or transfer case flush jobs? Also, can anyone describe what seals are involved that might leak and what might be involved in replacing them?

 

alphacat, what you are describing is more an engine oil issue than anything else. Our cars are known for the oil leak like you are talking about. Look up "replacing oil pan gasket" and you will find all sorts of posts about this.

As for doing the tranny fluid replacement, again, look in the search area and you will a lot of write ups about doing this. IF your tranny fluid was black, you would have much bigger issues because that would mean that your tranny got extremely hot and it is dead or will be very shortly. In the time that you have had it, it would have failed. So, don't worry.

As for the burnt smell, this again points me to the oil pan issue as the pan can get the oil on the exhaust header and lead to the burning smell that you are experiencing. You will also get this smell when you change the oil as you can not but help to get oil on the exhaust.

All is good. Spend some time with your kitty and change out the fluids. If you are looking at doing the transfer case, let me know. It is fairly easy, but if you don't know a few tricks, it may lead to a lot of hair pulling and an "OH @#$%" moment.

 

Just to add to the confusion. The leak only appears when parked in my driveway - which has a slope to it. If I park on a flat surface, like a street, it doesn't leak. Also, it doesn't leak when I park backwards in my driveway. Weird.

Thermo - the reason I discounted an oil leak is that I checked the oil on the dipstick and it is light brown, like fairly new oil, and not the pitch black burnt stuff that appeared on the driveway. Hope what you said is correct and I can just change out the oil pan gasket and oil and all will be well.

 

alphacat, the oil can become black when exposed to the elements. Ever seen an old motor that had major oil leaks. Was the motor a nice chocolate brown or was it jet black? Also, if you look under the car, you can look at the oil pan and you may even see a small drop ready to fall away. I know my car has a really slow leak and I get similar drops like what you are talking about. Depending on how you park, because the leak is so slow, it may not be able to fall away when facing one way because it builds up along a long edge. Where, when you park the other way, the oil can gather on a point (like where the oil plug goes into the pan, there is a nice dip for things to gather at).

I am still thinking it is engine oil. Not something more serious.