First gen tranny leak

[dickita15]

I could some help understanding a fluid leak around the shifter on my teammates IT7 car. He installed a used 82 tranny and there is a pretty big fluid leak around the shifter boot. Pulling the shifter reveals no gasket where the shifter attaches with the three bolts. Is there a gasket that is supposed to be there? Is there something else that prevents fluid from leaking there? I really don’t have a very good understanding of this. TIA

[jvarble]

There is a gasket that fits under there, but your problem is the trans. has too much
oil in it.
you should only fill the trans to where you can just touch the fluid with the tip of your finger with the first joint of your finger at the entrance of the filler hole.

hope this make sense, it will work as we discovered this many years ago on the gt cars.
Joe

[dickita15]

Thanks for the reply. I will check the fluid level and I will cut a gasket for the shifter where the three bolts hold it in. I am surprised that there is not a more positive containment method used for the fluid.

[it7rx739]

In the right hand side small tube with cap on it it's the breeder tube, it my be stop up.
good luck!!!

[tom_sprecher]

The shifter has its own housing that is seperate from the transmission, no? I had a similar problem only while racing in that oil kept coming out of the boot and getting all over my glove and knee. I was told to replace the small rubber boot that seals the shift tower and remove some of the oil I had poured in there. It worked.

Or, your leak is something entirely different.

[dickita15]

Thanks Attila I will check the breather.
Tom, that’s what I thought, unlike the 79s where they were connected.
So if Tom is right, should there be fluid in there?

[ddewhurst]

No matter how you look at the shift lever there is/will be trans fluid that travels to the shifter. The shifter male spherical shape fits into a female spherical shape. The female spherical is attached to a rod that travels through a tube to the three levers that travel into the trans case where there is trans grease/oil. If not overfilled a small ammount of that trans grease/oil works it's way back to the little housing where the shift lever connects.

[tom_sprecher]

...should there be fluid in there?

There should be enough to lubricate it but not much more. I put in enough to cover the delrin "cup" and that was too much. YMMV