Hey....been lurking on here awhile, but don't have an all-trac, so haven't had a lot to contribute. But there seem to be some very knowledgeable regulars on here, and from what I understand, the issue I'm having would be similar for an all-trac as well.....so I thought this would be the best place to post.
Car: '91 Celica GT convertible. 5MT, 5SFE. I bought it in rough shape a few months ago from a third party, so I don't know almost anything about the car before I bought it...but it was crazy cheap. I suspect he hit a curb on the driver's side, as it was small enough to not touch the bumper, but sturdy enough to break the wheel, brake rotor, caliper, knuckle, and bend the control arm and tie rod. It also pulled the axle shaft out of the transmission, and hyperextended the inner joint.
I had a rusted out '92 AT180 (was my DD for the last 4ish years) that I was parting out, so I used a lot of parts from it (knuckle, brakes, struts.....), a junkyard control arm with poly bushings, new ball joint, TREs, etc.
I also got a Cardone/Duralast reman CV axle for that corner (my AT180 was an auto trans...). When I replaced everything, I didn't pay much attention to the transmission/axle....everything seemed to go together great. Of course it leaked a lot of gear oil while sitting with the axle out, so I topped it off...but that's it.
A week or so of daily driving it, I notice that it's leaking gear oil from that driver's side axle seal. It occurs to me that that seal probably got trashed.....DOH. So I regularly top off that transmission until I have time to replace it.
A month or so ago, I replaced the seal. Everything went smoothly, rented a slide hammer and correct attachment to pop the shaft out of the transmission, carefully replaced the seal, filled the trans, perfect. But for whatever reason, I happen to grab the inner CV joint cup after putting it back together, and I notice there seems to be quite a bit of play. I can move the cup probably a good inch (not in/out, the snap ring seems to be holding it snug). Weird. Well....it's already put back together, it's seated in the transmission all the way, maybe it's in my head.....take it for a gentle test-drive. It drives great!
I've been driving it to work every day since then, it drives fantastic. I hit ~60mph every day, no vibrations, noises, etc. But it's still leaking from that seal, and I have made a habit of putting the car on ramps, and topping off the transmission every weekend.....YUCK (especially since I don't have a garage)
Cliff Notes: Driver's side axle seal in the transmission leaks, even after seal replaced. I believe due to excessive play within the transmission. Inner CV cup has an inch or so of lateral play even while seated fully in the transmission. But no vibrations, noises or any other symptoms of a problem.
Thoughts? I've never had a transverse FWD transmission apart, but I've seen pictures....it doesn't seem like this would be normal. I've certainly never seen it on any of the cars I've worked on (mostly Subarus....). Am I missing something? What would my best-bet be for a long term repair?
Car: '91 Celica GT convertible. 5MT, 5SFE. I bought it in rough shape a few months ago from a third party, so I don't know almost anything about the car before I bought it...but it was crazy cheap. I suspect he hit a curb on the driver's side, as it was small enough to not touch the bumper, but sturdy enough to break the wheel, brake rotor, caliper, knuckle, and bend the control arm and tie rod. It also pulled the axle shaft out of the transmission, and hyperextended the inner joint.
I had a rusted out '92 AT180 (was my DD for the last 4ish years) that I was parting out, so I used a lot of parts from it (knuckle, brakes, struts.....), a junkyard control arm with poly bushings, new ball joint, TREs, etc.
I also got a Cardone/Duralast reman CV axle for that corner (my AT180 was an auto trans...). When I replaced everything, I didn't pay much attention to the transmission/axle....everything seemed to go together great. Of course it leaked a lot of gear oil while sitting with the axle out, so I topped it off...but that's it.
A week or so of daily driving it, I notice that it's leaking gear oil from that driver's side axle seal. It occurs to me that that seal probably got trashed.....DOH. So I regularly top off that transmission until I have time to replace it.
A month or so ago, I replaced the seal. Everything went smoothly, rented a slide hammer and correct attachment to pop the shaft out of the transmission, carefully replaced the seal, filled the trans, perfect. But for whatever reason, I happen to grab the inner CV joint cup after putting it back together, and I notice there seems to be quite a bit of play. I can move the cup probably a good inch (not in/out, the snap ring seems to be holding it snug). Weird. Well....it's already put back together, it's seated in the transmission all the way, maybe it's in my head.....take it for a gentle test-drive. It drives great!
I've been driving it to work every day since then, it drives fantastic. I hit ~60mph every day, no vibrations, noises, etc. But it's still leaking from that seal, and I have made a habit of putting the car on ramps, and topping off the transmission every weekend.....YUCK (especially since I don't have a garage)
Cliff Notes: Driver's side axle seal in the transmission leaks, even after seal replaced. I believe due to excessive play within the transmission. Inner CV cup has an inch or so of lateral play even while seated fully in the transmission. But no vibrations, noises or any other symptoms of a problem.
Thoughts? I've never had a transverse FWD transmission apart, but I've seen pictures....it doesn't seem like this would be normal. I've certainly never seen it on any of the cars I've worked on (mostly Subarus....). Am I missing something? What would my best-bet be for a long term repair?