JasonARGY

Hello, first of all, I want to say how pleased I have been with the car after a year of ownership. No issues what so ever, everything works, so comfortable and quiet, a joy to take on long trips. Car is a 2006 with 135k miles.

However

Today, I went to change my oil and noticed that the transmission oil pan is covered in oil. It is a thin coat from the front of the pan, the whole bottom, back to the mount that holds the back of transmission and also some is on the exhaust Y joint. There are no drips that I could inspect but i dabbed the oil pan a bit with a paper towel and the oil is yellow. I can't seem to find the source at all or any spot where there is any sort accumulated amount. It is literally a thin coat all across the bottom of the pan and nothing above.

I also took off the lid the hides the opening where the flywheel is visible and one of the screws had a coat of oil on it but I stuck my finger all around as far as I could reach in the opening and didn't find any oil. This was about the highest and most forward point that I found oil residue but still not any significant amount to lead me to think thay it's the source.

I am really worried as I was planning a thanksgiving trip to see my mother about 500 miles away. I know the 6 speeds don't have a dip stick but is there a way to know if I'm low on trans oil? Also, I know its common or trans oil to be red but there is no way this could be engine oil, I dont think, as the level never moves on dip stick from oil change to oil change. Here are some pics I took with my phone. Couldn't get car jacked much higher so it was a bit rough worm crawling under there and trying to take pics.

rkw77080

Here's the procedure to adjust your ATF level. Be sure to keep your car level for this process (e.g. put the car up on 4 jack stands).

JasonARGY

Thanks for that. I had seen the steps in some other threads but never found all that details along with pics.

It seems simple enough but I saw that side cover and seemed impossible to reach. I just want to check the level but it seems that the only way to check is to add oil until it spills out?

rkw77080

Please also note that fluid temperature is important when checking proper ATF level (see Step 6 of procedure). The ATF temperature should be between 115-130 degF,

JasonARGY

Quick Update:

I wanted to take the overflow plug out and take a look at the stage of the oil. Now, please excuse my ignorance on auto transmissions as I have no idea how they work. For all I know, they run off magic so thats as far as my knowledge goes. I assumed that if I took out the overflow plug while the car was jacked up on the passenger side, this would put the plug on the high side to avoid any spillage but as the plug came out, oil started pouring out. I quickly put the plug back in and only oiled my garage floor with a 4"x4" oil circle.

According to my limited knowledge, shouldn't the overflow plug be sitting right at the proper level, which would cause little to no oil to come out? Also, wouldn't the level be slightly lower when cold? I was just under the assumption that no oil would come out at all and I am very confused as to why it started pouring out. Could it possibly an issue of it being too full and that is why there is oil on the exterior?

The oil was almost black so I do plan on flushing it all out but I want to make sure I do a little more studying and set a good amount of time aside to make sure I am thorough and take my time.

Thanks

rkw77080

If the ATF level is correct and you jack up the passenger side of the car, I would agree that no ATF should flow out of the overflow tube. Especially since the plug is near the passenger side (the high side as you called it).

However a noteworthy difference is that according to the procedure, you should run your car until the transmission reaches operating temperature. Within a short time while the transmission is at this operating temperature, you should check your ATF level. In other words, a fair amount of ATF will still be trapped within the transmission and not yet drain back to the pan. In your case (you said cold ATF), you allow the car to sit for a much longer period, and allow more ATF in drain to the pan.

JasonARGY

Yeah that does make sense. I'll take my trip and hope nothing happens and then im just going to do a full flush. Still cant figure out why the oil is on the outside of the pan but one step at a time I guess.

Thanks for your help and input rkw!