RMM causing a transmission fluid leak?!

[Sekred]

I would not worry about a couple of drops of oil after a repair. The seal lip needs to be lubricated before the axle is installed so there is going to be oil on the outside of the case.
I suggest you wipe everything dry with alcohol and then drive the car 50 miles or so and get it hot and check again.

 

[Rhinopolis]

^ That's reasonable and sound advice. I was "a little ticked" this morning...lol, and what's it hurt to try what Sekred suggested?

Thanks and Happy turkey day!

Ryan

 

[FordService]

^ That's reasonable and sound advice. I was "a little ticked" this morning...lol, and what's it hurt to try what Sekred suggested?

Thanks and Happy turkey day!

Ryan

Hey Ryan,

Did you have a chance to speak with your Ford Dealer about the repair? Shoot over a PM with your name, VIN, current mileage, dealer, and best daytime phone number, and I'll take a look to see how I can help.

Nick

 

[Rhinopolis]

Hey Ryan,

Did you have a chance to speak with your Ford Dealer about the repair? Shoot over a PM with your name, VIN, current mileage, dealer, and best daytime phone number, and I'll take a look to see how I can help.

Nick

Hi Nick,

I will call the dealer today, and I will be checking my seal again this evening when I get home from work and after I cleaned off all the tranny fluid around it earlier today.

There was a small transmission fluid puddle under the seal this morning after being up on jack stands since yesterday morning, and I doubt that the fluid leak is residual fluid from the repair. We'll see this evening, and I'll PM you my info. Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Ryan

 

[FordService]

Hi Nick,

I will call the dealer today, and I will be checking my seal again this evening when I get home from work and after I cleaned off all the tranny fluid around it earlier today.

There was a small transmission fluid puddle under the seal this morning after being up on jack stands since yesterday morning, and I doubt that the fluid leak is residual fluid from the repair. We'll see this evening, and I'll PM you my info. Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Ryan

You're welcome, Ryan - talk to you soon.

Nick

 

[Rhinopolis]

I checked the car a few minutes ago (it's been on jack stands not driven since I drove it home from the dealer Wed evening), and the driver side axle seal is actually leaking worse than when I brought it in to the dealer for the repair. What was a slow drip that never actually "puddled" under the seal, now plainly puddles.

I wiped the seal and transmission case clean yesterday morning before I left for work, and I called the dealer yesterday around 9:45 am to speak with the service advisor to let him know of the issue. There was no apology and he acted like it wasn't a big deal. He told me to just bring it back to them, and I told him that I didn't feel confident in their abilities due to them having the car for two weeks and not being able to fix it the 1st time.

I asked him to please let me know what repair had been performed on my car, he said that he would need to call me back, and I never heard back from him. I received the same unresponsiveness from this service department the two weeks that they had the car, and from here forward I will try to work with Nick from Ford Service to get this resolved.

 

[frankiefiesta]

[MENTION=2925]Rhinopolis[/MENTION] its a shame how bad ford service departments are. My car recently had the transmission replaced. I dealt with no returned calls, long wait times, and bad customer service in person.

After getting my car back the check engine light came on. Checked for codes, came up with nothing. Reset my ECu and the light never came back on. Opened my hood yesterday to find the intake filter cover dangling on with 4 screws that were not tightened. Missing ST engine cover and several other screws in the engine bay barely on. I wrecked havoc over the phone with the service manager. Luckily they found my engine cover but man what a joke these service departments are. I seriously may never consider another ford for this reason. I've dealt with dodge and Honda service before this and never had the experience I've had with ford. It's that bad

 

[Rhinopolis]

[MENTION=2925]Rhinopolis[/MENTION] its a shame how bad ford service departments are. My car recently had the transmission replaced. I dealt with no returned calls, long wait times, and bad customer service in person.

After getting my car back the check engine light came on. Checked for codes, came up with nothing. Reset my ECu and the light never came back on. Opened my hood yesterday to find the intake filter cover dangling on with 4 screws that were not tightened. Missing ST engine cover and several other screws in the engine bay barely on. I wrecked havoc over the phone with the service manager. Luckily they found my engine cover but man what a joke these service departments are. I seriously may never consider another ford for this reason. I've dealt with dodge and Honda service before this and never had the experience I've had with ford. It's that bad

That's a shame that Ford in particular has that reputation, and I hope that Nick can help me out. I would rather not work with AutoNation Ford Service Department again, and I am going to look at reviews for other Ford SD's online around Houston. I'm willing to Look past this 1st experience and forgive/forget, and all I want is for my car to run as intended and not to be bleeding out vital fluid.

 

[FordService]

[MENTION=2925]Rhinopolis[/MENTION] its a shame how bad ford service departments are. My car recently had the transmission replaced. I dealt with no returned calls, long wait times, and bad customer service in person.

After getting my car back the check engine light came on. Checked for codes, came up with nothing. Reset my ECu and the light never came back on. Opened my hood yesterday to find the intake filter cover dangling on with 4 screws that were not tightened. Missing ST engine cover and several other screws in the engine bay barely on. I wrecked havoc over the phone with the service manager. Luckily they found my engine cover but man what a joke these service departments are. I seriously may never consider another ford for this reason. I've dealt with dodge and Honda service before this and never had the experience I've had with ford. It's that bad

Hey frankiefiesta,

I'm able to get all your dealer feedback documented in my system. To do so, all I'll need is for you to PM your updated mileage. Let me know.

Nick

 

[Rhinopolis]

I was finally able to get under my car, and the dealership fixed my leaking seals right this time. Nick with [MENTION=582]FordService[/MENTION] helped to get the regional service manager involved, and I was taken care of very well the 2cd time I went to the dealer.

I am not advocating flying things up the flagpole, and I believe that I had a good reason to do so. Thank you, Nick!

 

[FordService]

I was finally able to get under my car, and the dealership fixed my leaking seals right this time. Nick with [MENTION=582]FordService[/MENTION] helped to get the regional service manager involved, and I was taken care of very well the 2cd time I went to the dealer.

I am not advocating flying things up the flagpole, and I believe that I had a good reason to do so. Thank you, Nick!

My pleasure, Rhinopolis - glad to read your ST's issue has been resolved!

Nick

 

[Joker328]

I am not advocating flying things up the flagpole

Why not? It seems like it was the one thing that got them to pay attention and fix it properly. Having Ford Service on the forums is a great resource and unfortunately it seems letting the dealerships know that Ford is watching is the only thing that lights a fire under them. It's sad, but no reason not to use it if you feel the dealership is ignoring you or failing to repair your vehicle properly. Glad you got this issue resolved.

 

[CanadianGuy]

Why not? It seems like it was the one thing that got them to pay attention and fix it properly. Having Ford Service on the forums is a great resource and unfortunately it seems letting the dealerships know that Ford is watching is the only thing that lights a fire under them. It's sad, but no reason not to use it if you feel the dealership is ignoring you or failing to repair your vehicle properly. Glad you got this issue resolved.

I think he meant first try the dealership before saying they are bad and asking Fordservice to step in. Personally I have a great working relationship with 2 that go above and beyond, know their limits, and are willing to work with me. They have seen my mods and have zero issues with them, other than how to take the skid plate off and on. Once shown they were impressed and though it was a very good idea.

 

[Rhinopolis]

I think he meant first try the dealership before saying they are bad and asking Fordservice to step in. Personally I have a great working relationship with 2 that go above and beyond, know their limits, and are willing to work with me. They have seen my mods and have zero issues with them, other than how to take the skid plate off and on. Once shown they were impressed and though it was a very good idea.

Yes, 1st try to resolve through the dealership, and I am just happy that my car isn't leaking tranny fluid any longer

 

[Chris G]

Should I be concerned that I'm noticing some build-up on and around my RMM? Haven't noticed any drops or drips or anything of the like and the dealer hasn't said squat about it (taken in several times for oil changes and what not). I'll have them look at it next time... but any opinions?

 

[Rhinopolis]

My passenger side seal has started leaking again. It's much less of a leak than what is was originally, but this is still the 3rd repair in less than a few months.

The dealer contacted Ford to see if there has been a TSB released on the axle seals, and there has not been any TSB or any abundance of leaking seals reported. The dealer also mentioned that Ford wants for them to evaluate "excess load being placed on the axle by the suspension". I am skeptical of that statement because to me it sounds like Ford is looking for a way out of dealing with the problem under warranty.

When I inquired what that evaluation would involve, I was told that they would be inspecting my front suspenison components to see if anything is placing uneccesary stress on to the front axle shafts.

My concern is that the Ford is laying the groundwork to deny a warranty claim because I have a 4 point chassis brace and a front strut tower brace.

Does anyone believe that these add on items are contributing to my leaking axle seals, and if so how?

Thank you,

Ryan

 

[Chris G]

That is a bummer, man. Sadly, I am sure there's a way they could twist their story and blame your mods for the leak. I highly, highly doubt the mods are causing it but I bet they could use them as a scapegoat. If Ford does go forward with this, it seems that anyone with lowering springs will be screwed out of warranty due to the 'unnecessary stress' on the axles. That, too, is a total bummer because hundreds upon thousands of people have lowering springs without any issues.

How bad is yours leaking? Is it dripping? Just wondering if it's even worth taking in...

 

[Rhinopolis]

I posted pics in this thread somewhere, and those pictures show what the leaks looked like before the last and most recent repair.

The newest leak is a small droplet that is visibly wet on the under side center of the passenger seal. My concern is that the only way to know for certain how much tranny fluid imight have been lost through the leak, is to jack the car up level and open the fill hole to check. That's too much of a PITA to have to do on a regular basis, and I would always be concerned that I was running low on vital tranny fluid.

I HATE that these seals are leaking, and I would gladly pay additional money for upgraded seals plus axles.

Do upgraded/stronger axles exist?

EDIT : The attached photo is from 2/5/16 and shows the passenger side axle seal. If you look under the seal dead center, you can barely see the glistening of the tranny oil that is leaking out.

I have already wiped the seal dry to make certain that this isn't any residual oil or oil picked up from the road while driving. It glistens after I test drove it after wiping so I know it's "freshly" leaking, and I imagine that once under load more oil is leaking out and blowing off the seal while the car is at speed. How much oil though? That is what drives me nuts.....
[MENTION=582]FordService[/MENTION]

 

[Rhinopolis]

I went under the car yesterday to take a photo of the leaking seal, and I also inspected the 4 point chassis brace to see if there is any possible way that Ford can blame that brace for putting strain on to the axle.

There's no way in my opinion that the brace would cause this, and before I let the dealer touch my car I am going to ask them how exactly they plan to evaluate if suspension components are placing additional strain on to the axle. Unless there is a machine that calculates torque loads, I'm not going to allow a WAG (wild ass guess) to point the finger back at me.

This is a performance car (is it or isn't it an ST!?), and if the drive axle/seals can't handle being put under some load then Ford needs to go back to the drawing board.

EDIT: I want to start a thread and ask members to check their seals for leaks. Does anyone else think that this would be a good idea? We can start a poll.......

 

[Sh0rtbu5driv3r]

dude you probably lost a tablespoon at most your fine and no this trans fluid or (gear oil) doesn't evaporate.