Transmission oil leak
 

I have a 1991 323 with manual transmission and have a serious leak somewhere in the transmission/drive train. I am having to continually add fluid to the reservoir. Wondered if this was a common problem with this model and what to do. I am not using/burning engine oil.
Car has only 103k miles. Engine is 1.6 liter. Thanks

RE: Transmission oil leak
 

Sounds like you ran something over. Use JB Weld to quickly seal up the leak. If the hole is in the casing, you may have to drain it first. That is obviously the cheap way out.

RE: Transmission oil leak
 

There is no reservoir on the transmission first thing. What color of fluid is leaking? This is NOT a normal condition. The engine compartment underneath need to be cleaned off well then driven a few miles. Then raise it up in the air to see where it is leaking from. Sounds like it would be best left to a shop if you are not very familiar with cars. Most shops should not charge just to look at it. Just ask for a free estimate and get a second opinion.

RE: Transmission oil leak
 

The transmission fluid level is also very difficult to check or fill on the manual transmission as it requires the removal of the speedometer gear. No check and fill plug on this baby.[:@]
Any time you are having to continually fill a fluid level in the engine it is a serious concern. Unless it is maybe the washer fluid and you have a crack in the bottle that will not hurt anything. :DOtherwise it should definitely not be taken lightly or considered normal. It is often difficult to describe which fluid it is so have taken a pic of the engine compartment on my 91 323 with all of the accessable fluid fill areas labeled #1-#5. Listed below are what #1-#5 actually are. Hope this will help and post back with where you are having to top up all of the time. Cheers

#1 Brake/clutch hydraulic fluid.
#2 Engine oil
#3 Coolant/antifreeze
#4 Window washer
#5 Power Steering fluid

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