vp leaking oil

[tmt23]

just picked up a vp and it seems to be leaking red oil from underneath the car
i think its tranny oil
would this most likely be the rear main seal?
if so how much would a mechanic charge to do this?

[hi_ryder]

tranny oil should be a redish colour if its not too burnt. if its really old it will be brown and hard to tell where the leak is coming from. if its red it could be your steering rack or your transmission.

jack the car up on stands, get out your wire brush and knock the major crud off (oily mud) then douse the whole underneath with degreaser let it soak and pressure wash all the crap off.

do some k's on the car and jack it up again to see where you leaks are coming from... more than likely its your rear main, they all leak from there after a while. both my calais and my berlina leak from this place... its really common....

rear main's are expensive to do cause the engine has to come out... (if you pay a mechanic)

[ducker85]

trans fluid, get under it and look for the leak because from where im sitting I can't see oil. maybe climb under and take a picture degrease it first to clean off all the old dirty oils marks.

[hi_ryder]

whoops missed the red bit in the first post, yeah sounds like steering pump, rack or tranny...

[WazzaVN]

i've got the same problem at the moment too. the first thing i would check is your transmission oil pan, might need a new gasket. mine is leaking from the oil pan and i can't seem to fix it properly. I've allready tried a few times, With gasket sealer, without, did the bolts up tightly, did the bolts up loosely and it's still leaking haha. The mechanic said they would fix it for about 200. turn on your car and have a look under it and see if it's comming from the pan, If it is then it's an easy fix. Well it's meant to be anyway.

[tmt23]

the car has been sitting around for the past 12 months
ive driven it from sydney to the south coast, a 6 hour trip and it seemed to drive fine
could it just be the filter that needs to be replaced?

[hi_ryder]

sometimes the trans gasket goes dry and shrinks back leaving a gap for the fluid to drip from (my calais sat for 3 years before i bought it, same problem). transmission service kit shouldnt be more than $30. that and some tranny fluid maybe $60 total and an hour plus of your time. just use a really small flat head screwdriver to pick out the old filter o ring from the tranny (new filter will come with one) and the rest is straight forward.... just jack up the car and make sure that this is the problem and not your steering rack leaking.... they use the same fluid...

[tmt23]

im pretty sure its not the powersteering
cheers for the help guys