During the summer I took my car to a Jag indie to have the Rear main seal, the transmission front pump, and torque converter seals replaced. All was well for a while, and then it started leaking again.

I took it back to the shop for a warranty fix. They checked and evaluated how the car was leaking. They found that the fluid was not so much leaking as it was more like spraying out after a variable amount of time after the car has been turned off (anywhere from 50 minutes to a couple hours after), instead of leaking immediately as would be expected of a failed seal.

He said the problem is a clogged transmission breather, and less likely, a clogged filter. He also said he wouldn’t touch it further and referred me to a transmission shop.

I don’t want to pay another shop to drop the transmission on this car. I am fairly certain it IS the breather, since I broke that damn breather tube earlier this year while changing the octopus hose. I drove for a bit without a breather tube. Then I mended I fitted a diy plastic pipe to function as my vent. Not the best craftsmanship, I admit.

Is it possible for me to clean the transmission vent without dropping the transmission? Ideally from the top, after removing the throttle body?

What tools would I need to properly clean it to attempt to unclog it?

If I could solve that issue and refill, I’d finally be able to drive the car without fear of damaging the transmission due to low fluid.

 

Can you access the pipe enough to suck on it and see if it is blocked? I'm not sure where it is in the engine bay off the top of my head.

 

I can. It goes from the top of the bell housing a few inches posteriorly and ends below the bracket that houses the O2 sensor connectors. I was thinking I could attempt to remove the pipe and use compressed air with a hose to blow on it.

 

I'd try blowing/sucking 'manually' first, just to see if it is blocked - i.e., stick it in your mouth!

 

I think sucking it clean is better than.blowing something in.
wj

 

Good idea. I just picked up the Jag from the mechanic. He didn’t charge me anything. He clarified what he said during our phone conversation.

So, at least he was honest in saying he has no clue. Before I check the breather, what else could be causing this problem? I think the filter is unlikely to be the issue.

 

It is an odd one - I'd missed in the original post that it leaks after it's been running, but not while running. I'd still start with the breather, but I wonder whether there is a heat-soak after running that causes the fluid to heat up, increasing pressure, before it starts cooling?

 

That is indeed a very strange issue. Good luck and keep us posted....

 

And this heat soak would happen after driving because the air is not moving under it in 95ºF weather in my garage? Maybe slide a fan under the car after driving it to see if it alleviates the solution? If that were to confirm the heat soak, how would I even proceed to solving it?

I'll go to a transmission shop soon and tell them the symptoms (without taking the car just yet). I'll ask them if they have seen this before on any car? Maybe they have a clue. This makes me really wish I had the money available to swap in a manual transmission with a maxxecu. Manual transmissions are easier to deal with.

 

I think I'd start with establishing whether the breather is blocked, because if there is a heat-soak issue (and that is absolute speculation on my part) that would be a normal thing to happen to all cars, so can't be the direct cause.

 

Agreed, and is still my main suspect. I just think the behavior of it has been odd.