Took a dump

[78F350]

My wife has family in Vegas, Palm Springs, and San Diego and many years we've driven across that area, but usually with a rental car from the airport. Great roads. I think we usually end up on 78/79 at some point (Ramona area or Julian to Ocotillo Wells) heading to/from Phoenix to visit my daughter. Sounds like a 'mostly fun' adventure. I would suspect the transmission cooling to be the issue rather than the seal on the pan. The Tip's have a liquid to liquid heat exchanger much like the engine oil cooler. It is mounted on the right (passenger side) of the transmission. It is fed coolant from the front through a vacuum actuated valve and transmission fluid through a manifold by rigid hoses that are sealed with o-rings.



Here's a pic from an eBay sale that shows a Boxster S Tiptronic. The cooling should be pretty much the same:


It is probably not going to be easy to access, but may just need a couple o-rings or a cooler.

[Starter986]

Originally Posted by 78F350

My wife has family in Vegas, Palm Springs, and San Diego and many years we've driven across that area, but usually with a rental car from the airport. Great roads. I think we usually end up on 78/79 at some point (Ramona area or Julian to Ocotillo Wells) heading to/from Phoenix to visit my daughter. Sounds like a 'mostly fun' adventure. I would suspect the transmission cooling to be the issue rather than the seal on the pan. The Tip's have a liquid to liquid heat exchanger much like the engine oil cooler. It is mounted on the right (passenger side) of the transmission. It is fed coolant from the front through a vacuum actuated valve and transmission fluid through a manifold by rigid hoses that are sealed with o-rings.



Here's a pic from an eBay sale that shows a Boxster S Tiptronic. The cooling should be pretty much the same:


It is probably not going to be easy to access, but may just need a couple o-rings or a cooler.

Thank you, 78. Yesterday when I got the car up I did inspect the cooler, and it looked fine. No leaks, no drips. Before I drop the pan I'll check to se if a hose didn't blow or something else. Likely I'll crawl back under it this week.

Thanks!

[Starter986]

I got under the car this morning... and took a peek from above the engine. There is nothing indicating that any hose broke or sprung a leak. Looks good and dry from above and... from under when looking up there's nothing standing out that says "leak/failure up here".

I'm going to remove the bars and the triangle plate... and give everything a closer examination.

Question: In spite of what I find... don't find... should I drop the transmission pan to inspect the internals? Se if there's anything floating in the pan? New gasket will run me <$20. It's a fresh filter, which I would inspect... and replace if it looked sludgy. However... when I dipped my finger into the road and pulled up a nice amount of fluid... it looked good, just like new. Not burnt. No smell.

Or... should I take a chance and refill (procedurally) the transmission fluid ... don;t drop the transmision pan... and see what happens? Me thinks that I should be looking for what caused the failure...and work on that, or associate it with some serious spirited driving.

I appreciate any advice. Thank you.