Transaxle Oil Leak???

[Lakota]

Today I finally got to take a long hard look at my '74 IRS, transaxle, and 4 speed transmission. I noticed a lot of dried gunk and crap forward of the axle on the case, about a half inch thick. It sweeps up to the top of the transaxle like it was oil being blown up from the bottom front. Ok, I've seen this before. You clean it and move on. But...I did notice that when we rolled the IRS off the trailer, the nose dipped down and some fluid dribbled out onto the ground. It smells like differential gear oil (GO 90 weight). Is this normal, or do I have leaking seal somewhere? It came out of the area around the shifter. Because of the all the steel around the shifter I can't see around it.

Is there a seal behind the shifter rod? Any help on this would be appreciated.

 

[RSW]

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[chromedome1964]

There is a vent hole on the top of the nosecone. No big deal on a bit leaking when at a steep angle like that. Could the gunk on the side be coming from the CV joint?

 

[Lakota]

I cut away the steel ahead of the torsion bar and it's damp with oil, but clean inside. No built up oily gunk. Also no oily gunk around the nose cone, just a light residue. Most of the gunk is around the drivers side driveshaft, and looks like dried red clay. I used a screwdriver and a hammer to chisel this gunk off. The transmission and transaxle were dry under all the gunk. The underside has the usual moist oily dirt that you see under any engine or trans. I think it's ok. My big concern was the small puddle it made when it was tipped downward. I also noticed the back up switch was soaked in oil.

This may be the problem. I'll pull the switch and plug it up, clean the trans, transaxle and IRS, paint it, and get it ready for the new disc brakes coming in. Thanks for the help guys.

 

[chromedome1964]

I cut away the steel ahead of the torsion bar and it's damp with oil, but clean inside. No built up oily gunk. Also no oily gunk around the nose cone, just a light residue. Most of the gunk is around the drivers side driveshaft, and looks like dried red clay. I used a screwdriver and a hammer to chisel this gunk off. The transmission and transaxle were dry under all the gunk. The underside has the usual moist oily dirt that you see under any engine or trans. I think it's ok. My big concern was the small puddle it made when it was tipped downward. I also noticed the back up switch was soaked in oil.

This may be the problem. I'll pull the switch and plug it up, clean the trans, transaxle and IRS, paint it, and get it ready for the new disc brakes coming in. Thanks for the help guys.

The vent hole I was talking about is directly above the back up switch on top of the nose cone.

 

[RSW]

Chromedome... Thank you for your postings. You bring a lot of good information to the forum!