more aspire issues!

[scotty0607]

Hey guys..My aspire has almost 146,000 miles on it and it just keeps giving me one problem after another!..My transmission fluid keeps splashing? out of the tranny where the speedometer goes in..yes the speedometer is in and bolted down. It has 3 quarts of tranny fluid in the tranny now and i have no idea how to stop that from leaking. My oil is leaking where the drain screw is. And I was going to replace calipers on it and on each side both lower bolts completely stripped!! but the upper ones came out with some force. I need some help! is it worth fixing up? or just sell er and get another aspire/festiva or civic? and how much longer will it last me? I do alot of highway driving...any advice would be great! Thanks Guys!

[Pu241]

OK, we need more info!
I assume a 5 spd Manual tranny!
Going with that assumption, you have over filled the tranny capacity for a manual tranny is 2.6 quarts.
So drain some out and used the built in level indicator to determine when you have it right.
Going to jump to another conclusion, you don't have a repair manual for your car!

Drain screw
There should be a copper/Aluminum/or plastic washer that fits between the crankcase nut and the crankcase.
Is this missing?

OK, question concerning the caliber bolts, what size were the heads of the upper and lower bolts, in mm please.
Asking to make sure you disassembled the correct bolts.
Makes a difference between how this issue can be handled, depending upon which bolts you are talking about.
Pic would definitely help too.

[scotty0607]

Sorry I should have added more info. Yes it is a 5 speed.

There is a copper washer on it on the drain screw.


The bolt heads were both 14mm.
I attached a picture of it. Thanks

[/IMG]

[scotty0607]

[Pu241]

OK, what did the threads look like on the crankcase bolt the last time you changed oil.
Your hoping they are just worn and that the threads in the crankcase are OK.
Otherwise, I'd wrap some PTFE tape around the bolt threads and be done with it!
Of course you'd have to re-tape it every oil change.

Well, you got the correct bolt for the calipers, were the bolts stripped or the threads in the hub stripped?

When you post a pic via [IMG] you need first to upload it to a site that will host it, like photo bucket, then use the http address bracketed with [IMG].
I think you can use another method too let me see what I can find to send your way concerning. Will delete your last two attempts to post pics unless I can correct them.

[WmWatt]

Getting a new nylon washer for oil drain plug fixed the drip from my car, standard item off the shelf at Canadian Tire.

[freshtiva]

"My transmission fluid keeps splashing? out of the tranny where the speedometer goes in..yes the speedometer is in and bolted down"

Is the "O" ring on the speedo cable ?

"It has 3 quarts of tranny fluid in the tranny now and i have no idea how to stop that from leaking. My oil is leaking where the drain screw is."

Are you talking about the tranny fuild leaking from the tranny drain plug ? Or is this the drain plug in your oil pan. If its dripping off of your tranny drain plug you probably have a bad output shaft seal. If thats the case it can leak onto the axle and sling all over but when parked it will run down off of the tranny plug.


"And I was going to replace calipers on it and on each side both lower bolts completely stripped"

How come you are replacing the calipers ? Also I dont see any penetrating oil on those bolts.

[scotty0607]

Pu241- The bolt heads were stripped. I tried using vice grips to grip them but no good.

freshtiva- I never seen a O-ring on the speedo cable. No the tranny fluid is coming out were the speedo cable goes and is running down to the tranny drain plug. Well i'm taking them off to wire brush and lub the caliper cylinders, because they are really sticking esp the drivers side caliper, it wont grab the rotor.

[Nerd Racing]

have you tried putting a pipe wrench on the bolt heads? a small to medium one will do. I've tried fancy bolt extractors and vice grips galore, but the good ol' pipe wrench does wonders. make sure to put some antisieze on there when you put new caliper bolts in. a dab 'l do 'er

I would spray the heck out of them with PB blaster too. you should have an o-ring on that cable input, it will seal it properly. it probably got hard from all the heat cycles and then stuck to the transmission and tore off when you pulled the gear out.

[Pu241]

2X with Nerd on this.
Pipe wrench and PB Blaster.
Spray it between the caliper mount area and the hub, hoping some penetrates to the threads of the caliper bolts.
Do this for a couple of days.
DO NOT spray it on the rotors.
Use the red tube that comes with the can to direct a small amount to this area.
You may need to crawl under the car with a light or take the wheel off to do it right.
If your not driving the car spray the hell out of it and get some brake cleaner later to clean the blaster off the rotors.
You will likely need to replace those bolts, get a grade 8 or better bolt as a replacement.
Do not use a grade 5 in its place!

Note for future reference:
A bolt/nut is stripped when the threads no long can be used to fasten.
You rounded off the head of a bolt, you did not strip them.
This is why impact sockets are made.
It is very difficult to round off a bolt/nut with an impact socket.
More likely to snap then off than round them.

If your tranny speedo "O" ring is gone you need to substitute something close for it.
But if you have over filled the tranny that is most of your problem.

[batstiva]

Another option for getting those bolts out is liberal treatment with PB, then take a 13mm (if the bolt head is 14mm) and drive it onto the 14mm head. I don't normally recommend this, but I have used this method on my old Jeep. Bear in mind that the 13mm socket will be utterly useless by the time you are done, but it is an option.

Looking at the pic you posted, it looks like someone either went after them with a 12 point socket, or a set of vice grips. Best of luck.

As far as the o ring, you may just have to buy an assortment pack, and use trial and error to find the correct size. Autozone lists them for 2.99 a pack. Looks like it has 10 or 12 different sizes.