leaky tailshaft continues
 

Well my mechanic changed my u-joint and tailshaft seal and drained old fluid and put in Royal Purple Syncromax. $170 I got the car back and it leaks more than ever!

Took it back and he changed the yoke with a ford piece and put in another tailshaft seal. $130 got car back yesterday and it looks like it still leaking. i'm also getting smoke from my 2 center a/c vents for the 1st time.

what do you guys suggest? you had mentioned in an older post that it could be a worn tailshaft bushing....i don't know much bout trannies but i don't believe this can be changed w/o ripping out the tranny correct?

now i've spent $300 and have gotten nowhere. this stang is starting to rust in the rear wheel wells, hatch, and even the trunk floor. this is the kind of spending i wanted to avoid and getting discouraged. any advice?

Re: leaky tailshaft continues
 

A) Royal Purple may be thinner?
B) Check for a crack in the transmission case close to the tail. (Ripping thru gears will crack the stock tranny- I've done it) If so she's kaput.
C) Smoke is actually Antifreeze probably. Shouldn't do it with the heat turned off. It means your heater core is bad. If that's the case, join the rest of us with no heat- it's a 400 - 500 dollar job! That is, unless you want to drop the steering wheel, and take the entire dash apart... then it's a $25 job.

I promise you, I've had 3 Mustangs, and all have had the same heater core problem. If you can go without heat, take the 2 heater hoses going into the firewall behind and slightly below the Throttle Body, and disconnect them. Then just connect them together. That'll bypass the heater core til you can get fixed. Good Luck!

Re: leaky tailshaft continues
 

A) Royal Purple may be thinner? i had Redline Snythetic ATF in there prior so i don't think that the royal purple synthetic would be much thinnner

C) Smoke is actually Antifreeze probably. Shouldn't do it with the heat turned off. It means your heater core is bad.

the heater core was replaced approx 75k miles. now has almost 140k. can the smoke through the vents be from the tranny fluid leaking on my x pipe causing smoke? when the tranny leaks i do get smoke from it burning on the x-pipe, i have seen some smoke out my window before and when i look under you can see it coming from the x-pipe burning the fluid. but never got it through the vents until today.

Re: leaky tailshaft continues
 

Hmmm... if it does smoke when the heat is shut off, I don't know what that could be. It maybe time for another heater core?
In any event, you've had the rear seal replaced twice and it still leaks. I would suspect a crack. You would think if that was the case the trained eye of a mechanic would have caught it. If it's the same guy he could have the wrong part twice. Can you put a rear tranny seal in backwards? I would ask to see one at a parts store. Jack that car up, put a couple of bricks or chocks at the front wheel and throw her on some jack stands. Then get under there with a flashlight and look at it up close. Clean it real well, drive it around the block, and see where exactly it's leaking. Alot of that wetness could be left over from the first leak as well.

Re: leaky tailshaft continues
 

For the leak, take a good look at the shifter base. I thought my tailshaft seal was leaking too, till i had my shifter boot out. Found the fluid was actually coming up through the base. Replaced the shifter and no more leak. As for the smoke, if it doesn smell like coolant its not. How long does it last for? Sounds like excess moisture building up in the HVAC box. look for a cloged drain from the box.

Re: leaky tailshaft continues
 

I am suspicious of the taking it to a mechanic to pay him twice to do the same job. Any places I have hired, if they did not fix it right the first time..and it was nothing unexpected, would not charge me a second time for the same job. I could see maybe charging you for the seal again, but not to put it in. If he had done it right in the first place, then u would not have to take it back. If the mechanic is even half good, he should have picked up on ur problem by now.
Ryan

Re: leaky tailshaft continues
 

I was thinking the same thing. I would have told the guy that I WAS NOT going to pay again for the same job that he did not fix correct the first time.
Take it back and tell him not to call you until the problem is fixed and that you're not going to pay him another dime either.