transmission leak question

[SammutRacing]

I know this is a hard question to answer with out seeing the car but im wondering if anyone has had a similar issue.. A friend of mine who I met at a local car show is not a forum guy asked me a question about an issue he's having on his Viper. im not a tec by any means so I figured id ask it here on VOA since there are so many experienced viper guys on this forum.. he has what seems to be a transmission leak. after he starts the car and lets it run for a few min and turns it off, he doesn't even need to drive it, he has 4-5 drops of what looks to be (red) tranny fluid on the floor.. any one have a issue like this?

[swexlin]

I assume this is a Gen 5 owner? First I've read of this type of thing here. Assuming the car is under warranty, recommend he get it to a dealer and have them check it out.

[SammutRacing]

Yes it is a 2014..

[Jack B]

Typically, the trans fluid is not red. The coolant is red.

[SammutRacing]

ahh.. that would make sense.. must be a coolant leak.

thanks for the response.

[SammutRacing]

so I have an update... first, thank you Jack B for the info. I passed the info along and what do you know he said he looked when the car was cold and his coolant level is to the top of the tank passed the fill line. this brings the next problem, knob question but how do you get the cap off the tank? it seems to pop off when you rotate it but then there seems to be a safety of some sort that wont allow us to get it off? figured we will suck the excess fluid out with a turkey baster but we didn't want to force it off and crack it.

thanks

[Dave1968]

Just so you know, the trans fluid is ATF-4 and it is Red.

[AZTVR]

how do you get the cap off the tank? it seems to pop off when you rotate it but then there seems to be a safety of some sort that wont allow us to get it off?

Try pushing down a little on the cap when turning past that last safety latch point.

[Jack B]

That is why I said typically, the earlier synthetics were neutral.

When I changed to an aftermarket fluid. in my G5, I do not remember it being red. Were the early G5's all ATF4?

Try pushing down a little on the cap when turning past that last safety latch point.

[Dave1968]

I believe they are all ATF 4. Maybe someone put the wrong or different fluid in. You can buy a neutral coloured manual trans oil, however it doesnèt flow quite as easy as the atf. I use Amsoil multivehicle full syn tranny oil. It works so good my tranny shifts a lot smoother now.

[SammutRacing]

so I have an update on friend Jason's car. it is indeed the transmission leaking. put it on the lift and popped the little plate off the bottom of the trans and there is oil everywhere.. seems to be from the main shaft the shop said..so the gear box has to be pulled out. brand new car.. its really crazy how many people have issues with gen5 cars..every time I sign on the forum I see a new engine failure or something. for the amount of cars built seems to be a very high failure rate. making me loose faith a bit.

[Policy Limits]

Is the quality control dept related to Bernie madoff? Haha. Wait it's not the manufacturer's fault. Probably a supplier, dealer or other entity. Psshh

[Mike Madden]

Just received my ACR X and have 248 easy miles on it..... Red fluid on the garage floor. Contacted Detroit because the dealer who sold the car is not certified (as required) So, taking it to a local shop we discovered the skip plate is more difficult then just removing a few screws. My closes dealer is 154 miles away.
The fluid is red... Checking the transmission fill cap indicates the fluid is down quarter inch.. Mechanic said no problem. Shifting out of 1st it will NOT engage 2nd. Once in 5th I can move it to 2nd. This has occurred 4 time.
Detroit indicated that perhaps a local mechanic might be able to fix the problem... but we still don't know where the leak is.
Does anyone have a clue as to where it might be leaking.? My location is Lake Ozark, MO.
Thanks for your help. This is my first posting.

[Mike Madden]

Just received my ACR X and have 248 easy miles on it..... Red fluid on the garage floor. Contacted Detroit because the dealer who sold the car is not certified (as required) So, taking it to a local shop we discovered the skip plate is more difficult then just removing a few screws. My closes dealer is 154 miles away.
The fluid is red... Checking the transmission fill cap indicates the fluid is down quarter inch.. Mechanic said no problem. Shifting out of 1st it will NOT engage 2nd. Once in 5th I can move it to 2nd. This has occurred 4 time.
Detroit indicated that perhaps a local mechanic might be able to fix the problem... but we still don't know where the leak is.
Does anyone have a clue as to where it might be leaking.? My location is Lake Ozark, MO.
Thanks for your help. This is my first posting.

[swexlin]

Sorry to hear of your issues. These are good cars, but some do have build quality issues. My recommendation would be to put on a transport, and ship it to Mark J. at Woodhouse. Contact him, he's here on the forum a lot. Mark might (not sure) be able to help you to get the transport cost covered under warranty as well. Please let us know how it turns out.

[NT-ACR]

Just received my ACR X and have 248 easy miles on it..... Red fluid on the garage floor. Contacted Detroit because the dealer who sold the car is not certified (as required) So, taking it to a local shop we discovered the skip plate is more difficult then just removing a few screws. My closes dealer is 154 miles away.
The fluid is red... Checking the transmission fill cap indicates the fluid is down quarter inch.. Mechanic said no problem. Shifting out of 1st it will NOT engage 2nd. Once in 5th I can move it to 2nd. This has occurred 4 time.
Detroit indicated that perhaps a local mechanic might be able to fix the problem... but we still don't know where the leak is.
Does anyone have a clue as to where it might be leaking.? My location is Lake Ozark, MO.
Thanks for your help. This is my first posting.

ACR X? A model by that name was only produced in the Gen 4 life cycle. Are you perhaps referring to the ACR Extreme as in an ACR with the Extreme Aero Package?

For clarification, does your car look like this:



or this:



If it is the first image, you should make a post on this part of the forum:

http://driveviper.com/forums/forums/6-Gen-III-Gen-IV

[Topplayer]

check the overfill tube(dont know technical name)
I was having a small leak from my transmission as well, They are in the process of changing out that tube as we speak.

[Jack B]

The vent tube, it is right on the top of the trans. It is sort of fragile, howevet, it is not in harms way till you pull the trans.

check the overfill tube(dont know technical name)
I was having a small leak from my transmission as well, They are in the process of changing out that tube as we speak.

[Mike Madden]

NT-ACR.. The car is ACR Extreme as in an ACR with the Extreme Aero Package. Gunmetal pearl - no striping... I'm one of those guys who carefully reads the suggestions in the owners manual as to properly breaking in the car. Speed, Breaking etc. Every Saturday AM and Sunday AM the car receives the driving care specified. I know some of you track the car as soon as you get it, however from what I'm reading it's not wise. That's why I'm stumped on why I have red fluid dripping from the car. Even the back of the car is covered in fluid when I only drive it 30 - 40 miles.
Back to the transmission leak. I would rather a trained technician look at the car. I don't know that the warranty work would be covered by someone other then a dealer. I'm sure many of you have mechanics who far exceed the trained person. At some point I will be a customer of theirs.
I'm located 45 miles south of Jefferson city Missouri (Lake Ozark, Missouri) my option is St. Louis or Kansas City. I called Kansas City and they (the mechanic) would not speak with me. I was told to bring the car in. I was hoping that by explaining the problem he or she could order the parts based on prior issues.
As Jack B mentioned, it could be a vent tube. I had a local mechanic check the fluid in the transmission and he said it was below the fill cap by a quarter inch. He said not to worry but check it often. Checked radiator and the level is fine.
I want to thank all of you who responded and if you have a authorized dealer in St. Louis that you like... Please let me know.

[Jack B]

If it was over filled, that tube lwould vent the tranny oil. Because of the belly pan it would probably come out the openings in the fascia below the bumper cover or at the vent hole in front of the diff.

NT-ACR.. The car is ACR Extreme as in an ACR with the Extreme Aero Package. Gunmetal pearl - no striping... I'm one of those guys who carefully reads the suggestions in the owners manual as to properly breaking in the car. Speed, Breaking etc. Every Saturday AM and Sunday AM the car receives the driving care specified. I know some of you track the car as soon as you get it, however from what I'm reading it's not wise. That's why I'm stumped on why I have red fluid dripping from the car. Even the back of the car is covered in fluid when I only drive it 30 - 40 miles.
Back to the transmission leak. I would rather a trained technician look at the car. I don't know that the warranty work would be covered by someone other then a dealer. I'm sure many of you have mechanics who far exceed the trained person. At some point I will be a customer of theirs.
I'm located 45 miles south of Jefferson city Missouri (Lake Ozark, Missouri) my option is St. Louis or Kansas City. I called Kansas City and they (the mechanic) would not speak with me. I was told to bring the car in. I was hoping that by explaining the problem he or she could order the parts based on prior issues.
As Jack B mentioned, it could be a vent tube. I had a local mechanic check the fluid in the transmission and he said it was below the fill cap by a quarter inch. He said not to worry but check it often. Checked radiator and the level is fine.
I want to thank all of you who responded and if you have a authorized dealer in St. Louis that you like... Please let me know.