AHHHHH!!! Transmission fluid leaking from somewhere - mystery solved!

[RV 4 2]

OK, this motorhome stuff is not fun anymore. Since we brought the coach home July 28, it has spent 2 weeks in 2 places for service/warranty work. Of which the warranty work has not been done yet because they had to order parts, we were told they could do chassis inspection/alignments which we found out when dropping off the coach was not true. The chassis inspection didn't turn out like I had hoped, they found nothing wrong that would cause my handling problem except for axle weights. I did get a Safe t Steer installed which was good and that helped. The generator has an oil leak that still needs to be fixed when we are home more than 2 weeks. We have only been on 1 trip. And the wife is majorly complaining that she has followed the motorhome more than she has actually been in it. OK, sorry for complaining.
Now, today, I parked the coach in the driveway after getting the Safe T Steer and chassis inspection and I found transmission fluid leaking. The weird part is there is no visible point of the leak. It appears to be coming from somewhere above the alternator. The only thing there is the tube for the dipstick. There were drips below the alternator, spay on the frame, intake tube, right leaf spring, shock and I found some on the engine cover in the area over the alternator. I figure the fan dispersed fluid all over. I wiped everything down. Looked at all the hoses, connections and I saw no place that it may be leaking from. Like I mentioned, it appears to be leaking above the alternator. Which makes no sense except for the dipstick tube that was very wet at the mounting point above the alternator bur it was not wet at the opening where the dipstick goes into. The engine and transmission are dry. I am going to drive it a short distance this weekend and then park it to see if I can find the source. Do any of you folks more familiar with the W24 have any suggestions to help me figure out where this leak is coming from.

edit title by request

[RV 4 2]

OK, this motorhome stuff is not fun anymore. Since we brought the coach home July 28, it has spent 2 weeks in 2 places for service/warranty work. Of which the warranty work has not been done yet because they had to order parts, we were told they could do chassis inspection/alignments which we found out when dropping off the coach was not true. The chassis inspection didn't turn out like I had hoped, they found nothing wrong that would cause my handling problem except for axle weights. I did get a Safe t Steer installed which was good and that helped. The generator has an oil leak that still needs to be fixed when we are home more than 2 weeks. We have only been on 1 trip. And the wife is majorly complaining that she has followed the motorhome more than she has actually been in it. OK, sorry for complaining.
Now, today, I parked the coach in the driveway after getting the Safe T Steer and chassis inspection and I found transmission fluid leaking. The weird part is there is no visible point of the leak. It appears to be coming from somewhere above the alternator. The only thing there is the tube for the dipstick. There were drips below the alternator, spay on the frame, intake tube, right leaf spring, shock and I found some on the engine cover in the area over the alternator. I figure the fan dispersed fluid all over. I wiped everything down. Looked at all the hoses, connections and I saw no place that it may be leaking from. Like I mentioned, it appears to be leaking above the alternator. Which makes no sense except for the dipstick tube that was very wet at the mounting point above the alternator bur it was not wet at the opening where the dipstick goes into. The engine and transmission are dry. I am going to drive it a short distance this weekend and then park it to see if I can find the source. Do any of you folks more familiar with the W24 have any suggestions to help me figure out where this leak is coming from.

edit title by request

[M&EM]

Are you sure it is trans fluid and not the antfreeze. Both have a reddish color.

[Phantomiz]

I'll let you know that you are not alone in frustration at owning a motorhome and having to deal with a dealer that promises everything and delivers very little. I too, have had my set of problems/setbacks. Finally after two years, I have all of my warranty work completed except for a problem with my camera system in which they are going to be replacing as soon as the system arrives.
I believe it is an industry problem. I'd like to say the whole recreational industry, but that wouldn't be fair. I found the boating industry the same as the RV industry.
My wife also has spent much time driving behind the motorhome while getting to our dealer, which is 2 1/2 hours away. After, 10 or so trips, I decided to make my appointments where I could wait for my RV to be repaired. This seems to be the best way of getting repairs done as I can be there to give guided help as to how to fix many problems.(birddog)
I can't believe I would ever say that I'm happy the warranty period is over.
Sorry, I can't help with your fluid leak, but I'm sure there are many here who can...

L8r

[NeilV]

Get it fixed quickly. I lost my last coach in from a small wheel well fire that got out of control. Oil spray from a small leak could have provided the accelerant that lead to the total loss.

[Horsepowerfan]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by RV 4 2:
Do any of you folks more familiar with the W24 have any suggestions to help me figure out where this leak is coming from. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

My guess would be the bracket to the trans. fill tube has cracked slightly where it's tack welded to the tube. If fluid was added, it would have dripped out as it was flowing down the tube. Try cleaning the area and adding some fluid. Look for a leak where the bracket attaches to the tube.

[John-D]

First the transmission fluid.. It may have been a spill while adding fluid (or as others said, may not be tranny at all) and again, it may have been a spill, not a leak. Drive it again to be sure. also pressure in the system increases under load. Sitting in your drive, engine running it's very low, it may only show up when goign down the highway.


Second: Handling.. Handling on a motor home is most likely the #1 complaint, I mean, your rear wheels are darn near in the middle of the house, you have this great BIG SAIL of a tail back there that loves to wag the dog. This makes for some SERIOUS white knuckles and there is, of course NOTHING wrong with the chassis, nothing at all, Per the design) if you stripped the house off it would handle like a corvette

What you need is a way to keep the tail from wagging. And as it turns out, such a way exists, it's called a Track Bar or Pan Hard Bar, and is designed to "lock" the frame dead center above the axle Works too. If you find one of the threads on Ultra Power, Mike sells a very nice Track Bar. a bit less expensive and if the photos are accurate (I suspect they are) it looks as well built as the more expensive Davis Track bar from Roadmaster.

Try it, I think you'll like it.

[Jeepster47]

Mike,
I cured my handling problems by first having all four corners seperatly weighed (on level ground including everything ready for trip). Readjust items if needed. Then checked tire pressure per tire mfg. chart. Finally, have a laser wheel alignment by a reputable RV shop (Redlands Truck and RV is good). These are very important first steps.
After taking these steps I ended up adding front and rear trac bars, rear anti-sway bar and Koni FDS shocks, which ended up taking away the "Tail wagging the dog" and "Bobbing" effect. Drives more like a sports car now.
Might agree with M&EM regarding red fluid being antifreeze or possibly connections to tranny cooler. Keep us posted.

Ed

[rondi]

I believe the power steering system also uses the equivalent of tranny fluid. WH calls it Power Steering fluid, but my trucks call for Tranny Fluid. Maybe check the level and see what color it is and whether the level is ok.

And how is the Tranny fluid level. With this much fluid splattered around, there should be something with low fluid.

hth, ron

["007"]

Could be when someone at dealer ship was doing inspections thought you needed some more trans fluid and added some now when trans heats up forcing fluid out fill tube.

[RV 4 2]

Thank you all for the suggestions. The liquid appears to be the same color and consistency of transmission fluid. I looked at some spray and then pulled the transmission dipstick to compare. It looked really similar. I wiped as much down as much as I could of the mess and I will be doing a test drive Sunday and look again. I looked at all hose connections and all appeared dry. I looked at the front and back of the radiator and didn't see any moisture but I will check again.
John-D, I am pretty sure it is not a spill because I know it was not there prior to this last run. I would have seen it when I was crawling under there before I had the Safe t steer installed. It was pretty messy when I discovered it and I am sure the installers would have seen it. As for a weld on the filler tube, where I think it may be leaking, the tube is held by a bracket with a bolted clamp, no welds. I wiped it off to see nect time.
As for coolant, my reservoir seems to have a good level, and I could not see any leaks. The engine was still hot last night when I was looking so I didn't check the radiator level. And I am not sure if coolant is slippery like a lubricant is. I will check that though. I will also check all levels Sunday when I am parked on a level piece of ground. My driveway has a decent slant so it would make my levels look wrong when checked. As for the possibility of power steering fluid, the pump and associated hoses are on the other side of the engine. All that looked dry but I will check again.
jeepster, thanks on the handling recommendations. I aready had a chassis inspection, alignment check, weighed front to back twice on seperate ocassions and once for all 4 corners All weights look good but the front to back ratio is 49% and I was told it is better to be about 54%. Based on weights, Michelin recommends less than 80PSI for the fronts and 85-90psi for the rears, I am currently running 95 all around and down from the 110PSI that the dealer aired the tires to. I may go down to 90 on the fronts. I know what you are saying with that big sail back there and I am now wishing I had the 242 WB instead of the 228 I currently have. Maybe that would have made my butt overhang smaller. I am betting it would have put more weight on the front. I am trying not to spend money first. Adding trac bars and sway bars would probably total more than $2K+ that I would prefer not to spend if I dont have to. I still have more things I can try that require no money spent before I am out of options.

Again, thanks all for the suggestions. I will update as I have any news.

[Tom N]

If your jack system uses transmission fluid it may have been filled with the jacks down or slides extended. The reservoir would then be over filled. When bring in the slides or bring up the jacks fluid would be forced out the reservoir breather.

-Tom

[RV 4 2]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Tom N:
If your jack system uses transmission fluid it may have been filled with the jacks down or slides extended. The reservoir would then be over filled. When bring in the slides or bring up the jacks fluid would be forced out the reservoir breather.

-Tom </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hmmm, interesting. I looked at a reservoir by my jack pump where the fluid was clear/yellowish. I will have to find out if that is for the jacks. And I can rule out the slides as they are electric/gear driven.
Thanks for the additional hint.

[M&EM]

Replaced my jack fluid last spring. It was trans fluid color.