Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Branches New England [censored] (kinda long)

Went and got my oil changed and my fluids topped off. i paid 20 bucks in Holyoke. so after they are done i drive to work, when i pull up2 a stoplight or stop sign i saw SMOKE coming from the right front area. im like WTF?!?!?! so i got to work and looked at my car, my right front wheel(on the rim) was SOAKED in oil. im talkin completly saturated and soaked, u can see a puddle and [censored]. so today i brought it back complaining. they put it on the lift and looked for like 15 min and said he could not find a leak. im like well it wasnt like that b4 and i want this [censored] fixed. he cleaned it off and said if u see more leakage come back....ok. also when he put it up on the lift i noticed tanny fluid drops hangin from the bottom of the engine!!! WTF!!!! im soo pissed, i dunno wtf to do now. i soo hope the oil isnt leakin. he said it was probably excess oil that puddled somehweres and is leakin from that puddle. well its freakin going down the thing that my wheels is connected to and collecting on my freakin wheel. so i hope its what he said it was and [censored], but i still have a freakin leak in my tranny. god damnit!

did you/they even check the oil levels?
if its lower, then its truly leaking, if not, then the guy probably just missed the entrance for the oil - assuming they use one of those oil hoses...

anyway - keep an eye and ear out.

People say it's not worth the hassle to change your own oil, but you never know what's going to happen when you drive out of those quickee-lube places. I used to change my own, then I had it done a few times, and each time I had it done, something got screwed up. So now it's back to getting a little dirty.

they may have topped off the transmission fluid and overfilled because they did not have the transmission in the proper configuration when they checked and added oil.

All automatic transmission require the engine to be running and the transmission warmed up, at least 10 miles of driving does the trick.

But.... the important thing is what gear its in. Each transmission is different, some have their oil checked with the tranny in neutral, others in drive and still others in park.

If they did it wrong then they could have added a quart or more of excess oil. What you see as a leak may not be a leak at all but just the excess oil comming out the overflow.

Read your owner's manual on checking automatic transmission fluid and it will tell you what gear to be in. Check it yourself and see, if its overfilled then you know whats up. If not, just check it often and make sure it doesn't get too low. If after a few days it doesn't get any better and the oil level is still ok then you have a legitimate problem.

Oh, yeah, your car is automatic, right?

Geez, where did you go in Holyoke??? I think they just did sloppy work and splashed it out everywhere, but that's just my opinion.

yea ive been checking the oil and it appears to be ok, but i still notice little drips or something after i move my car from the parking spot. i gotta figure out what the hell the deal is. i dont think its as bad as it was at first. but i will be able to tell tomorrow...ifi t is im gonna bring it back and make em fix da shi0t.

wontgrowup, i got it changed at Garvelinski's Garage.

Try putting a piece of cardboard under your car for a night, and see what drips are there in the morning. This will give you an idea of how bad it is.

I checked the oil level and it seems to not be low....but as far as the tranny fluid goes i dont know, i drove my car for a bit then checked but i barely saw anything on the stick. im guessing(hopeing) i didnt drive long enough...ill drive it around and check again....i hope its not low.. im definately still eaking something, im gona put a piece of cardboard under it to see what exactly and how much is dripping. PITA! thanks for the help guys.

Dankbud,
Not sure if this is your problem but it may be something to check out. A while back when changing my oil on my previous vehicle (94 Ford Ranger), I removed the oil filter and didn't notice that the rubber gasket from the old filter had actually stuck to the surface where I had removed it. After installing the new filter and adding the oil I proceeded to start the engine. Well sure enough the oil started shooting out from the oil filter due to the fact that there were two gaskets. I certainly won't make that mistake again! I'm sure this isn't your problem (as you would have absolutely NO oil left in your engine by now), but you may have something wrong with the gasket of your new filter (tear or defect of some sort) if you're seeing a leak from the passenger side wheel area (that's where the filter is located on the Zetec). Anyway, I sent you a PM too!
J.