Ricardo transaxle vent

[J. Salmon]

I am running the Ricardo in my RCR40 (and not too many folks are using the Ricardo there).
I have always had fluid blowing out the vent. I added a cooler, no difference. I started with the factory vent, at the end of every drive there is transaxle fluid running down onto the floor. I decided to try something else. I now have a small vent on a line that is about 4 feet long and runs to the top most corner of the rear clip, can't get any higher. I still get fluid out, even on a short drive.

My crossover headers do run right over the top of the box, and it gets hot. I do not have a temp gauge on the trans.

Any ideas?

 

[Grant S]

run a oil catch can.

 

[Alex]

i too vote catch can - my Ricardo's vent doesn't every blow out anything. The up/down shift-lever-thingie though seems to sweat a little bit of fluid though.

 

[J. Salmon]

I have thought of going to a catch can, because I don't have any other choice at this point.
But anybody know why it would be doing this? It's not overfilled. Heat? I have some extra heat shield material inbound. I am worried there is some internal passage blocked off or something.

My father's seeps from the shifter on his SLC. Mine does not.

 

[Alex]

are you sure it isn't overfilled. from what i recall the Ricardo is very touchy about its fill level and will blow out if over-filled, and i imagine adding the cooler in makes it harder to know if it's got the correct amount in or not.

 

[J. Salmon]

I did add a cooler. But when I looked Saturday (trans was warm) it's not like fluid came all pouring out of the hole.

 

[Ken Roberts]

Cam had this same problem.

http://www.gt40s.com/forum/slc-clubhouse/29845-slc-36-cams-build-18.html#post336899

See post #359.

A properly sized cooler should eliminate it. Perhaps yours is too small or connected incorrectly.

I'll bet that the bundle of snakes exhaust is a factor.

 

[J. Salmon]

Cam had this same problem.

http://www.gt40s.com/forum/slc-clubhouse/29845-slc-36-cams-build-18.html#post336899

See post #359.

A properly sized cooler should eliminate it. Perhaps yours is too small or connected incorrectly.

I'll bet that the bundle of snakes exhaust is a factor.

I think heat could be the issue. I have the biggest cooler I think will fit, it's the same one the GT guys use. I honestly don't know how you could hook it up wrong: it's 2 fittings and a cooler. I have some heat shield coming. I will blanket the top of the tranny and see if that helps.

 

[Ken Roberts]

The first thing I would do is put a pulling fan on the backside of the cooler. To aid in it's efficiency I'd make a shroud for it.

 

[J. Salmon]

I have fans but I have not been running them. I had thought I might need them in stop and go traffic, but the car has only been running around back roads. I have zero engine temp issues, with water and oil staying nice and stable. I also get very little heat into the cockpit, so I had taken those things to mean the engine compartment was doing well.

I plan to install a significant heat shield between the headers and the transaxle this week and will test this weekend. I will report back! Thanks for the help!

 

[Cam]

I added the transaxle cooler and it still seeps out the shifter. It does seem to seep the worst on track days, but it even seeps a bit on street drives. At the end of the day its around a teaspoon full per quarter. It looks like alot with dirt/grime/brake dust. I add 4 teaspoons annually, its been fine for 4 years.