See this mess? It's what the Evo attempted to leave on my driveway over Thanksgiving weekend. That just happens to be gear lube which seemed to be escaping from the transmission's power take off for the rear drive shaft. It was dark and dirty under there and even with the car in the air it was impossible to nail the exact location of the leak.
The bottom line is that it looks like the transmission (which we've removed but never opened) is going to need to be removed to solve this problem. Fortunately, the Evo's main duty (the lap battle vs. the GT-R) has been completed. We'll keep you updated.
Josh Jacquot, Senior road test editor
hybris says:
05:23 AM, 12/ 3/09
Since you are going to be taking stuff off again any hopes of more upgrades?
fuhteng says:
06:56 AM, 12/ 3/09
Did the GTR fight kill the tranny?
wobbly_ears says:
08:00 AM, 12/ 3/09
Maybe it caught something nasty from GT-R? You know GT-R had some loose morals...
lazyhater says:
08:47 AM, 12/ 3/09
It is tough fighting the godzilla, the EVO got injured! I can't wait for the lap battle's result, I am betting the godzilla won, it takes a lot to beat the king.
benson2175 says:
08:57 AM, 12/ 3/09
Looks like you made the Evo like the GTR in more ways than you wanted.
hokiehigh says:
09:37 AM, 12/ 3/09
I've heard horrible stories about voided warranty due to racing the car, try not to let dealer know the car belongs to Edmunds and see what happens.
lowmilelude says:
09:49 AM, 12/ 3/09
What a great idea - a sports car that can't handle a track day.
t10 says:
10:53 AM, 12/ 3/09
"What a great idea - a sports car that can't handle a track day."
You might as well add, with 25K miles of mostly heavily modded abuse(I'm assuming IL staff run this pretty hard when driven), including launches, and horsepower around 75% over stock. It would be interesting to know how many time this things been launched between 1/4 mile testing and daily driving.("not that there is anything wrong with that..")
e90_m3 says:
11:18 AM, 12/ 3/09
Thanks for reminding me why I resisted modding the drivetrain--until the warranty expires, that is. :)
firstwagon says:
10:10 AM, 12/ 5/09
I likely just a seal. Minor problem considering the car is modded and abused.
Is the transmission still working normally?
fstclyz says:
03:30 PM, 12/ 9/09
Edmunds,
This is getting ridiculous. We've waited how long for a shoot out with the GTR.... That was the whole idea around this build and it's taken how long? Give us some love !