This one is for the books...

I have three problems with my 1995 850 T-5R, all of which may be related / maybe not, and if I wasn't a masochistic engineer I would have sold this car by now... I bought the car at 70,000 miles, everything was clean as a whistle (I'm not saying it wasn't totally spit polished for me on the lot)...

Since I've bought the car I've noticed little bits of oil, drops on the top of the engine, I always assumed that it was a leaking filler cap, so I replaced it. (I still have the random drops).

Last time I changed the oil (75,000) I noticed what could be seepage from the main seal. (That combined with suspicious air conditioner has led me to buy a warranty from warrantybynet...)

Today I was on a rather long drive (150 miles), and on a long strech of highway I had the chance to let her run wide open, after reading many other posts recently (you people are a bad influence). First, she maxed out at 134 MPH on a very flat stretch, not bouncing off of the rev limiter, but stopped by drag (There goes the dreams of 150+). Second I experienced a re-occuring problem. On long trips I've got this problem where after the engine/tranny heat up pretty well, I seem to get this horrible shift between third and fourth (51-53MPH). It's very clunky and seems to have to guess between the gears. It actually makes the car clunk, and buck and once made the check engine light come on. The other symptom is at rest, the car very harshly clunks into gear between reverse and drive. The only codes left were misfires in each of the cylinders.

Being paranoid of the tranny, I flushed the system four months ago, since then I've been unsure of whether I have the correct amount of fluid in there so I check obsessively. It seems to be right on...

So today when it was acting up, I checked the tranny fluid at a rest stop. It seemed fine as always, sitting at the top of the hot line. BUT what I did notice is that I had a few small drips of oil coming out and running down my oil my dipstick tube. Nothing at all from the filler cap with the new gasket. And at the expense of a pair of dockers, there's more evidence of seepage at the rear seal.

So here it is:

Are these connected? It would seem as if my oil pressure is too high. Causing oil to come out both orafaces. What could cause that besides the relief valve in the oil pump (no flame trap in the turbo). Are these problems related, or seperate, or should I just take it to a dealership and play totally stupid? I'm hoping that some of the brilliance of John O, or Dave, or anybody who knows these cars better than me can help. I have posted a few time now, and all of your help has been invaluable in the past.

Thank you in advance,

and sorry for the length,

~Jonathan