Okay, lots of problems, evidently. First off its a 95 Eclipse RS, engines from a 97 Avenger, very light mods. 6-month old OE Sachs clutch in an OE 5-speed trans with a slight leak thats suddenly become marginally worse. On to the problem...
Noticed an occasional creaking noise in the front end under braking and turning or acclerating & truning. Suddenly I've now developed a *Popping* noise under the same conditions I crawled under the car today to check the cv boots for damage, steering assy, suspension bushings and found the following: cv boots good, bushings good. Fluid inside the bellhousing but not on the clutch. Fluid leaking from the top(!) of the trans, under the battery tray. Worst of all, I cleaned away the sludge from the bottom near the trans oil drain and found tiny cracks in the metal, and one large crack (see pic at link).
