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Oil leak - Engine or gearbox or both out?


Kr1s
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Hello again!

Hope you're not getting tired of my questions 😔

It looks like my 1980 2.0 may have an oil leak and I guess it could be rear crankshaft seal or gearbox input seal, is that right?

If it comes to it, I'm wondering what's the best approach to accessing those to replace them.

I had the engines out of mantas several times back in the '90s and became quite adept at it but having to hire a hoist is a pain.

Are there other things that would be worth doing if I had the engine out or other benefits to this approach? It's done -26000 miles. I'm assuming with the engine out I can get access to the gearbox input seal - is that correct?

Getting the gearbox out sounds a bit of a faff, but I'm thinking if I did that I could do the output seal at the same time, just as a preventative measure. Can the rear crankshaft seal be accessed by removing the gearbox?

If I go this route, are the input and output seals on the gearbox both easy to get out and in?

The Haynes manual recommends getting the engine and gearbox out together, but I have serious concerns that I don't have the height required to do that in my garage.

I'd be really interested to hear what someone with more experience would do if they were in my shoes!

As always, many thanks!

Chris

 

 

PXL_20240518_105802144.jpg

Edited by Kr1s
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It’s never easy to check when the oil has spread. But it looks to me there is a few small leaks in different places.

Oil sump plug needs new copper washer, easy win there.

Looks like rear main seal might be letting a little too. Should be able to see oil streaks on back of flywheel if so. But might be sump gasket too.

Gearbox, usual is sump gasket and the selector shaft seal.
 

Engine oil will be black from the carbon. Gearbox will still be light brown 

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I’d also be tempted to go with sump gasket first. The seal at the rear of the sump can perish over time. I’ve known sumps that look like that to leak aswell, with pin holes in the rust. 

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My freshly rebuilt 4 speed is leaking oil. I think nos gaskets and seals are not worth having anymore. The new rear seal I fitted is leaking and it’s not even been driven yet 🤣

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I was wondering about this - I guess as far as NOS is concerned, the problem is mentioned in the name - it is still old 😆

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I would first apply degreaser, then jet wash box and sump, then keep an eye on the leak....maybe remove the 1/2 moon flywheel plate to check what it looks like inside...

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as mentioned by 1200 bandit above the 4 speed box is easy enough to remove in an hour. it you are going to change the gearbox input seal then its easier to remove just the gearbox itself first and then the bellhousing afterwards. ( the seal is sandwiched between the two)

if you need to replace the rear crank seal then its just pressed into its housing and can be done easily. remember when refitting the flywheel to put the bolt marked P into the smallest flywheel hole .aligning is straightforward as the bolt holes are not evenly spaced so it will only fit in one place !

sump can be removed with engine in car but you will need to lift it a little off its mountings and lower the subframe too ( not too much or you willneed to loosen the steering uj.

BUT as mentioned it all needs cleaning off first as the leak source is not obvious .

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That's really helpful, thanks - a lot of that was not very clear from the Haynes manual.

Yes, I'll get it cleaned up first but it's nice to know potential required work is less major than I was imagining.

I will keep you all posted!

Cheers!

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yes get it all spotless underneath and around the sides and back of engine then you can see where the leak starts from.

one piece of advise. down the back of the engine / upper edge of gearbox / bellhousing there is a small slot ,gap which goes straight into the bellhousing.its worth jamming a big rag into this to prevent getting loads of water into the clutch and release bearing . i once pressure washed a car and then didnt drive it for a month, the next time i started it up the clutch release beari g must have gotten some water in it and was noisy.

so i would say.....to be sure . drive the car around after washing to make sure all is dried out. ( especially as you may find the oil isnt from anything that requires gearbox out !)

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Sorry, I didn't see this until just now.

Luckily I didn't use a hose or pressure washer as I was concerned about water ingress as you suggest.

I think I got it clean enough with Gunk, a toothbrush and some damp rags and sponges.

I've not driven the car yet as I know one of the rear brakes is seized - it's going to the garage to get that sorted and a general pre-mot inspection on Friday (I hate working with brake fluid 😆) so I'll check it after that. I hope I bought the right type of cylinders.

I think it's time I started a project thread!

Cheers!

Chris

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