Oil in bell housing....

[shelldrake]

Ok guys and gals,

Here's the deal. I had an oil leak coming from somewhere so I investigated. After cleaning lotsa "suspect" areas I found oil to be dripping from the bottom of the bell. I cleaned the area and found more oil forming then dripping from the same location. My thoughts were a) suspect front gear box seal and b) suspect rear of sump gasket. c) maybe a rear main seal

Last night I pulled the box off and found quite a bit of oil in the bell housing, a bit of build up on the outer surface of clutch housing, the friction plate actually looked pretty dry all over. The rear main seal looked pretty clean, however I could immediately spot the sump gasket leaking a little from the back.

I suppose my question is, How do the oil drips from the rear of a sump gasket find there way into the bell housing? I believe some oil was also getting on the clutch as it would smell a bit after spirited driving. (Although this could be clutch adjustment as the take up point was almost when your foot was off the pedal.) If the rear main seal was leaking surely oil would be everywhere staining the surrounding area.

When I left it overnight the only oil leak was from the back of the sump. The rms still looked clean...Maybe I should just change the rms too and cover all bases....?

[slide86]

i would replace the RMS and the sump gasket at the same time. clean it all and inspect it after a week.

this way, you arent pulling the car apart twice for the same leak

[Hen]

I've also suffered from this problem for a while, a bit scary having oil so close to your clutch, but I have successfully ignored it for a fair while with no ill effects.

My opinion is that if the rear main looks fine then leave it, I think it's more likely to leak after fitting a new one. Front GB seal is easy to change but again no point if it looks good and clean.

Removing and resealing the sump is a bit more of a task, but may be possible with the engine still in the car. Sealant goo is your friend.

Hen

[river]

Hi,

You should be able to tell by the smell of the oil if it's engine oil or g/box oil.

If it's engine oil then I'd suspect the RMS to be the culprit 'cos I can't see how a sump leak could get into the bell housing.

If it smells like g/box oil then I'd suspect the front g/box seal.

seeyuzz
river

[Rallystanza]

River would be correct here with the oil in your bellend not coming from the sump, it can't really, especially if you have the felx plate fitted between the engine and bellend.

If it is your RMS, they are easy to change and will not leak if done correctly without butchering the thing, take care to knock in evenly when placing new seal in.

RMS's leak more commonly that the front seal on the gearbox.

If you seam the think the sump is causing oil to get into your bellend, then i suggest just carefully tweaking the bolts/nuts that hold you sump on, this may provide just that little bit more gasket squish to seal up a small leak and avoid a PITA job of replacing a sump gasket in car.

Good luck,

Jez

[Draven]

You should be able to tell by the smell of the oil if it's engine oil or g/box oil.

Yeah, used gearbox oil smells like wet dog smeared with baby shit.