All,

I just got the car put back together last week and got it DEQ'ed and legal yesterday. The goal is to head out for a 2200 mile WCR trip on Wednesday. The problem is that I now have a pretty substantial oil leak either at the rear main seal or the transmission input seal. I don't know for sure which, but I'm leaning towards the transmission. I recently replaced both seals.

This whole thing is a little bit soul crushing, as the main reason I pulled the engine in the first place was to fix push rod and other misc. leaks. Now I have new ones. Yay.

So do I just drop the transmission, or should I pull the whole drivetrain back out? Do I really save any effort doing just the transmission? If I find out that it's actually the main seal leaking, can I replace that relatively easily with the engine in place?

Thanks,

Mike

How substantial is substantial?
It could also be a freeze plug working loose which would be fatal if it blew. If your have not been drilled and tapped and replaced with NPT plugs its worth the look.

Its not fun, but you should be able to do it with the engine in and just pulling the trans, clutch and flywheel.

Zach

Smell the offending lube. Gear oil (dino) has it's own smell, you can pull the dip stick and put a little oil on your finger and smell it. If gear oil it will smell really different. You can replace the rear seal by pulling the trans. It is all just all easier and less painful out of the car.

You should be able to address everything we’re just pulling the transmission, if time is a big issue then minimize every other bit of work possible.

Sorry you’re dealing with this, I can totally empathize on it being frustrating.

Thanks all! I'll pick up the seals today and tear into it tonight. Any tips on installing the new seals? Sure would be fun if they DIDN'T leak this time.

Buy more seals than you need, it really frustrating when one gets damaged.

Pull the trans, it will be faster and less work. It will also not bend up your tins> they always seem to get a beating when pulling the engine. Rear main will be EZ and not on the floor. Keep track of the endplay shims (3). The front trans seal is EZ enough too once its on the bench.

Best of luck...keep up updated on you progress

_Robert

By the time you undo the back end you're half way there. If the leak is behind the flywheel, off it comes. Much easier with the package sitting out of the car on a furniture dolly.

^^^^^^
Well that seems obvious now that someone said it, especially if you’re on a schedule where you need to only touch it once that is really excellent coaching.

My daughter and I got the transmission out this evening. She nailed the sniff test pointing out that the leaking oil smelled like cat piss (gearbox) and not like burnt smell of the motor oil, so I was pretty confident that the leak is from the transmission. What was strange was that after we pulled the clutch fork and the clutch fork tube the shaft seal looked perfectly dry. The oil actually seemed to be leaking from around the base of the clutch fork pivot ball. Strangely enough, the ball was completely loose. We removed it and tipped the transmission forward, pouring oil out onto the floor. I wouldn't have guessed that hole was tapped all the way through.

We replaced the washer and tightened everything down. We tipped the transmission forward and I plan to leave it until tomorrow to see if it leaks. The kid has no school tomorrow, so if all looks good I hope to be back on the road tomorrow evening.

Awesome

Nice, hoping that was the easy fix for you. It can be frustrating getting the trans back in place (sometimes the driveshaft decides it’s going to be a pita) be patient, guide and wiggle it back into place. Good luck!

Sure she does.



The School of Dad.



Sounds like you raised a good one there.

Yet another example of how critical it is in life to recognize the smell of cat piss

Nice job, and good on your daughter!

Great news!