I can see into my bell housing, that can't be right!

[pjb]

Stuff seems to be going wrong with my NJ 3.5 faster than I can fix it!

Firstly, here is a photo of the front of the bell housing on the left-hand-side. I can peer inside and see the teeth of the flywheel.


Looks like the thin plate that covers the end of the bell housing is bent??? On the other hand, there doesn't looks like there is much to retain it, nor any gasket either. So is this, ahem, "normal"

Secondly, looks like there is oil leaking out around here. Is this likely to be the rear crank oil seal?

[VHPirie]

That's not a huge drama, maybe just try bending it back into shape somehow, but might be difficult. There shouldn't be any oil inside it, if there is it could be the front seal around the input shaft, or yeah the rear main seal in the motor....or oil which has leaked down the back of the motor, say from a rocker cover or sumfin. The plate is there just to keep crap out I rekon, so a hole like that isn't a good thing, but if it was in a 4wd that only saw the black top, well I doubt it would matter a great deal.

[pjb]

Hmm, sounds about right... Now that I look at that photo again, looks a bit like a bolt at 90° that holds that plate on. I'll try whipping it off and bending it back into shape...
On the upside, there is a nice gap to squirt the hose into to clean it out! Had mud inside the cab the other weekend, so I guess the bell housing would have been well filled!

As for the oil, will have to keep an eye on that... Looks and feels like engine oil, but from what I've heard, it's an absolute bastard dropping the transmission out without the benefit of a workshop.

[Dexter]

I had a similar gap on mine along with missing one of the inspection hole covers(rubber thingy). Didnt seem to cause any issue, I think that area is pretty much non-waterproof.

[NJV6]

I'd say the oil is coming from the cam covers - mine weeped a bit then one day had a hemmorage!!

No idea what caused it but I went through over a litre of oil in 200km, all coming out of a cam cover and down the bell housing and a nice splattering up the rear door. Felt sorry for anyone following me!