Outer Limits 4x4 Board

G'day all!

Had my clutch done around 8K ago, the mech said he changed rear oil seal while the gearbox was out. I changed my tyres over this morn and noticed oil on the sump, traced it back and its coming from inbetween the rear of the sump and the clutch bell housing? Would this be the rear oil seal thats leaking??? And i noticed a hole in the clutch release mechanism boot (must have been done when they droped it out) (haven't been off road). If it is the rear seal, would that mean theres oil getting into the cluch plate, and the hole in the CRMB would let water, mud, dust etc... in f^&*ing the clutch? Safari Tuff Clutch kit $620, Labor and parts $660 !

Any Info???

HI steve,
that oil could be coming from 3 places the rear engine seal, clutch slave cylinder or the front gearbox seal.
if its black oil then most probably your rear engine seal.
if its a browny colour then probaly your front gearbox seal.
if its a greeny/brown colour then probably just the slave cylinder leaking.
the boot around the clutch slave cylinder is important to stop all the muck getting up into the seals,best replace it ASAP.

hope this helps,
cheers Pratty

Cheers mate! Its black So much for changing the real seal!

Does this also mean that there is oil getting onto the clutch plate?

yep,as the flywheel spins it will fling oil onto the clutch plate,but if its not too bad of a leak,when you do the rear seal just take the clutch plate and hit it with a heap of contact cleaner or brake cleaner will do the same trick,shouldn't have to replace clutch assembly.

steve patrol wrote:Cheers mate! Its black So much for changing the real seal!

So i take it you've had the box out and checked if the seal was replaced?
How do you know there's not a groove worn in the crank causing it to leak?
How do you know it's not just a faulty seal?

Yeah it's leaking, but how about you find out WHY, befor throwing blame around...

His mechanic told him he replaced it! That either means it was replaced or he lied.

Mark2 wrote:His mechanic told him he replaced it! That either means it was replaced or he lied.

exactly. but he has no proof that the seal wasn't replced.

for a $10 part, it's hardly worth lieing about.

[/quote]Mark2 wrote:
His mechanic told him he replaced it! That either means it was replaced or he lied.


exactly. but he has no proof that the seal wasn't replced.

for a $10 part, it's hardly worth lieing about.

He charged me $80 + GST for the seal! I cant get the gearbox out myself to inspect it, otherwise i would have done the clutch and seal myself and there wouldn't be this f^&*n drama! They did a really rough job on it (ie. big arse dent in the floorpan from putting the gearbox back in, hole in the dust boot and clip missing?) If thats what the pro job looks like from the outside, who knows what they did??? Thats like me not fixing down roof trusses on a house, and just saying she'll be right when the next cyclone hits ay?

Stuffed that post up

dont rule out the sump gasket, especially if the mechanic said he changed the rear main.

i had a similar scenario. black oil on bottom of the sump, damp around the little square hole in the bell housing. giving the impression it was leaking from the rear main.

i pulled the foam stuff off, between the gearbox & motor, and cleaned up everything with degreaser then after going for a drive it was obvious it was coming from the sump gasket.

replaced sump gasket & got as much oil out of the foam stuff as possible and no more leak

or perhaps take it back to the mechanic who did the job?

Dazza

what engine?

On my SD33 the seal is two piece and you have to put it in just perfect. If you don't do it right it leaks. Three times doing mine until we got it not to leak....not my work though. So I made them fix it for free!

BTW, mine was pissing for years and the clutch was clean as can be. That is why the weep hole is there in the bellhousing.

If you really don't trust the guy, take it to some one els and have them find what the leak is.
if the they didn't put a new seal in, Go back and see the guy and tell him you the $80 refunded and for him to pay the repair bill..

There are peope to talk to about this stuff. Just be %100 sure that he is at fault first.

Yeh i know, ive had alot of dramas with mechs in cairns. Im getting it checked out by a mates old man on friday to get a verdict. Cheers for the all the info though! Its a TD42 engine by the way. See what happens on friday...

Ps there i also noticed black stuff seaping out in between the gearbox and chluch bell???