Oil loss - flywheel oil seal?

[phinw]

Hi,

We've just done a 960 mile round trip in our van to Brittany and back. Other than a snapped window winder(!) the van has done really well only giving us one scary moment with the oil light / buzzer. This was on one of those mad 36 degree heat days last week when we did 350 mile in one go. We stopped immediately and found the the oil was low. Topped up and all was well for the rest of the trip. (I kept a closer eye on it after that checking it a every rest stop)

The van is an 88 1.9 DG. It is using a bit more oil than I expected (we've topped up a litre over 960 miles). We don't have a huge oil leak- there is never any oil on the drive and I managed to stop one source of oil loss with new rocker covers and cork seals however the engine bottom is still typically wet with oil where the engine joins the gearbox - it usually collects on the exhaust mount with the 3 bolts (it is engine oil and not stinky gear oil). Is it likely that the source of the oil is the flywheel oil seal? After a long run when the engine it hot we get some clutch judder in 1st and 2nd so I took this as possible evidence that some oil might be getting on the clutch from this location? Or should I be looking somewhere else?

Any thoughts greatly appreciated. I'm getting more confident with doing stuff to the van but I've never dropped a gearbox out so I'm just checking my diagnosis before I bite the bullet!

Phin

[itchyfeet]

Yep oil seal is typical but often because the flywheel is worn too.

You have options,

New seal new flywheel is best but flywheel is quite expensive

New seal repositioned so the seal lip is away from groove may just work ( I did it once)

New seal + speedisleeve is another option but you are unlikely to get a garage to do it and the verdict is still out on the success rate as only a handful of us have done it so far it appears.

Crank end float needs checking and setting with shims, gearbox off is easiest way to get to flywheel and seal.

May be worth doing clutch while you are in there.

other source of leaks can be the case badly sealed and the cam plug either badly sealed or rusted through.

[phinw]

Thanks for this. I think I know what's needed then! Time to start planning.

[CJH]

I did mine just recently. Had lots of helpful suggestions for how to re-install the gearbox in this thread.

I used a speedi-sleeve on the flywheel, and although it's dry so far, I've only done about 4 miles since fitting it - too soon to tell. A slow leak will take several hundred miles for enough oil to accumulate in the bell housing and start to drip. If you're getting oil on the clutch plate though, enough to cause judder, it sounds like you currently have a more substantial leak than that.

[itchyfeet]

Fitting speedi Sleeve

http://forum.club8090.co.uk/viewtopic.p ... 0#p8207742" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

fitting a seal to miss a groove ( not always possible depending upon position of groove)

http://forum.club8090.co.uk/viewtopic.p ... 5#p8153955" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[phinw]

Thanks, I'll review all those threads carefully before I get started.

Regarding the judder. I don't get it all the time. It happens after a long run, more in hot weather. My guess is the leak is fairly slow and after a long run a small amount of finds it way onto the clutch but then gets burnt off. It is not so bad that it it causing a massive problem, more of an annoyance. I would also have thought a big leak would = oil on the drive, but there is none, just a bit wet with oil under the engine.

[CJH]

Yes, a small amount of oil will burn off the clutch quite quickly. I had that with a previous car - after a long run on the motorway without changing gear, the first few gear changes would be a bit juddery.

But the path from the main seal behind the flywheel to the face of the friction plate is quite long - oil seeping past the seal tends to get flung out onto the inside of the bell housing, and unless there's quite a lot of it it doesn't tend to reach the friction plate. And if there's quite a lot of it, then you'd expect drips under the van. I wonder if perhaps there's a small gearbox leak as well/instead? Does gearbox oil migrate along the input shaft to the friction plate in that situation?

[937carrera]

Sniffing the oil will be the best test, but brobably first course of action is to thoroughly clean the underside and bell housing so that the source of the leak can actually be identified. Brake cleaner will do the job, but probably get rid of the worst buildup of crud first with more mechanical methods.