having had the gearbox and engine out to replace the seals thrust bearing etc, took the car out for a run.

the car performeed well had some fun, i got home and stopped to let my mate out the car and then reversed onto the garage. as i walked away i noticed a patch of fluid on the drive where i had stopped, then i noted the trail going under the car on the centre line.

the oil was coming out of the centre of the gearbox

i can only think that it may have a cracked case or for some reason the box is still over pressurising and forcing the oil out.

what do you think?

im planning to take the top cover off the box and check the oil level. i will also drill a hole and fit a bigger breather. and give it another run out and check for leaks.

i have a bad feeling that the box has had it and so the car will be off the road till next year (i need the bonus at christmas to pay for a new box (if we get one and the company dont change their mind and change our terms again)..

ditch

Check the rear oil seal first the oil maybe leaking there and running down the box to drip off the lowest part, it was with my 4 speed Escort box.
What type of gearbox are you running? There will be many people on this site that have spare gearboxes and may be prepared to part with for a reasonable price.

[Edited on 24/6/12 by spiderman]

[Edited on 24/6/12 by spiderman]

its a type 9, i will have to put the car on the ramps and check it out. i know its not the front seals as those were replaced. but all the seals looked good when i replaced the front ones.

it took may/ june to get the engine out and back in.. many due to all the additional works needed, but another weekend of garage time is out till august after the holidays so if its not a simple fix its over for this year.

ditch

Clean the underside of the gearbox
Leave the car on the ground and place some white paper under the gearbox
Leave the car for a day and then check where the oil is dripping from
If you put the car on ramps the oil may be running along the box and you might end up looking in the wrong place

When taking the top cover off if you replace the top cover gasket use grease under the top cover, that way you won't have to worry about damaging the gasket when you next remove the top cover

good tip about the grease and gasket

when looked under the car tonight the oil on the floor was dry/hours old. i ran a finger along the centre ridge of the box and there is a fresh layer of oil, no drips, and there was a layer of oil visible on the gearbox mount.

i have a feeling that the oil is only leaking whilst the box is pressurised, or there is no oil in it but on the whole i think its due to pressurisation.

ditch

If you think its pressurising
There's a tiny breather hole in the top plate and sometimes folk fill it full of paint when they paint the top cover
so that might be worth a look


Just a thought, Don't suppose there's Too much oil in the box is there ?

that hole was blocked but i cleaned it out a few weeks ago. the hole is tiny and i thought it a bit inadequit, i was thinking of removing the top plate and fitting a 12mm non return valve bonded in to the op plate and then a pipe to a tee piece into the head breather system.

instead of a non return valve i may use a couple of brake union or bulk head connectors one with a pipe onto it up to the head breather system, the other capped off and used for a 'dip stick' / oil filler point so i can easily check and top up the oil, what do you think

ditch

as for too much oil i put in 1.5 ltr and it started flowing out the filler hole on the side of the box, really dont know what capacity it should be, but taking the plate off the top might answer that one.

what level sould it be?

[Edited on 24/6/12 by ditchlewis]

Could be coming from the speedo drive

quote:

---

Originally posted by ditchlewis

as for too much oil i put in 1.5 ltr and it started flowing out the filler hole on the side of the box, really dont know what capacity it should be, but taking the plate off the top might answer that one.

what level sould it be?

[Edited on 24/6/12 by ditchlewis]

---

thanks for that.

the speedo drive has been removed and blanked off.

the capacity is a mystery as i put in 1.5 ltr into an empty box and it came out to the filler hole, and the listed capacity is 1.9 ltr's. the 4x4 box would have the longer input shaft would it not? as it would be from the V6 engine. mine fits a pinto but the capacity of 1.2 ltr's mght be right...

leaves me confused..

ditch

The capacity is 1.9 for earlier boxes and 1.2 for later. I think the split was 1987 but look at post from David Jenkins
On 30/08/2007 on Type 9 gearbox variants especially post from Mr G with link to pictures to help identify.
John W

i seam to recal that the box was out of a 1987 ford sierra. therefore the 1.2 ltrs capacity would indicate that ive over filled the box. i think i will review the venting of the box as i described above, top the box off and then keep an eye on the levels.

cheers lads

Ditch

I wouldn't use a non-return for that job, you may end up inverting shaft seals if there's a notable pressure change. Just a straight vent should do the trick nicely, maybe into a catch-can of some sort if you fancy some more weight..

weight is not a problem there is more than enough power to haul me and the car around.

had a lurid power slide on sunday whilst accelerating on to the duel carrageway .

ditch

Put the car on level ground remove the filler plug let the excess oil out fit plug and get on with driving the car
but keep a look out for oil drips i would not bother about the breather for now

the problem is i have to strip the air box and carbs to get the room to access the plug. the idea is to be able to 'dip' the oil level and fill from the top.

and i will enjoy driving

ditch