15 replies to this topic

[Clubby1275GT]

got a small oil leak, but may have eased now, not so sure. if i stand infront of the car and look under, to the left of the sump plug and at the bottom of the flywheel housing seems to be quite a bit of oil, checked level yesterday as was slightly below min, so topped up. seems a weird place for oil to come from??
still trying to figure out where its coming from?? any ideas??
feels like i have a slipping clutch too, call me a moron but could they be connected? oil on the clutch plate? just thought id ask the question, gotta learn somehow!
sump plug is defo done up tight, not long had work done on it but i dont think he did anything in that area so i cant go and complain!
Cheers guys

[Purple Tom]

Yes it very much sounds like your crankshaft oil seal is leaking.

If the clutch feels like its slipping and you have oil leaking out of the small drain hole underneath the flywheel housing then I'd say 100% that the crank seal has gone. - and I speak from experience because I had exactly the same problem on my old Cooper.

To change it isn't too difficult, you will need to remove the flywheel and fit a new seal. The best way to remove and fit the seal is to use the special Sykes-Pickavant tool - this prevents damaging the new seal during installation, and makes removing the old seal a piece of cake. However, these tools are tricky to get hold of and quite expensive.

You can do it using a screwdriver and some patience to remove the old seal, and then very carefully refit the new one (there's a risk of it being scored by the splines on the primary gear so you need to be careful). You can minimise the risk of this by wrapping insulation tape over the splines and making sure the seal is lightly lubricated when fitting it. This method worked on Madmax's car in the field at the Nurburgring - and I don't think he's had any further problems with it.

Oh, and you will need a new clutch plate and possibly the diaphragm too - as you won't be able to re-use the old oil damaged one.

You should be able to do the whole job in a day easy, on the Cooper we started at 7pm and it was done by 11pm, that was from bonnet open to bonnet shut (also included removing and refitting the servo and bleeding the brakes).

Anyway, hope that helps!

[Clubby1275GT]

suppose its not recommended i keep driving it?? i topped up on oil last night and im back to max, its litterally a couple of drops per day, literally drops!
i need the car till after xmas then it can go off the road, how much would u be talking to get someone to do it, what am i expecting?
i got a quote for £180 for an oragne diapraghm and bonded fast road clutch and fitting? am i expecting alot more on top of that for the crank seal?

[Purple Tom]

Well you're only going to do further damage to the clutch plate if you keep driving it, although you will find that the flywheel will need a very thorough de-grease, which a garage will charge for. I'd also recommend making sure the clutch casing is clean inside too.

It will only be drops of oil, there isn't any pressure behind the seal, as the transfer gears are splash lubricated, but a couple of drops a day is enough, thats plenty enough oil to knacker your plate.

I reckon it would last until after christmas (if we're talking literally till next week and you don't drive it hard or do much clutch slipping), but not much longer.

As for garage charges I don't really know. You need the job to be done properly and that requires the special tool, so I wouldn't trust just anyone to do it for you. £180 for an orange plate and diaphragm sounds good if it includes fitting - and the seal takes about 10 minutes to do on top of that, so it shouldn't be too much more. Just make sure the garage know what they're doing!

[Guess-Works.com]

The Primary seal tool, is again available from Minispares... noticed it the other week, and thought.... hmmm may have to get myself one of them while I have the chance...

CLUTCH OIL SEAL TOOL

I must admit, I'm a lazy sod and remove the transfer case and put it in then...

Edited by GuessWorks, 21 December 2005 - 10:48 AM.

[Jackman]

My old engine was doing that for months and months, i new it was leaking but couldnt see from where, when i took it apart the clutch housing was really really dirty (oily substance) and the bottom had oil in it, however i never got any clutch slippage and my flywheel had no oil on it.

[Purple Tom]

The Primary seal tool, is again available from Minispares... noticed it the other week, and thought.... hmmm may have to get myself one of them while I have the chance...

CLUTCH OIL SEAL TOOL

I must admit, I'm a lazy sod and remove the transfer case and put it in then...

Ooh, nice, didn't realise it was available again. I bought this one off ebay recently, (and bloody paid enough for it too!) but it also has the puller to pull the primary gear off the crank, shame Minispares don't do that too, would be useful!

[Madmax]

that tool is a god send. wouldnt have done my car in time otherwise


its not a tricky job, just got to have your thinking cap on

i'd say from open bonnet to shut bonnet, with all the right tools, its a 3-4hr job for average joe

[Guess-Works.com]

You shouldn't have to pull the primary gear off the crank, they should just slide on and off..

If it's stiff then it's usually just a burr where the C clip has pushed into the crank, just take the edge off with a needle file

[Jammy]

I'm getting a bit lost, if you have to take the flywheel off, for most people thats an engine out job?

[vasi]

Yes Jammy, and millions also believe in horoscopes.



Just pop the R/H engine mount and jack that side of the engine up a bit, all can be done relatively straightforward.

[Sprocket]

You shouldn't have to pull the primary gear off the crank, they should just slide on and off..

If it's stiff then it's usually just a burr where the C clip has pushed into the crank, just take the edge off with a needle file

I've been looking for one of these tools for a while now as it makes light work of the job. Remember last seeing it available from the ST Department catalogue circa 1995. The puller is to remove the seal by pulling the primary gear against the seal. No effort . It saves levering out the old seal. Thought you of all people would have known that :cheese:

[Clubby1275GT]

im gonna give collin a call from the mini specialists in erdington, birmingham, see what he says for...........
crank oil seal replacement, orange diapragm and a bonded road/rally clutch plate.
how much do u all reckon, parts n labour?
was gonna buy my own clutch n dia, but he doesnt like using other peoples stuff, fair enough!
Cheers guys
Daz

[Guess-Works.com]

It saves levering out the old seal. Thought you of all people would have known that :cheese:

Yeh I have a special tool for that, it's called a pick... :cheese:

but as I said, If I need to change the oil seal, I take the transfer case of anyway, as there's usually other horrors waiting to be found..

[Jammy]

It saves levering out the old seal. Thought you of all people would have known that   :cheese:

Yeh I have a special tool for that, it's called a pick... :cheese:

WAOA! Don't skim read that, else you definitely get the wrong idea!!