wardy18 33 1 Cars Posted September 25, 2008 Ok i fitted a gearbox for a mate the other day an have found a week later that oil is comin out from the diff seals pretty quick and the shafts are very sloppy within the diff is this jus diff seals gone or might it be the diff bearings or somethin worse? the gearbox hadn't been used in a long time and is a BE1 so its an old box as u can imagine jus to get your ideas before i go take a look thanx Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jord294 94 Posted September 25, 2008 whenever i take out a gearbox or remove driveshafts i always renew the seals (unless i know how long the originals have been in) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wardy18 33 1 Cars Posted September 25, 2008 So do i but in this case he had no car so needed it done urgently and i was also away racing in alderney sprint an hillclimb 2 days later so not enough time to order new ones do you reckon its simply the seals? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DamirGTI 344 Posted September 25, 2008 (edited) Ok i fitted a gearbox for a mate the other day an have found a week later that oil is comin out from the diff seals pretty quick and the shafts are very sloppy within the diff is this jus diff seals gone or might it be the diff bearings or somethin worse? the gearbox hadn't been used in a long time and is a BE1 so its an old box as u can imagine jus to get your ideas before i go take a look thanx Sounds like worn diff bearings (there should be a little bit of driveshaft free movement but not too much ..) nothing unusual , although from my experience more common problem on MA then BE gearboxes .. Tired test driving the car ? if they're worn you'll hear them when you press the acc. harder during cornering , especially when you turn the steering wheel closer to the full lock and apply full throttle in the same time (it'll be kinda fast high pitch grinding/rumbling sound ..) Damir Edited September 25, 2008 by DamirGTI Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wardy18 33 1 Cars Posted September 25, 2008 I haven't tried driving the car but am goin to look at it tomorrow, i have a spare box i have tested so i know by feel how much movement the shafts should have so when i look tomorrow i should be able to see what it is one question thou, can the diff housing and diff be removed without removing the whole gearbox? Ie undo the lower the engine mount and wedge the bottom of the engine forward to get enough room? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DamirGTI 344 Posted September 25, 2008 Well i've tried that but there's not enough space in between the diff and the subframe , though i didn't try to unbolt the gearbox mount and move the engine forward anyway it's s*it of a job without a proper car jack (two post hydraulic one ) , if you must repair that while laying under the car on your back So , i've been removing the gearboxes out when i needed to work on the diff .. but by all means , try if you can get enough clearance in between the subframe and diff cover by moving the engine/gearbox forward .. Damir Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wardy18 33 1 Cars Posted September 25, 2008 Well if its just the seals then surely these can be changed without even removing the diff casing at all, jus pull them out with a little struggle i would imagine and push the new ones in and i should also be able to tell by removing the shafts if the bearings are gone without removing the diff casing? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DamirGTI 344 Posted September 25, 2008 Sure you can replace the seals without removing the diff cover , but not the diff bearings - you need to remove complete diff out from the gearbox to do so .. You can grab both driveshafts with your hands (grab them close/near the diff cover) form underneath and try to rock and turning them up and down , if you feel excessive free play then you can suspect the diff bearings .. but i prefer test drive to rule this out .. Damir Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wardy18 33 1 Cars Posted September 25, 2008 Ok mate thanx for the help ill have a look tomorrow and if im lucky its only the seals Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wardy18 33 1 Cars Posted September 27, 2008 did anyone ever know that the speedo housings were different as years went by?!?!? i found this out today when looking to see if teh diff bearings had gone, and only to find that the section which slots into the diff housing on the speedo drive when its bolted on is slightly longer on later boxes and so compresses the diff bearings further in to stop them being sloppy, i had fitted a later box but kept the original speedo housing and found that the speedo housing wasnt compressing the diff bearings enough allowing them to move slightly, sure enough when compared to another speedo housing i had the lip that goes inside the diff housing was about 1.5mm longer this is why the shafts were sloppy and so making the seals leak!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
welshpug 1,666 Posted September 27, 2008 I know that the Haynes manual shows shims on the early boxes between the speedo housing and the bearing, unfortunately there's less detail on the later manuals on whether there are shims but I don't think there are? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wardy18 33 1 Cars Posted September 27, 2008 Ive never known of any shims with these or at least ive never found any, well hopefully now ive got this deeper fitting speedo housing that it will be sorted and make the diff not slop around! as long as it dont make it too tight Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alan_M 66 1 Cars Posted September 28, 2008 You can still buy the shims from Pug. This is my next port of call so solve my nasty front end noises, after fitting my plate diff. Hoping its just the wheel bearings though! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wardy18 33 1 Cars Posted September 28, 2008 Well i never knew about any of this, i must have been lucky on my hillclimb 205 to get the right speedo housing for the box, thanx for the info Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
