I recently put a reconditioned gearbox on my 1.6 MK3 1991 Fiesta but have been having an oil leak coming from somewhere which I can't seem to trace. It's definately gearbox oil leaking and not engine oil and it seems to have lightly covered the nearside components with oil ie n/s driveshaft and wishbone. Any ideas of what this is likely to be?
Many Thanks
Steveo
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It'll be the nearside oil seal on the driveshaft. Either not seated right or leaking due to age. I'm afraid the only solution is to buy a replacement and take the shaft out to have a look. Also, is the driveshaft sat nice and secure in the sun gear via the snap-ring? I read of someone who was told by a "mate" that he could leave the snap-rings off altogether!
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Mike Farrow
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Thanks mfarrow. The driveshaft it definately secure with a snap ring but I must admit I did reuse the old snap ring when I reassembled the driveshaft and only on that side. I had a set of new snap rings but dropped one of the them and it went walkies somewhere so I used the old one on the n/s shaft only!!!!! But surely this wouldn't cause a leak as I thought they just secure the shaft, would it?
Thanks
STeveo
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But surely this wouldn't cause a leak as I thought they just secure the shaft, would it?
I think the oil seal sits against the inner CV joint, so any movement in the shaft may cause leakage. Check for lateral movement of the shaft, and renew the snap-ring if present. If you can only get packs of two from your factors, Ford will be able to sell you them singly.
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Mike Farrow
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If the snap ring isn't fitted there is a possibility of the drive shaft sliding out of the gearbox far enough to cause loss of drive - and oil loss. This will usually happen during a manouevre which includes full lock, full suspension travel, and hard acceleration. But, I've known one to slide out on a motorway run.
If the drive shaft 'clicks' in and out of place easily, the circlip/snap ring must be replaced.
As for the seal, you might have damaged it when replacing the drive shaft. On the other hand, lots of these gearboxes were overhauled due to diff bearing failure and the first sign of impending failure was an oil leak, usually from the N/S drive shaft. The speedo drive gear is next to the N/S bearing and speedo failure was the next sign.
Replace the seal - and keep an eye on the speedo !
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it is possible that the black plastic breather on top of the gearbox has been fitted the wrong way round.There is an arrow on top of the breather this should be pointing towards the front of the vehicle.
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