Ford Focus (1998 - 2004) - 99 1.8 Manual gearbox oil seal leak replies needed

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Wed 1 Jul 2009 22:06
99 1.8 Manual gearbox oil seal leak replies needed - jp147
On the 23rd of June I took my car to a garage to have diagnose and possibly fix my gearbox leak. The trouble is the garage said that the gearbox would have to be removed from the vehicle and "stripped down" in order to replace the gear selector linkage seal from inside the gearbox at a cost of about £300. Not only did they get this wrong but took it upon themselves, without asking my permission, to use a sealer in the gearbox/oil in order to try and stop the leak. Not happy with this, I took the car for a second opinion at a Ford garage I have used for a few years now and as soon as the technician got the car off the ground and looked underneath the transmission casing he said that it was the selector shaft seal that was leaking and that it could be renewed at a cost of about £85! without any need at all to separate the gearbox from the vehicle.

He also said that he could not see any sign of the sealer that the garage supposedly used. I intend to get the job done properly now at the Ford garage I mentioned.

However my concern is if the garage has used sealer mixed in with the oil would it necessarily damage the gears, bearings etc inside the gearbox and also the Ford technician checked the oil level in the gearbox and said that it was quite full. This could be just because the vehicle had been driven.

Does the oil level in the gearbox rise after the vehicle is driven and is it possible to overfill a manual gearbox and should I be worried ?
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Wed 1 Jul 2009 22:26
99 1.8 Manual gearbox oil seal leak replies needed - Number_Cruncher
>>should I be worried ?

No, simply get the Ford garage to change the gearbox oil when they replace the seal.

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Wed 1 Jul 2009 22:53
99 1.8 Manual gearbox oil seal leak replies needed - 659FBE
Good advice, of course. Specified fluids and no additives at all times.

To answer the other point raised, the oil level will rise significantly when the oil heats up after driving. (That's how thermometers work - liquids expand more than solids). To counter this, when in use, some oil will be retained in the upper parts of the case - lowering the apparent level.

After driving and with warm oil, nearly all of it would be in the bottom of the gearcase after 5 minutes or so - hot oil has a low viscosity. So, replace the oil and fill it to the specified level - cold.

659.
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