transfer case leak- for the love of god help me

[Ace]

ok, i had the gearbox out of the disco over the last couple of days putting a new clutch in and fixing a leak between the transfer case and the gearbox. I did the work at my mechanics workshop with help from him and upon getting home (1hr or so) i checked for leaks and low and behold its leaking again. I have no idea why its leaking, i was super careful not to drop the shaft on the seal and damage it as the transfer case went in over the shaft coming from the box, yet its leaking again. Its not the o-ring from further up i checked that and its fine. It is definitely the transfer case cause i checked the levels and the gearbox is full and the TC is lower than the filler plug level, not much but has dropped.

I have the overhaul manual here in front of me and i have done everything the way it says (i didnt have the book with me at the time), i checked the surface that the seal runs on for wear and its fine, nice and smooth.

Reading the book it says fit the seal lip side facing inwards, which side is classed as the lip side? Maybe i put it in the wrong way, i put the seal in so that the side of the seal with the flat surface is facing towards the gearbox, is this right? and should the seal be tapped in so that the edge of the seal is flush with the casing or should it be tapped in further?

Please help, its going back to my mechanic next week to have another go, he is away until tuesday so i have a bit of time to try and work out why its doing it. This is the second time i have done this and it has leaked immediately after both times and i have done the same thing each time so clearly i am doing something wrong. Please help. Matt

[rick130]

Reading the book it says fit the seal lip side facing inwards, which side is classed as the lip side? Maybe i put it in the wrong way, i put the seal in so that the side of the seal with the flat surface is facing towards the gearbox, is this right? and should the seal be tapped in so that the edge of the seal is flush with the casing or should it be tapped in further?

Yep, sounds right.

Matt, did you use some cut down bolts threaded into the gearbox as guides ?
It really makes the install fool proof so you can't stuff up the seal on the input shaft.

[Ace]

Yep, sounds right.

Matt, did you use some cut down bolts threaded into the gearbox as guides ?
It really makes the install fool proof so you can't stuff up the seal on the input shaft.

no i didnt, but i will be this time. Thing is when i pull the old seal out it was fine, i just dont get it. Does the seal need to go in further or something?

[rick130]

no i didnt, but i will be this time. Thing is when i pull the old seal out it was fine, i just dont get it. Does the seal need to go in further or something?

From memory it just sits flush, but it's been about ten months since I did mine....and not a drop since :p

Did you blow the breather hose out ?
Blow an air gun up it. If it's blocked it'll blow oil past the seal really easily when hot. Had this happen on a couple of diffs in the past.

[foz.in.oz]

The lip side of an oil seal is the side from where you can see the tension spring that runs around the circumference of the lip, opposite the flat side.

See diagram.

You may have put this in back to front.

[Ace]

i didnt think of checking the breather, i might check that tomorrow and see if its blocked, that might be whats causing it. if i clear it will the leak stop?

thanks for that foz in oz, according to that diagram the seal is in the right way so thats not the cause.

if the breather isnt the problem then i guess it has to come out

[Bradtot]

Ace
According to Foz's diagram what side is the gearbox on the right or the left of that picture?
It should be on the left if u have the seal in the right way, ie the flat side of the seal should be pointing to the front of the car (if we are talking about the seal in the transfer case) and the gearbox seal(flatarea) should be pointing towards the rear of the car, thats why they are sometimes called a " back to back " seal. As the 2 flat sides of the seals will butt up when the gearbox and transfer case are together.
Brad:)

[langy]

Matt, could you confirm that it's leaking from the drain hole (circled in yellow)


http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachment.php?attachmentid=8001&d=1208353488


and is it definitely TC oil ? Having been thru this I know how frustrating it can be. ( Get back to us soon, might be able to avoid going back to the mechanic)

[incisor]

good luck with it mate... cant help tech wise but there in spirit... know how frustrating these things can be ....

[Ace]

Hi guys. Bradtot, thats how my seals are fitted, so that right at least.

Langy, yes mate thats the spot. I wedged some cardboard in there and went for a drive and it was soaked with oil and when i pulled it out oil that had backed up came flowing out. I used sealant between the two when i put them back together so this would be the only place for oil to get out.

I am going to go out and fit all new breathers tomorrow and do the gearbox and diffs at the same time, its long overdue so that will be one less thing, but Langy if you have a fix for me that will prevent the need for a visit back to the mechanic i will love you for ever (in a non gay kind of way :D)

Matt

[rick130]

<snip>
i will love you for ever (in a non gay kind of way :D)

Matt

Not that there's anything wrong with that........ :p

No need to replace the breathers, just undo the banjo fitting and blow through it with compressed air.
If that's all that's wrong, the seal should be OK afterwards.

[Blknight.aus]

Have you checked that the housing is actually grabbign the seal body properly and that the shaft is not scored.

[Ace]

Have you checked that the housing is actually grabbign the seal body properly and that the shaft is not scored.

hi mate, yeah the housing was fine and the seal fits snug as, and the shaft isnt scored at all that was the first thing i inspected. Matt

[JohnM]

Hi Ace

Just wondering how you went with the leaking transfer box.
What was it in the end or is it still a problem. Mine needs a new clutch soon (throw out bearing noises) and I plan to tackle similar leaks on the transfer case then.