Defender transmission leak

[UNDEROVER]

My 04 Defender has recently developed a transmission leak of sorts, (funny that). At the moment, I'm unable to pinpoint the exact location and as the better half has been commuting from Coffs Harbour to Brisbane for the last 8 weeks, I've only really had the opportunity to keep an eye on it and top it up as required. There is oil on the exhaust system as well, which I can only put down to the oil working it's way back from the leak, onto the handbrake drum, and then being spun/flicked onto the pipe. Is this a potential fire hazard?
Is there any common leak areas to inspect and maybe fix, before getting to a point of potentially having to pull the transmission out to have a good look? And if it got to this point, is it worth attempting the job yourself, or getting it done professionally by some one that has all the facilities? And if I was to attempt the repair, are there any pitfalls or things to be wary of?:(

[Landy07]

Sorry I'm not going to help but watching with interest as this same thing has recently started on my Defender. Cheers.

[It'sNotWorthComplaining!]

Pull the rear prop shaft and remove the hand brake drum. Easy job and check and see if oil is coming out of Transfer case seal. They are only squashed felt apparently a common oil leak site.
I just replaced mine and put a good dob of RTV in there as well.

[UNDEROVER]

it actually appears to be coming down in between the gearbox and transfer case somewhere and then blowing back onto the handbrake drum, which in turn, sprays it over the exhaust... I'm not entirely opposed to a leaky vehicle, as I've had landys for the past 16 or so years, it's just this leaks a bit more than I'm prepared to put up with...

[UNDEROVER]

Is there any way the transmission can pressurise, forcing the oil out? Having only ever pulled the transmission out of my 2A, I'm none the wiser with this I'm afraid. And I've lost my RAVE disc, so I'm flying blind at the moment.

[justinc]

Very likely the intermediate shaft O rings, common leak and reasonably easy to fix. Transfer case has to come out though:(

JC

[BigJon]

I agree with JC.

Luckily there is a very good LR specialist in Coffs!

[UNDEROVER]

I agree with JC.

Luckily there is a very good LR specialist in Coffs!


Would that be "Mills Thom" by any chance? and if so, can I safely assume they're pretty reliable and consistent? I'm used to the service by MR at Redcliffe.

[Flatty]

I hope this is the right place to ask this question? My transfer case is leaking as well (1996 Defender) but I am not sure where it is coming from. There are drops of oil on the bolts underneath it (the transfer case sump) & a drop on the brake drum. There doesn't appear to be any large amount blowing back under the vehicle or on the exhaust. Once it left a bit on the road while I was idling waiting for a gate to open but that is all. I have just checked the level and used 500ml in 8-9000 kms. This amount should leave a rather large mess wouldn’t you think? What is the most likely cause and how do I fix it? By the way I checked the gear box as well it was OK & didn't appear over full. While parked it barley leaves a couple of drops.
Thanks in advance Flatty

[BigJon]

In Coffs I would use Coffs Harbour 4wd (02) 6653 1800.

[BigJon]

Flatty, sounds like the transfer case intermediate shaft o rings. It is a transfer out job to repair.

[Chenz]

I hope this is the right place to ask this question? My transfer case is leaking as well (1996 Defender) but I am not sure where it is coming from. There are drops of oil on the bolts underneath it (the transfer case sump) & a drop on the brake drum. There doesn't appear to be any large amount blowing back under the vehicle or on the exhaust. Once it left a bit on the road while I was idling waiting for a gate to open but that is all. I have just checked the level and used 500ml in 8-9000 kms. This amount should leave a rather large mess wouldn’t you think? What is the most likely cause and how do I fix it? By the way I checked the gear box as well it was OK & didn't appear over full. While parked it barley leaves a couple of drops.
Thanks in advance Flatty

Check the front prop shaft seal. Mine had a leak and it worked back to the rear. When I looked underneath there were usually drops forming on the bolts on the bottom of the case. Simple fix by putting in a new seal. Since then no problems. Just leaks everywhere else like normal

[It'sNotWorthComplaining!]

I hope this is the right place to ask this question? My transfer case is leaking as well (1996 Defender) but I am not sure where it is coming from. There are drops of oil on the bolts underneath it (the transfer case sump) & a drop on the brake drum. There doesn't appear to be any large amount blowing back under the vehicle or on the exhaust. Once it left a bit on the road while I was idling waiting for a gate to open but that is all. I have just checked the level and used 500ml in 8-9000 kms. This amount should leave a rather large mess wouldn’t you think? What is the most likely cause and how do I fix it? By the way I checked the gear box as well it was OK & didn't appear over full. While parked it barley leaves a couple of drops.
Thanks in advance Flatty
Believe it or not they can leak from the bolts!.
Some of the bolts actually go into the fluid cavity, Blind bolts , the oil then wicks past the bolt threads and forms on the heads. You might have to drop the oil, and coat the bolts with thread sealer.

[landoman]

Got a leak in my transmission

Cleaned it up then left it to see where it coming from

Appears to be two areas
1) the joint in the trasmission where two parts of metal come together ( on left of attached pic)
2) seeping through the two bottom bolts in the top of the picture

I thought of tightening the bolts that hold the to parts together ( ie trying to tighten up the seal ) and also tighten up the two seeping bolts .......but I don't want to over tighten and make things worse

This is not a huge leak .....but after a few days there is transmission fluid on the exhaust pipe and I'm not happy about that ....Also worried that any loss of transmission fluid may not be good for the moving metal bits in side .......

Hope the above is understandable as I'm not mechanically minded so not entirely sure what I'm looking at .

Comments advice welcome