Lotus Europa Forums > Garage

5 speed leak

(1/4) > >>

rjbaren:
My twin cam special 5 speed has a drip from the trans.  It was rebuilt by a Lotus dealer and has since covered 1500 miles.  I have replaced the rear seal on the shifter rod twice and the second time I used a 1mm smaller bore seal and it made no difference.  I top up the fluis every month or two and I keep cardboard under the car to soak up the gear lube.

Is there a chance the trans is leaking from the joint in the case where the left and right halves meet? 

FourLoti:
No experience with case seam leaks, but my 5-speed was leaking from two (3) sources. First, the speedometer cable drive gear fitting, and the other two were the left and right driveshaft output seals/o-rings. Seema as if any of those could have been disturbed or maladjusted in a rebuild?

Maybe hose off the box with a can of brake cleaner and then wait to see where the next drip(s) come from? They make UV detection dye that is supposed to be compatible with gear lube, but hopefully it will be obvious based on where the spots develop on the cardboard.

Ron

BDA:
One would hope it's not leaking from the case joint!!! Of course, that's always possible. It's very common to leak from the control shaft where shift inputs enter the case.

If your tranny is leaking from the finned adjusting nut, there are instructions elsewhere that describe how to replace the seal or o-ring. If it is the o-ring, one method that I don't think anybody has mentioned is to smear Hylomar on the threads. When I rebuilt my NG3, I ordered some new o-rings and got the wrong size  :(. My o-rings were probably just find as I hadn't had any leaks there but I figured the Hylomar would make double dog sure it wouldn't leak from the threads. Before loosening the finned nut, mark its position relative to the case and count the number of turns to take it off so you can get it back to the same orientation. Do one side at a time. Actually, I think snugging the finned nut will be all you really need to know but it's best to mark and count the turns.

GavinT:
rjbaren,

Check the side to side play of the shaft. The seal won't tolerate much play without leaking.

Case joint leaks are less common. I wonder if you couldn't create a temporary plasticine dam under the transmission so as to form a barrier where the oil will drop straight down from the shaft and not migrate back under the gearbox? Just a thought.

4129R:
I think there was a quote from Colin Chapman "If it didn't leak oil from somewhere, it would not be a Lotus.

L eaks
O il
T hrough
U nusual
S ources.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page