Gear box leaking.

[toddao]

I had one leak already - from the reversing light switch but now there's one that's proving hard to locate. I clean the area but by the time I've driven around it's hard to say. Drive shaft seals are four years old, I'm not ruling them out but any other bright ideas before it runs dry and stops! Also want to get this done before the big freeze comes along again. Cheers

[citronut]

its very unusual for them to leak at the reversing liht swutch, as the gear box relies on the oil being splashed around inside, so there should not be to much oil up there,

do you know the quantity of oil that was in the box, maybe it is over full

[toddao]

I fixed the reversing light leak last year - it was really coming out. Just put a new seal on there and that's been no problem. It wasn't overfilled.

The oil level now must be getting lower now with this new unidentified leak.

[toddao]

Hello Folks,

Hope everyone's Ok. It's been a while but I'm still here BXing in the free world, using my yellow break as my daily. I've exhumed this thread as I thought it might be useful to someone. It's embarassing to see for how long this leak troubled me - up to last week. But no longer.

The problem was that I could never determine where it was coming from despite repeated attempts. Eventually I deferred to the experience of a mechanic here who said that it must be the gearbox input shaft seal. So, I bought the seal - still available - from Citroen, dropped the gearbox and sixteen hours later had it all back together.. still leaking in the same manner. Arghh!

Under I went again, cleaned it all up, drove round the block. I was getting so frustrated that I was about to order some UV transmission dye from the USA which indicates a leak with the use of a UV torch ( what a great idea eh?). Then I noticed that the speedo cable was wet from fluid so I removed the lower section and there, hidden from sight, was a split in the cable out of which liquid was dribbling and, as it was flowing downwards was diverting onto all the points where the cable touched.

My first thoughts were - replace the cable, but after reading on a Pontiac forum about a bloke who had tranny fluid dripping onto his trousers inside the car I found the issue :
Deep down in the bottom of the speedo drive there is a plastic gear into which the end of the lower speedo cable slots. The upper shaft of this plastic gear passes through a seal and it was only after studying exploded views on Service Citroen that I saw this thing as it's hidden under a white plastic disc when you look down into the drive itself.
With the pressure in the gearbox as well as the capiliary action of the rotating cable, the fluid was being drawn up the cable, perhaps thirty centimetres before being distributed around the general area.

The seal - looking like a small spring loaded drive-shaft seal - is still available from Citroen for €10. Maybe this helps someone or at least has lured you into a Friday afternoon slumber?

( I've just noticed that my avatar still shows my departed 16v. Tears upon the keyboard..)

[mds141]

Welcome back Todd. Did the overland trip pan out ok?

[toddao]

Hello Mark,

how're you going? The original overland trip was just a bit too far out for realisation last year. It would have been stress without end with the kids ( and at their tender ages they probably wouldn't have been too interested in Iran and the axis of evil !) not to mention the costs - for example US$15k to the govt for one week to cross Burma/Myanmar! We went straight to the end point and cruised and camped around Tasmania and Aus last winter in an '82 HJ60 I saved from the crusher. Here's the rig parked out on the wild west Coast of Tas last Jan.
It's now in the barn here where the two 16vs were a year ago and I'm preparing it for registration. It's never had an MOT or any sort of 'roadworthy' - they don't exist in Tas so getting it registered in Germany is an effort. Then I'm set on a more modest nutty overland on the Hippy Trail to India and back. The wife's still not too sure about Pakistan though!

[mds141]

Nice looking set-up Todd. Is that a Hannibal tent?

[toddao]

Yes, it's a Hannibal. It looks a bit different now, having taken a real bashing over many months on the road. Extreme winds being the real issue for redesigning the thing. I've got to get the needle and thread out. Both the tent and the awning are made of ' Dynaproof' Aus made military grade canvas. As it was our home for an extended period I didn't want to mess around with the Chinese hobby products and in the middle of some quite horrible weather I never regretted this decision.

Sorry to clog up the tech sec with my ramblings..

[mds141]

There was a similarly equipped Land Rover Defender at one of the camp sites on last years Ecosse Challenge. Don't think they'd be worried by marauding lions on the Isle of Skye though.