BN 2 Transmission Leak

[elgatto]

The day after driving my BN 2 I have a pool of transmission oil on the floor of my garage. Some may be coming out of the front seal, leaking through the bell housing, but the bulk of the puddle seems farther back. The leak is not a drip- it is a large, dinner plate size puddle. What do you think? It is a scary amount of oil. Any ideas?


Mike /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[Michael Oritt]

[ QUOTE ]
The day after driving my BN 2 I have a pool of transmission oil on the floor of my garage. Some may be coming out of the front seal, leaking through the bell housing, but the bulk of the puddle seems farther back. The leak is not a drip- it is a large, dinner plate size puddle. What do you think? It is a scary amount of oil. Any ideas?

---------------------------------
Mike--

first thing to determine is whether it is engine oil or transmission oil. If the oil in your engine is detergent and you've driven any miles at all it should have begun to "change" and be noticeably different from that in the tranny. In the meantime check the respective levels in the engine and transmission--with that much you should see a difference on the dipstick or at the fillhole. Also, is it possible that you overfilled the transmission and that it is coming out a vent?

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[elgatto]

Thanks Michael. It is trans oil and I did add some a few weeks ago. I added according to the dipstick. Maybe I overfilled it. I will check it and if it is low start over. Maybe I should just drain all of it and add the proper amount from scratch.

Mike

 

[Dave Russell]

My BN2 has been doing this for a couple of years. The transmission is not designed to be very oil tight. It has no front seal. The OD operating shaft has a couple of O rings for a seal that don't work well. There are a dozen other joints that don't seal well. Overfilling makes things worse, as does parking on an incline. Actually it only takes about a tablespoon of oil to make a large spot on the floor. Since there are over 200 tablespoons to a quart, a little goes a long way when it is on the floor. Just check the transmission oil level periodically & keep it closer to the add level than the full level.
D

 

[Healey 100]

Elgatto:

These "leaks" are just a feature of the Healey chassis rust prevention system, pay no attention to them. Just make sure you top up the oil every now and then, otherwise the car will rust out even faster than they normally do.....

Good luck and Happy Healeying
Bill.

 

[stever]

You know, I have never before reading the previous post thought of my Healey's engine oil leakage as a positive: Undercarriage Rust Prevention System (URPS) Note that my years in the Air Force have made me think in terms of acronyms....but URPS seems somewhat appropriate! Needless to say, there is NO rust in my Healey's undercarriage!!!

 

[elgatto]

I am really grasping at straws here, so please check me out on this one. I am thinking that maybe the previous owner replaced the dipstick in the transmission. I will measure the one in my car later tonight. I am thinking that the dipstick, is only about 3 or 5 inches long. Anyone have any info??

Mike

 

[stever]

At risk of being too obvious, but you never know: You are fully seating the dip stick when measuring aren't you?

 

[Dave Russell]

[ QUOTE ]
I am thinking that the dipstick, is only about 3 or 5 inches long. Anyone have any info??
Mike

[/ QUOTE ]
It measures 4 1/2" from seating flange to the very end, 4 1/4" to the low mark. 3 5/8" to the high mark.
D

 

[elgatto]

Thanks Dave, I thought the "possible wrong dip stick" was a stretch. I checked mine and it is the same length as yours. I am seating it all the way home. I was thinking that maybe my dipstick was too short and I was overfilling the trans.