Oil From Clutch Housing

chicken · Mar 20, 2010

I have just fired up my BJ7 after its rebuild and see that i have oil dripping from the drain hole on the clutch housing, is this normal ?
The fact that it is called a drain hole and i have seen posts ref oil leaks before leads me to believe taht perhaps this is common on healeys, maybe not.
On the rebuild i put in a new upgraded crankshaft seal, perhaps this wasn't fitted right.

Any news would be good to put my mind at rest.

Rob

Michael Oritt · Mar 20, 2010

Rob--

Yes it is normal as Healey engines do not have rear main seals but rather only oil slingers (otherwise called an Archimedes Screw) that is supposed to sling the oil back into the crank case and the fact that the put in a dedicated hole in the bell housing to let the oil out should tell you something as to the wisdom of the design.

You can of course buy a rear oil seal kit but inistalling it would require pulling the engine, so I would suggest you live with the situation until you next need to do a rebuild, etc.

Patrick67BJ8 · Mar 20, 2010

Michael Oritt said:
Rob--

Yes it is normal as Healey engines do not have rear main seals but rather only oil slingers (otherwise called an Archimedes Screw) that is supposed to sling the oil back into the crank case and the fact that the put in a dedicated hole in the bell housing to let the oil out should tell you something as to the wisdom of the design.

You can of course buy a rear oil seal kit but inistalling it would require pulling the engine, so I would suggest you live with the situation until you next need to do a rebuild, etc.

I put in a rear engine oil seal kit from BCS that didn't require pulling the engine. It wasn't hard, but it wasn't easy either. Crankcase pressure can also help force oil out of the engine too. I believe the PCV set-yp from BCS will also take care of this or at least slow it down somewhat.
Patrick

chicken · Mar 20, 2010

Patrick/Micheal

I had the rear end seal kit fitted at the time of rebuild, so hope that went in properly, Patrick with the seal fitted should i see no oil ?
Currently i have running in oil in the engine so maybe this is worse as it is thinner ??

Rob

GregW · Mar 20, 2010

Hi Rob,
Did you put a new seal in the front of the tranny when everything was apart?

Patrick67BJ8 · Mar 20, 2010

chicken said:
Patrick/Micheal

I had the rear end seal kit fitted at the time of rebuild, so hope that went in properly, Patrick with the seal fitted should i see no oil ?
Currently i have running in oil in the engine so maybe this is worse as it is thinner ??

Rob

Rob, If you put the seal in correctly you shouldn't see any oil.

Greg brings up a good point about the front trans seal being replaced.

Patrick

TimK · Mar 21, 2010

I installed the British Car Specialist rear main seal and a new transmission seal and I still have a small drop around the drain hole, but it is difficult to tell the source. I wouldn't worry about it unless your clutch starts slipping from oil on the clutch....which is the problem I had before replacing the seals and the clutch. I judge oil leaks based on whether you leave a trail of oil as you drive or if you can see consecutive drips in a few minutes. If you only have a 1-2" circle on fresh newspaper after 24 hours of sitting post drive, then not to worry.

chicken · Mar 21, 2010

Tim

Thanks for the reassurance, as a newbie to actually getting near to driving my healey i get a bit nervous if i see thinks out of the ordinary. I to had the rear main seal replaced and that of the transmission when they were proffesionally both rebuilt so you would hope that they at least went in ok.
I notice on my dipstick that i have a little more oil in the engine than needed so don't know if that may affect it.
Anyway i'll have a drive around and see what happens.

Rob

Randy Forbes · Mar 21, 2010

The older cars, like my BN6, didn't have an oil seal on either the transmission or the engine, just the reverse scroll.

Apparently, mine aren't too worn out, as I barely get the inch (1") diameter <span style="font-style: italic">wet spot</span> after being parked a week or more.

GregW · Mar 21, 2010

:lol: better check yer drain hole then, it's probably clogged.

Stretch · Mar 21, 2010

I had the oil seal upgrade put in and saw leakage shortly afterward too. I took it apart only to find that the seal was not leaking around the shaft but the cork gasket was exposed and was the source. I caulked it up with a top quality sealant. It lasted for a while but eventually came back. I've resigned myself to accept it.

Jerry · Mar 21, 2010

Don't forget to make sure your oil breather from both the valve cover and block is pulling air. This will create a slight negative pressure in the block and keep the oil inside. This has worked well for me. I did pipe my breather to the intake manifold, instead of the air filters. This keeps the filters clean. Add a PVC valve also. This helped my engine.

Jerry
BJ8
BN4

Johnny · Mar 22, 2010

Hi Rob, what do you mean, "On the rebuild i put in a new upgraded crankshaft seal, perhaps this wasn't fitted right." was the seal put on the inside of the engine or on the outside of the engine? If the seal was put on the outside of the engine (The new kind that is made of rubber) the leak shouldn't be coming from the engine.

You could have oil leaking from the transmission down into the bellhousing. The only way you can tell is to determine if the oil is dirty (from the engine) or clean (from the transmission).

chicken · Mar 22, 2010

Johnny

Yes it was the new seal put on the outside but this was done by the engine shop. The gearbox was also rebuilt by a pro, anyway will run with it for a bit and see if it gets worse before i start pulling everything apart.

Rob

Randy Forbes · Mar 22, 2010

GregW said:
:lol: better check yer drain hole then, it's probably clogged.

Nope, pretty sure it's clean...

Maybe it's not dripping because I put copper washers on the bolts (threads are open to the oil in the bearbox)?

Stretch · Mar 22, 2010

I like the copper washer idea. I get a small amount of weepage out of the steering box bottom cover where the bolts go through to the oil side. I put some hylomar on those threads but still get some leakage. I'm going to replace the lockwashers and see if that stops it.

Johnny · Mar 22, 2010

chicken said:
Johnny

Yes it was the new seal put on the outside but this was done by the engine shop. The gearbox was also rebuilt by a pro, anyway will run with it for a bit and see if it gets worse before i start pulling everything apart.

Rob

Look carefully at Randy's bell housing in the photos and you'll see copper washers under the bolts. Those bolts protrude into the transmission below the oil line. The washers plus sealant used on installing the bolts kept my otherwise "leaky" transmission from uh, leaking. Many thanks to Randy for that tip, he is the KING, He Rules
:winner1:

GregW · Mar 22, 2010

Randy Forbes said:
Maybe it's not dripping because I put copper washers on the bolts (threads are open to the oil in the bearbox)?

Copper washers are a good idea, I used thread sealant from the Locktite guys, but I also had some helicoils in there.

Bob_Spidell · Mar 25, 2010

I've been thinking about the copper washer idea. It concerns me because copper is a relatively soft metal and will compress and spread, possibly allowing the clamping force of the bolt to be released and the bolt to loosen (which would probably cause leaking anyway). This is the antithesis to using a Grade 8 washer, which IMO work best when you're trying to clamp two pieces together.

A copper washer could be worse than a tab washer. FWIW, Carroll Smith hated tab washers: "I consider the tab washer to be an idiot device. In order for us to be able to bend the tab over the face of the bolt, the tab washer must be relatively soft. In service, cyclic stress may well cause the soft washer to squeeze sufficiently to allow the bolt to relax its tension." I don't know the exact hardness of tab and copper washers, but I gotta believe copper is at least as soft as the mild steel used in tab washers.

Not trying to start an argument here--just think there's a possible downside to using a soft washer in a stressed application. I think a bellhousing to gearbox union would get some significant flexing and twisting motions. I think it warrants a rational discussion, and I'm open to opposing opinions. I'm always looking for the best ways to attach stuff.

Randy Forbes · Mar 26, 2010

Bob_Spidell said:
I've been thinking about the copper washer idea. It concerns me because copper is a relatively soft metal and will compress and spread, possibly allowing the clamping force of the bolt to be released and the bolt to loosen (which would probably cause leaking anyway). This is the antithesis to using a Grade 8 washer, which IMO work best when you're trying to clamp two pieces together.

A copper washer could be worse than a tab washer. FWIW, Carroll Smith hated tab washers: "I consider the tab washer to be an idiot device. In order for us to be able to bend the tab over the face of the bolt, the tab washer must be relatively soft. In service, cyclic stress may well cause the soft washer to squeeze sufficiently to allow the bolt to relax its tension." I don't know the exact hardness of tab and copper washers, but I gotta believe copper is at least as soft as the mild steel used in tab washers.

<span style="font-weight: bold">Not trying to start an argument here</span>--just think there's a possible downside to using a soft washer in a stressed application. I think a bellhousing to gearbox union would get some significant flexing and twisting motions. I think it warrants a rational discussion, and I'm open to opposing opinions. I'm always looking for the best ways to attach stuff.

It's okay, it's your nature.

Tell you what, IF I start to get a drip from the bellhousing, I'll use my borescope to examine the inside of the bellhousing to see where it's coming from.

In the meantime, I'd strongly urge everyone that reads this forum to disregard EVERYTHING I've said or posted pictures of.

In the future only listen to Bob Spidell's advice. He's clearly the master; he's read a book.

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Oil From Clutch Housing

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