Dripping bell-housing on 120 manual

[Crispin]

Folks,


I am due an MOT this week and needed to tighten up the handbrake. While under the truck I saw my bellhousing was soaked in oil, droplets hanging off it as well.
The bashplate is also drenched.
The oil appears to be engine oil, very dark / black.

When I was under there in December, there was definitely nothing there. I had the bash plate off to to open try an open the lower sump. Had I not noticed it on the bellhousing, I would have noticed it while handling the bashplate.

About a month ago, I had it serviced by Mr T. Is there anyway they could have done something odd? Overfill? I checked the oil and it is spot on the max mark.
The truck only has 70k on it, not exactly old...

See pics:

Cheers,

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

That's not good news. You might need to clean / dry off as much as you can with rags, use it for a day and then have another look to see if there's any clue as to its origin. It *could* be ATF which will go dark when it's dirty enough, or it could be a spillage rather than a leak ...

EDIT: do these engines have any history of rear main seal failures? That's another possibility if you;re sure it's more like engine oil than atf.

 

[Chris]

Suck, eggs, Granny and teach here maybe, but are you sure that the oil isn't tracking from somewhere further forward and this is simply where the drip forms?

OK had to ask.

On the handbrake, oh blimey, here comes Granny again, please don't just tighten the nut at the handbrake.

Sermon over. Hey, other people read these threads too you know.


Black oil sounds like engine.
C

 

[Crispin]

Damn, either y'll bored or just waiting to pounce on a new thread I'm not complaining...

Jon - it's a manual so no ATF. Would gearbox oil turn black?

I am not sure it's coming from a spill. I could not see anything when looking from the top, there is a bit where I spilt when filling and it looks like Mr-T did not use a funnel either. That all runs forwards and is more a slight spill than this lot.
Also the upside down oil filter has a basin which catches the drips and sends it via a tube to just below the bash plate.

The only other 120 manual gearbox issue I know of is the Irish guy who lost everything except 4th. Or did he loose 4th. Something like that

Chris - OT but yes.... why not? I could see nothing on the rear disks for adjustment. I gave it a few turns. Does not seem to drag when off but bites much nicer now.

 

[Rob]

gearbox oil will be stay brown/yellow oily colour as it doesn't collect carbon like engine oil.

for your handbrake there should be a hole where you stick a screwdriver on the hub where you can turn a cog to adjust the handbrake. (the handbrake is a drum brake within the rear disc brakes)

 

[Chris]

Rob is bang on. And not OT as you posted it remember? Please don't tighten the thread in the cabin,. That only takes up fine adjustment in the central linkage. Any 'resistance' that you feel will not necessarily be against both H brake shoes. Only the first to contact the drum. You need to adjust each brake and then trim the lever feel inside the cabin. This is why there are so many 80, 90 and 120 series driving around with shagged up handbrakes.

Chris.

The 90 and 120 drive train are very similar and having had a 90 apart, the back oil could only have come backwards from the engine in my view. Gearbox oil could probably go around the planet several times and still look like new. Same as transfer box. I think that these will just about outlive the vehicle. Black = engine. I would think unlikely to get past the engine and into the bell housing. This would mean main crank seal I suppose. Not impossible, but unlikely. It would then get onto your flywheel and clutch. You'd notice that.

Trying to think where it might be seeping from. Overfill would be seen quickly and would be clean. Oil filter gasket might be possible though
Chris

 

[Crispin]

Thanks Chris / Rob about the handbrake. I will try again over the weekend. (Guessing it'll be ok for a week's worth of driving?)

I meant to add, I cannot feel any difference in the clutch. Bites as it used to, no slipping, dipping the clutch causes a jump, not a slow gradual bite so it would appear there is nothing [yet] on the flywheel.
I did have the crank seal go on my nissan pickup in SA many moons ago. Was not a difficult job but then again, you could sit inside the engine bay and bring your dog for company...

I'll crawl under again tomorrow afternoon and take a better look, do some mopping up. As my engine still has a lovely Salisbury white-mud tinge to it, it's easy to see where the oil is.

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

Trouble with oil is that once it's outside on the underside of a car it doesn't take much for it to go black like engine oil.

Is there any kind of inspection hatch on the bell housing? A weeping rear main just runs down the block and doesn't hurt your clutch right away.

 

[Nuclear Chicken]

Crispin, might sound obvious but check 2 things:

1 Oil pan sump plug for leaks as occassionally oil is changed and no new sump washer fitted:
and 2 There is a drip tube coing from the oil filter area (the little drip tray job that it spills into) and it should be visible around the sump plug too. It normally drips for a day or 2 after an oil change. Could be that.

 

[Crispin]

Not sure Jon - When I am under there tonight I'll have a look. There was nothing obvious from the underside.

NC - I know the tube, it looked clear and lined up. It certainly was ok when I changed the oil. I was expecting some of Salisbury mud to have clogged it.

I'll take the bash plate off today and give it a good clean. I guess there is a small chance a leaky drain plug could splash back onto the bell-housing. For the quantity (and droplets) on the bell-housing, it seems unlikely. Will check though.

 

[Crispin]

So I crawled under again today and had another, better look. It looks like it _might_ be from a silly boy taking off the oil filter too quickly. You supposed to crack it, let it drain slowly and once empty, remove it. Unscrewing it too quickly causes the disk to overflow.

The starter is damp and dusty with oil (dirty) but very slight. It appears to have some down the side of the bellhousing. The whole mating area between bellhousing and block as well as the bellhousing and gearbox is oily. Very very slight and dry oil but clearly oil was once there. It also looks like it could track its way around the seams over time. I guess with 3000 miles since the service, hot engine / g'box the oil will work its way around.

I was a bit dismayed when I saw a droplet hanging there. I thought I had got them all last time but looking around the droplet it does not appear I cleaned it.

Anyway, I cleaned it all up really well and will see again in a week.

Here's hoping....

 

[Gary Stockton]

And??? Did you check again? All clear??

 

[Rob]

hes back!

 

[Crispin]

no. Not all clear. I've renamed it to "Most expensive to own in the first year than my F-ing landrover"

How was trip?

 

[TonyP]

You had your 120 serviced recently.... so if it was leaking before the service then surley they should have noticed it the dripping oil? I find that hard to believe they could miss something that obvious! If it occoured after the service, then in my view they may be responsible for it....

Either way not good at all!

 

[Rob]

how much engine oil do you need to top up every week or per 1000 miles? how does this compare to before?