22 replies to this topic

[pryth]

Hi,
I have just fitted a replacement gear box & new clutch to my sons 1275 cooper, along with new seals. When I tested the car I started to get oil coming out of the clutch casing drain hole after a short run. I have removed the clutch and can see that the oil is coming from the new seal (authentic red seal ). I can only assume it is one of two things - 1, damaged when fitting ( tapped into place ), 2, recessed to far into casing ( 2mm ).
I know this subject has been covered a number of times, but I can't find any definitive setting for where the seal should sit in the casing if you don't use the specified tool to press it in ?

[tiger99]

It is normally flush but 2 mm in is perfectly ok, as long as the surface of the primary gear that it is running on is smooth.

Did you cover the splines with tape or the plastci sleeve tool, before fitting the seal? Not doing that is the usual cause of damage, and it only needs minute scratches on the lips from the splines to make it leak.

[ANON]

Could also be wear on the crank from the old seal.

[pryth]

I didn't put any protection on the splines when I fitted the seal, but could see no damage when I removed it. The only thing that was out of the ordinary was that one of the breather cans was blocked. Perhaps this increased the pressure in the crank case and forced the oil past the seal ? The breather pipes are open to atmosphere at the moment, so I think I will pipe them up to the carb ( blanked off at present ) and see what that does.

[Cooperman]

If you just slid it along the splines it's a good bet that the seal lip is damaged. That's why there is a tool designed for fitting the seal.
That said, I did once build an engine and the red seal was defective as supplied.

[mk1leg]

I wrap a load of masking tape over the splines then oil the tape and then slide the new seal over the tape and ues the proper tool to drift home the seal properly.........

[tiger99]

Yes, although with care the proper tool may not be necessary, but the tape certainly is, if you don't have the proper sleeve, and you make a very good point about oiling it. I used electrical insulating tape, which is plastic and fairly slippery. Many years ago someone found that a yoghurt carton was exactly the right size to make a sleeve, but I can't remember which brand it was, and packaging has probably changed over the years.

The usual damage due to not using tape or the special protective sleeve is not visible to the naked eye, but only under a good magnifier, so it may look as if there is no damage, but there certainly will be if some method of protecting it from the splines was not used.

The official pair of fitting tool and protective sleeve is £20.47 from Minispares, so if they save a couple of hours of precious time, they have to be worth it. But someone also sells a plastic sleeve only for much less. Can't remember who it was, but a teflon sleeve would be just perfect.

I know that money is always tight for everyone, but sometimes you have to spend to save, and many tools will last a lifetime if looked after. Or, as a minimum, in this case a roll of tape.

[pryth]

The good news is that the second seal worked fine after tape, oil, baby's touch. The bad news the so called " recon " gearbox, crunches when trying to engage second gear : (

[Cooperman]

He'll soon learn what it was like to drive a Mk.1 on which the gearboxes always crunched. It's called 'double de-clutching'.

[tiger99]

Well, the gearbox is a re-con, meaning it is not the first time it has conned someone....

[pryth]

Thinking about over hauling his old g/box. Whats the common component that causes the g/box to whine through the gears ?

[tiger99]

Not one component, but many. The bearings invariably need to be replaced, all of them, and the baulk rings, but most of the gears are running in mesh, although most are unloaded, all of the time, except for reverse, so tooth wear will make them whine. The final drive gears were the problem on one of my Minis. The A+ while a lot less than their predecessors due to different tooth geometry and other improvements.

[Guess-Works.com]

as tiger has suggested, whines can be caused by all sorts of parts, generally those which appear in 1st,2nd and 3rd, but not top are related to the laygear, those which appear in all gears, are related to the mainshaft bearings, the differential or possibly the transfer gears. But is should be noted that older mini gearboxes ( A series 4 and 3 synchro ) whine a lot more than A+ gearboxes.

[pryth]

Sounds like it could be costly : (

[Guess-Works.com]

Not really, cost is relative to peace of mind... and I assume that the original gearbox was supplied by someone not willing to put a warranty on their work ?