9 replies to this topic

[The_Grim_Reefer]

hi all, I have a remote shift mini that I have been attacking a small oil leak with limited successes.  

 

so at first I could see that the diff side seals and housing were leaking , so quick reseal and new gaskets  =  improvement about 80 percent,

 

next was to pull of the selector assembly and asses as it was still dripping a small amount, so a quick clean down inside and out and reassemble,

and inspections latter its still leaking.

 

right so I don't know a great deal about the sealing system of the selector  itself so I though it best to ask from experienced mini owners to what I should be looking at in regards to where this particular leak is coming from as the outside housing is all dry now , it appears to be coming from the lower selector housing ? does this need a gasket or is the leak coming from the diff but leaking inside where the selector attaches ?  

 

I am basically trying to assess if I need to pull the engine out to rebuild the diff housing or if there may be a simpler fix that I can do with the engine  in place like a selector seal of some sort ?

 

here are some pictures, any advice would be greatly appreciated .

 

 

 

 

 

[Guess-Works.com]

Ok, if it's leaking from the remote to gearbox junction, and it's not coming from above then I'm afraid there is only two possibilities...

Oil is leaking up the stud which connects the diff cover to the gearbox, which is inside the diff housing, or you have a cracked diff housing.

 

I would double check that the oii is actually coming from the housing, and it's not actually transfer from somewhere else..

PS, you gearbox is from an austin america ( ado16 ) not a mini ;)

[The_Grim_Reefer]

ah yes I am following you , I've just been scouring over the internet to find videos of how that lot works and is assembled, I can tell you it works completely different from what I was thinking .

 

is there any pros cons to this gearbox ?  I think this whole engine gearbox is a transplant as I don't have a engine tag I have no idea what it is or where it came from  .

 

so tomorrow night I will strip the remote bit off and clean it all down again so I can re inspect for a leak again , so I guess want I want to find is that the oil is coming from the horizontal  gaskets rather than the studs?

either way does this require the removal of the engine to replace the diff gaskets ? have not touched a mini gearbox or diff, well I haven't actually done any engine work really so not sure what is doable in place yet

[Guess-Works.com]

To get the diff out of one of those you're pulling the engine.

[The_Grim_Reefer]

right so the engine is out.

so just looking at it there looks to be a lot of that orange sealant through out.   so whilst its out I am thinking about throwing a seal/gasket kit at it . and then some paint and bak into the hole.

 

this leads me to a few questions

 

1   do I have to buy and special tools to get the engine apart enough to replace all the gaskets ?

2   anything that commonly brakes or anything that I should also buy when pulling an engine apart , as I have to buy everything and import it I try to get it all in one go saves in shipping .etc

 

I have just bought a book too ,so this should come in handy . when it arrives . soon hopefully hahaha

[Spider]

Sure it's not just residule oil from the drive shafts?

[Guess-Works.com]

The only special tool you will need to split the engine is a flywheel puller, without that you can't separate the engine from the gearbox...

 

My advice is to avoid using silicon sealant, make sure all your gasket faces are spotless and if you feel the need to use anything other than just the gasket use a jointing compound rather than an RTV...

The only place RTV should be used is around the 1/2 moon seal which sits between the front main cap, the gearbox and the timing back plate.

[The_Grim_Reefer]

yeah I had emptied the sump, cleaned the whole lot down, then I did the side seals/gaskets, made sure everything was dry and clean, then filled it up, and it started leaking again (fresh clean oil ) .took about a day to start dripping. sigh. 

 

but its ok it only took 2 hours to get the engine out , and now that its out it is looking a bit worse for wear, I wasn't planning on doing anything more than I had to but seeing it out of the hole it looks a bit worse than previously thought . so I need to try get a ball park on costs before I decide what to do.

 

so far I have found you need a flywheel puller . I have a lot of tools in general its more of the specific tooling that seams to accompany old school engines or that I have to buy from the uk that I am trying to account for  

 

 

 

wow you lot on this site have got some amazing build threads, my god the detail is so good,

[The_Grim_Reefer]

so this all turned out well in the end , I ended up pulling the lump out, stripping it all down. rebuild and re assembled.

 

turned out the previous owner over shimmed the diff and that was the whole problem. but it turned out to be a good thing cause the amount of orange rtv sealant inside the engine was immense . there was allot of other issues that i managed to catch before trying to daily drive the beast !  

 

i also painted it, this is how it turned out.

 

 

 

[Spider]

Good one!