5 replies to this topic

[Cannoli]

I have an oil leak that's been on my list of things to attend to and wanted to know how difficult this will be to fix. I generally see about a table spoon or so on the floor after the car sits for about week. I only see a drop or two if sitting overnight. I'm not exactly sure what this location/part is called, but it appears to be coming from the gasket area.

 

Sorry for being so naive with all things Mini. This is my first   

 

 

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[Ethel]

Depends where exactly it's coming from. That's a differential side cover. There's a bronze bush inside to support the inner driveshaft "pot" joint. If it's worn,  the pot joint can wobble causing the oil seal to leak.

 

 

 

If it's the gasket between the the cover and the differential casing, it's involved in setting up the correct preload on the differential bearings. At the very least you'd want to replace  like with like. There are shims that go between the cover & bearing to adjust the gap to a specific size for the gasket. This is the later pattern gasket, there is a link to the earlier pattern on the page too.

 

 

 

The leak might be elsewhere, it's the lowest point, so oil tends to run there wherever it comes from above. Seeing if there's any side to side movement in the pot joint & cleaning it up to help spot the source would be a good place to start.

[Cooperman]

As above, it will either be the diff output shaft seal or the diff end plate gasket.

It's not at all difficult to fix, but if the diff output bushes are worn it will need new bushes which have to be reamed to size after fitting

If you jack the car up on stands, then get underneath it should be easy to see if the oil is weeping from the output shaft seal by checking the play in the output shaft bush.

 

In order to sort out whichever it is you need to remove the end plate. This involves draining the oil & removing the complete drive shaft complete with pot joint. Then remove the diff end plate. As it's the RH side there will be no shims involved.

 

Once stripped down it's a good idea to fit a new oil seal, even if the output shaft bush is not needing to be renewed. Fit a new gasket and use some 'Blue Hermatite' gasket sealer. Be careful re-torquing the bolts as the threads are 5/16 - 18 TPI UNC coarse threads and are easy to strip if over tightened.

 

You will need a ball-pin splitter for the hub ball joints and a wedge tool to get the pot joint out of the gearbox.

[Cannoli]

Thank you both. I'll get her back up on stands and clean things up to get a better assessment and report back.

[andyapanel]

I would not bother. The oil with provide a rudimentary rust proofing system.

[Ethel]

Though it does sound like a borderline cost benefit analysis between engine oil & mig wire.