Gearbox breather

[Steve P]

Could anyone tell me if there is a breather on the saloon box with a J type od,i have one on my Vitesse and after blowing a fuse last week having the tunnel off i decided to drain and fill it with fresh oil.I thought i would drive it with no tunnel cover to make sure all was ok.After blasting down a dual carriageway i had oil all over the nearside door card and window,oil was on top of the gearchange housing and there seemed to be a constant drip under the housing by the gearchange linkage.The car has always dripped oil onto the exhaust but i thought it was the engine,now i know its the box.

The box was reconned by Canleys with a new od unit and has only done 2k miles but has always leaked but i didnt know how much until now.The od works ok.

Also my manual says the capacity is 2.4 litres or 3.5 pints,2.4 litres is more like 5 pints...which is it?
Thanks
Steve  

[GT6 M]

yip there is a braether, its a small hole in the remote housing,

can you see exactly where the oil is coming frae,!!
if its right below the gear stick, it could be the angle drive, or the two top side studs on the OD,
as these studs, go into the OD,and are sealed, with either a ..copper washer.. or a modern ..plastic.. thingy, which distorts,when its tightened up,
so letting all the oil out,.

these studs,are usually longer than the rest, so have a look there,

regards  Marcus

[Tim Bancroft]

If it is leaking out of the small drain hole in the bellhousing I would suspect the lowest of the five bolts that fix the b'housing to the box. This screws directly through the gearbox case into the g'box. It should have a copper washer that acts as a seal, these can fail when pressure builds up. Generally they only leak when the car is stationary.

The breather is a small hole on the top cover housing, clean out and all should be fine.

[Slimboyfat]

Leaking from the selector rod in the remote is common.

It's a combination of two things;

1. Worn O ring on selector rod in remote (O rings are included in gearchange rebuild kit's, but rarely changed).

2. It's leaking from there because the gearbox has no breather. If the gearbox started life as a D type overdrive unit then the breather will be deliberately capped (because D type overdrives have there own breather). The cap will look like a tiny domed nail head on the top of the right hand selector rod in the aluminium top. Flick it out, and change those seals, and all should be well.

On the flip side if you use a venting selector top in a D type installation where the D type also has vent (so that's two vents) then the gearbox will also leak, don't ask me why.

[Richard B]

redoxideVit wrote:

if there is a breather on the saloon box with a J type od,i have one on my Vitesse  

Guys, it's a big Saloon box not a 3 rail GT6 box.

[Slimboyfat]

Then check the breather hasn't been blocked off purposely with a matchstick or similar.

It's a common way of stopping all the oil from leaking out on an old box which is being stored on its nose.

[hypoid53]

Quote:

On the flip side if you use a venting selector top in a D type installation where the D type also has vent (so that's two vents) then the gearbox will also leak, don't ask me why."

Thank you very much Dave!!  ??)
I have just had to remove an non-operating J type from my GT6 3 rail box and replaced it with an original D type...and I have left the vent hole open in the selector top! I will let you know if it leaks..... :-/

[Steve P]

Just for anyone who is as dumb as me...
I spoke to Dave at Canleys today and the upshot is that the breather was clear but i was filling it from the top not the side and i had far too much oil in it.

Thanks to Dave and yes i am a tit.
Steve

[GT6 M]

What sort though,
Blue tit
Little tit,
or
Great tit, ;) ;) ;)



Marcus