Spewing Grease

[Rdykilawat]

So, While my center console was out I decided to replace all the rubber pieces around the shifter. They had degraded and cracked. I received my new parts but was having difficulty installing the new parts. So, I put a towel over the hole to keep fumes out when I had to drive it.

Worked great for a about a week, until yesterday. A couple blocks from my house and WOOSSHH The towel gets sucked through the hole and wraps around the drive shaft. Who didn't see that coming, eh? I was in 2nd gear not going more than 10 mph. I stopped instantly.

Well, spent about 10 minutes ripping the towel out piece by piece until it was gone, then proceeded to go home. About a block later the back of the gearbox starts spraying grease all over me and the interior of the car. So, I limp home and break out the manual, not much help.

So here's my question boys and girls. HOW SCREWED AM I? Can I just drop the drive shaft and replace a gasket, or am I looking at a major repair?

[Tifosi]

If it's just the rear trans seal leaking, yes, you can just drop the driveshaft, remove the doughnut and remove the yoke that the doughnut affixes to.

Once all that is out of the road, the seal is right there.

Any possibility of it being the breather vents on the sides of the shift tower? (could be a case of it being over filled and it's blowing wherever it finds a spot to get out)

How about a leak further forward that doesn't make itself known where you see it until enough runs back along the trans casing and the get slung by the yoke?

[Gordon Raymond]

Probably the rear transmission seal got thread in it. Sort of like fish line around an outboard propeller, it trashes the seal. FORTUNATELY, the repair can be done without removing the transmission. ( At least on the older Alfa's I work on.) You need to drop the front of the driveshaft at the guibo (rubber doughnut). All that off, there is the three legged output guibo spider that must be removed. this is difficult as the transmission wants to move, in about any gear. I have locked the engine with the crank front pulley nut and a long enough breaker bar to jam on the chassis or other useful anchor. Once the nut is loose, the spider will come out. Warning: DISCONNECT and Remove the spedo drive as when you pull the spider, the other spedo drive gear is on it. Also, you may get very gloopy if you do not drain the transmission at least partially as you are working near the full oil level. With the spider out, the seal lives right there ! Pop it out and install a new one from Centerline or a high quality substitute from a metric seal supplier. Reverse the disassembly procedure, on re assembly. The "nut", may be a ring nut, requiring a special socket. It is also torqued pretty darn tight, 60 to 80 ft/lbs. ugh!
This is not an uncommon transmission leak, and only a little irritating to repair. I would have loved to see the look on your face when the towel vanished! Priceless I'll bet. Let me know how this comes out. Gordon Raymond

[Gordon Raymond]

Dan,
Here's a less frightening() photo showing the retaining "nut" in a configuration that actually can be removed with normal metric sockets! Didn't want to scare you with the ring nut in the earlier picture! Gordon Raymond

[Tifosi]

Sure, suck the fun out of it.

[Gordon Raymond]

Boy, I'm glad you were watching, Darren. Keeps me honest!
Don"t you love removing those ring nuts with a punch? Chisel? Die grinder?
Better yet, lets make a pronged socket from a donor socket! Hours and sweat later, if it actually does fit, it brakes. If your real lucky, it won't fit.
Best, Gordon

[Tifosi]

Ya, a punch isn't unheard of unless there's a bit of 1/8" or 3/16" flatstock laying about that can have a fork cut into it then turn with a crecent wrench or whatever.

I generally don't sacrifice sockets for what are likely to amount to 'one time use only' type jobs, though I will do just that when it comes time for the diff front seal. (onnaconna I got's blueprints for that and access to a mill and lathe)

[Rdykilawat]

I am very relieved to hear I'm not up a creek as it were. If it actually quits raining I'll drop the driveshaft today and see if I can get the old seal out. The breather vents look ok and all the grease appears to be coming from the end of the transmission, not somewhere else. I'll post my findings and let you guys know how it went.

[ossodiseppia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rdykilawat ....About a block later the back of the gearbox starts spraying grease all over me and the interior of the car. So, I limp home and break out the manual, not much help. So here's my question boys and girls. HOW SCREWED AM I? Can I just drop the drive shaft and replace a gasket, or am I looking at a major repair?

[Rdykilawat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ossodiseppia That's not a surprise at all. Are you sure it's coming out of the rear seal? I'll bet it's coming from the top of the tranny where the gear shift lever attaches. Put on a new shift boot and that should help. Don't forget to replace the small rubber seal on top. Before you put on the new seal, you can top of the tranny from there.

[usatrade]

Tifosi
Where did you get your little "driver" animated GIF ?
I love it
Thanks
Claude

[Gordon Raymond]

Yes, the spray is from the rear seal, When you have everything out, including the OLD seal look in there for threads wrapped around the shaft. You don't need to eat up another seal. Thread, particularly nylon, can play havoc with a seal from either side.
(I still would have loved to see the look on your face when the towel vanished! One Sunday after church, still dressed in my Sunday best, (with neck tie) I made a quick lathe cut on an aluminum part for a friend from church. You guessed it. Amazing how fast that neck tie wrapped around the chuck! WoW! Good thing I was right with God! My friend still, 30 years later likes to describe the look on MY face!) Gordon Raymond

[Tifosi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gordon Raymond with neck tie... I made a quick lathe cut... neck tie wrapped around the chuck

[Peter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gordon Raymond Yes, the spray is from the rear seal, When you have everything out, including the OLD seal look in there for threads wrapped around the shaft. You don't need to eat up another seal. Thread, particularly nylon, can play havoc with a seal from either side. (I still would have loved to see the look on your face when the towel vanished! One Sunday after church, still dressed in my Sunday best, (with neck tie) I made a quick lathe cut on an aluminum part for a friend from church. You guessed it. Amazing how fast that neck tie wrapped around the chuck! WoW! Good thing I was right with God! My friend still, 30 years later likes to describe the look on MY face!) Gordon Raymond