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Re: 3 speed gearbox - oil loss...

Hi Ruairidh,
Thanks for the pictures and we all wish you all to keep having a good time!
Steve and Malcolm have covered most points but we all need to do a bit of brain storming in advance of you maybe having to pull things apart. My first thoughts were also about the blind plug in the spline but that would have chucked oil on to the clutch, which appears not to have suffered. With the top inspection cover off is oil thrown inside all of the bell housing as if coming along the spline? If not the leak is from the cover as suggested. If you have a felt seal that has packed up it would drip from the drain hole in the seal housing. A further thought to offer (not a nice one!) is a crack in the front cover somewhere (say) under the roller bearing housing.
During the long haul in bottom gear quite a bit of local heat may have arisen where the third motion shaft spins inside the first motion shaft. This may have allowed the plug to "lose its grip" or cause some other problem - but I can't think what that might be!!
Hoping for the best for you
Ron

Re: 3 speed gearbox - oil loss...

All looking like a great adventure.

If it were my problem I would be tempted in the warmth ect to put EP90 gearbox oil in. I use this in all my cars and have never had a problem despite people telling me that it would cause problems.

You might become a covert!!

Location: The Centre of the Universe

Re: 3 speed gearbox - oil loss...

Thanks for all the suggestions - to be clear, I don't intend doing much about this (other than topping up when needed), until home. It is a new issue to me, I shall report back once home and having followed up your suggestions.

Thanks.

Re: 3 speed gearbox - oil loss...

If it's coming out of the input shaft, either by way of the core plug or a faulty seal, I'd expect you to have a seriously slipping clutch by now. My guess would be a cracked or loose front cover plate. Unless a really stupid suggestion, do you have one of those bits of tinplate that fits round the gearbox drain hole and plugs up the bell housing hole? It's not a loose drain plug that looks as if the leak comes fro the bell housing if you see what I mean?
Good luck, that's one of my favourite parts of the world!

Re: 3 speed gearbox - oil loss...

Our chummy box does this on holiday too. Most strange, but perfectly liveable with. Every year, in France for the last 10 years or so I have had to top it up. I assume it's a combination of ambient temperature and the fact that the dream holiday for 3 speed boxes is a daily oil change, gearbox equivalent of a spa break I guess. Once the last top up at the end of the trip is done it lasts all year, with plenty of use, until the second or third day in the dordogne 11 1/2 months later! Who can blame it?
Have fun, W

Re: 3 speed gearbox - oil loss...

Yeah I tend to drink a lot in France, too.

Re: 3 speed gearbox - oil loss...

Very reassuring on both counts - merci!