Spitfire 1500 Bell Housing Oil Drip

[Bob Owen]

Got an annoying drip from the "split pin" hole in the bottom of the bell housing.

Any suggestions as to whether this is gearbox or engine seal related?

thanks

Bob

[NonMember]

What does it smell of? The gearbox oil has a very distinctive smell, quite different from engine oil.

[Colin Lindsay]

Is it engine oil or gearbox oil? That'll be the first thing to determine, as it will tell you which side of the assembly it's coming from. Sadly if it's an oil seal in either the gearbox or engine, it'll be the same bother to replace; a lot of disassembly to access, and two minutes to swap.

One other thing: make sure that's where it's coming from, it may be coming from the sump and just dripping off the lowest point in which case a new sump gasket, or even just tightening the sump bolts, will cure it.

[johny]

Always have a look inside with one of those boroscope jobbies from Lidl or similar. On a Spitfire it'll probably need starter motor removal?

[Bob Owen]

Thanks both, sense of smell not good enough to distinguish.

Checked sump etc, so will have to bite the bullet and go through the hassle of seal replacement

presume the bell housing hole and jiggle pin are there for this purpose ie to discharge the leak rather than let it build up in the housing??

[Colin Lindsay]

57 minutes ago, Bob Owen said:

Thanks both, sense of smell not good enough to distinguish.

Checked sump etc, so will have to bite the bullet and go through the hassle of seal replacement

presume the bell housing hole and jiggle pin are there for this purpose ie to discharge the leak rather than let it build up in the housing??

Exactly. In the very early cars the oil seal was a scroll type, which kept the oil in the gearbox by forcing it along threads as the input shaft rotated. Once the shaft stopped rotating the oil was free to run out, particularly on a steep hill, so the easiest option was to let it run out the bottom. At least by the 1500 they'd used a proper seal, but when it goes, same result.

[Pete Lewis]

if sense of smell evades a clue then do a finger wipe

if its clear golden its gearbox    it its black its engine oils 

do check gearbox oil levels to make sure its not overfilled

and often deceiving is the rear of the rocker cover  gets blown back in the air stream and drips off the back engine plate and clutch housing 

sump leaks can be similar    

ie where it drips may not be the source of the leak 

Pete