Another 13/60 oil leak

[Johnc]

Hi 

I have a 13/60 which has a oil leak at the rear of the engine snd low down. My guess would be that it is the rear crank oil seal.

My plan would be to pull the engine and replace the seal - the clutch is new and has only done a few hundred miles. In preparation do I need to buy anything other than the replacement seal ie is there anything else that will/ should be replaced?

thanks in advance

 

John

[johny]

This is quite a lot of work. It would surprise me that the leaking seal wasnt noticed when the clutch was changed and if it didnt leak then that it has failed in the few hundred miles since. Its possible but worth checking closely that the oil isnt coming from the sump, rocker box or head (it can run down as its a hidden area) and you can do this by cleaning everything before dusting with talc. Then after a drive it should be easier to identify the source....

[Clive]

A common cause of leaks is the sump. There are aluminium blocks at the from and back of the engine that Triumph foolishly used UNF threads, which strop easily. Try nipping the sump bolts up, but don't overdo it if the front/rear ones appear tight. 

If they are stripped, you can helicoil them once the sump is dropped, and I would do all 4 if this was the case. Or the club makes a steel block for the front. And me? I drilled and tapped to 10mm, as I had the tools to do that! Then short m10 cap head screws, OR file the head down on std m10 setscrews to be 1/2"AF (guess what else I had to do, as this was a sunday, with work the next day)

[Pete Lewis]

and  a finger test .....and a sniff        engine oil tends to be blackish   gear oil clear but pongs of cats pee 

as the gearbox has been out to  change the clutch make sure its not been overfilled as the front seal is likley a scroll and it will let overfilled oi out

i would pull the box off rather than lift the engine out to do a rear seal 

agree with clive about stripped alloy bridges  often due to long bolts being fitted , they bottom out and Oops no thread left 

or  done up by a gorilla 

Pete

 

 

[NonMember]

24 minutes ago, Pete Lewis said:

agree with clive about stripped alloy bridges

The other classic sump leak problem is that some gorilla has been at the bolts down the sides. The cast iron deforms, leaving the threaded part slightly raised, and the sump pan also deforms, so that no matter how well you do it up the rest of the flange never quite sits flat. The fix is to remove the sump, hammer the bulges around the fixing holes back flat, and carefully dress the tops of the threaded holes in the block (a few turns of a large drill will do). Then refit with a new gasket and don't over-tighten.

[Johnc]

Thank you all for your thoughts - a little background. The car was off the road for 8 years being restored and during that time I had a Ford type 9 gearbox fitted along with a new clutch. The car was not run for 3-4 years after the gearbox swap was done.

I assumed that it is engine oil but will do a little investigation when I’ve got five minutes, The gearbox was straight out of a breakers yard so of unknown history. Hopefully the oil seal on the gearbox might be easier to replace.

[Iain T]

12 hours ago, Johnc said:

Hopefully the oil seal on the gearbox might be easier to replace.

John, if you need help go to BGH Geartech they are T9 masters. The guy there is Chris, he's very helpful. 

Iain 

[Pete Lewis]

On 27/09/2021 at 10:30, Pete Lewis said:

not been overfilled as the front seal is likley a scroll

if we knew it was a  type 9 fitted  it would make suggestions more useful  we dont have a crystal ball when trying to assist 

surprisingly  a few basic clues does help a lot

good luck with the leak search 

Pete

[Johnc]

Thanks Pete -