Oil overfill

[Bulldog1]

Hello,

Could overfilling the oil whilst servicing cause a leak from between engine and gearbox?

It didn't leak prior to servicing?

[faggie]

that will be the gearbox imput shaft oil seal , you can pinpoint where its coming from if you smell the oil as hypoid gearbox oil smells terrible

[itchyfeet]

I doubt overfill would cause a problem if the crank oil seal is good,, i think you would see clouds of smoke out of the exhaust if it was massively overfilled
so assuming it wasnt massively overfilled then either the crank oil seal is shot anyway and it was a bit overfilled or the gearbox seal is shot, as said smell of oil is the key to whats leaking

[Bulldog1]

Are the seals very difficult to replace once the gearbox is out? I did the spigot bearing a couple of months ago!
Could I have disturbed one of the seals then?

[itchyfeet]

Seal is easy once gearbox is off, bet you are kicking yourself for not doing it

i regularly read people saying no point fixing it if its not broke, or looking for the easy fix doing a job with the minimal cost, to me a £10 seal when you have the gearbox off is worth it for piece of mind.

just like changing the lower liner seals when the heads are off, but i digress.

so flywheel off, reuse the bolts if you must, i buy new, and it comes out with a big screwdriver and a small block of wood/similar, if its the late engine be careful of the large shim just behind the seal

[Bulldog1]

Thanks itchyfeet,

I was stupidly expecting the oil seal to be ok as it's a recon engine from elite that's only done about 1000 miles.

One of the many problems I've had with this 'refurbed' engine.

My wife is now at the end of her tether with it and is suggesting getting rid.

I've replaced almost everything over the last 18 months and my luck has to change soon.

Several holidays have resulted in returning home on the back of an RAC van

[kevtherev]

if it's just a weep then it's not going to get worse in a hurry.
My crank oil seal has been weeping oil for years!

[Bulldog1]

It's not just a weep, after a 30 mile journey it was a heavy constant drip.
It's also affecting the clutch now

[itchyfeet]

My wife is now at the end of her tether with it and is suggesting getting rid.

Have you considered getting rid of the wife?

only joking, seriously thats typical of an old vehicle, tell her that it will get better, you have to make up for neglected maintenance, in the first two years i replaced loads and broke down a few times, then it settled down to normal mainteance.

my reccomendation is to use the van every week then the chances are it will break down before the holiday and she wont be so cheesed off

speak to elite tgey will often help i hear

[Bulldog1]

Last time I had to pay £350.00 to have the van trailered from Bolton to Essex.

I then had to buy a train ticket and pick the van up, promptly braking down on the m25.

The only saving grace was that the RAC paid for my petrol home.

Good thinking regarding more frequent use though

[ghost123uk]

Last time I had to pay £350.00 to have the van trailered from Bolton to Essex. I then had to buy a train ticket and pick the van up, promptly braking down on the m25.

What happened ?

[Ralf85]

I was stupidly expecting the oil seal to be ok as it's a recon engine from elite that's only done about 1000 miles.
One of the many problems I've had with this 'refurbed' engine.

It seems that some people have been lucky with elite engines and others have had problems. Who fitted the refurb?

[Bulldog1]

It was an independent garage in Bury, lancs.
He's worked on V.W's for years and seems to know his stuff. I've started to try and do repairs myself now because of the amount of issues I've had and the cost of paying garages.

[Bulldog1]

Ghost, I've sent you a PM

[Dazco]

I know it's easy to say, but the more you put right now is less to go wrong in the future. Good on you to be doing it yourself though