Gearbox oil leak

[dust]

Hi, I have recently bought a 1985 Transporter, 1.9TD (engine taken from a Golf).

A few weeks ago I noticed some oil leaking, I took it to a Garage who told me that the leak is coming from somewhere between the drive shaft and gearbox, possibly from a few places, and that to locate and fix it would need to take the whole lot out, possibly uncovering more issues and costing hundreds, does this sound about right?

They didn't seem to think it desperately needed doing or anything, they said most T25s have some leaks and a little oil can look like a lot. However I am still keen to have it resolved, I don't want to leave trails of oil all over the country. If it is a gearbox out job I am wondering whether it is worth fitting a 5 speed gearbox at the same time. Would it be worth fitting a 5 speed gearbox and how costly do you think this would be?

I just want to get a feel for my options / potential costs involved in all this.

thanks for your time, Jamie

[CovKid]

These can be done in situ: https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/Ge ... eak_repair" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The other likely cause is input shaft seal in bellhousing. If its a minor leak it could be sorted during a clutch change. Not sure about hundreds of pounds, depends on whether you're able/willing to have a go yourself.

Do keep gearbox topped up to level though. Knackered gearbox can be considerably more.

[dust]

Thanks, I am certainly willing to have a go myself, able is another matter, my intention was to learn as I go along but I feel this is beyond me at the moment.

[CovKid]

The job is not hard at all. The challenge is in handling the gearbox which is heavy.

[Aidan]

yo dust
where are you ?

figure on a couple to four hours labour plus whatever it takes to fix but could require spigot bearing for engine and oil thrower for bellhousing and seal even clutch fork and associated stuff you just don't know for sure, and might as well do an oil change if history unknown, worst case scenario around £400 plus a clutch and vat if you do that at the same time, but you'd want it doing by someone who knows and understands these vans, hence where are you if you don't want to do it yourself, you'd also look at doing the crank shaft oil seal whilst you were in there, then hopefully seal and forget for another 50k miles and go camping
you could do it yourself in an afternoon using info here on wiki and in the manuals and maybe a handy mate and a £4 seal and all be good

[CovKid]

I'll never forget the day I was laid on my back helping Aidan shove a syncro box back up. Two big fellas - not much room

Yep, he's right, you may well encounter other worn parts but if you plod at it and have patience, its all dooable.

Finally, there is NO advantage fitting a 5 speed box. I own a 5 speed. If you want more range, fit bigger wheels. Its cheaper and just as effective.

Read this lot:
https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.p ... 6&start=15" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[dust]

Thanks for the tip on the bigger wheels, I will probably give it a go. I've heard different opinions on the 5 speed boxes, but my gut says the advantages would be minimum and not worth the cost.

Aidan - I'm in York, think I will do a bit more research and maybe give a couple of mates a shout. If I still feel in over my head I will get a garage on it, but good to hear a ball park figure for comparison.

cheers