Geax box help

[kaneda]

Driving home thisarvo and car seemed not as smooth as normal but still drove fine.Herd a few quite clunks but nothing over the top so when i pulled up at home and had a quick inspection under the car i found a nice puddle of fluid ?
I have a cold at the moment and could not work out if it was brake fluid or gear box oil, got the car up off the ground so i could check things out n removed the air box to have a look at the gearbox more clearly and i discovered that there was alot of fluid arround the top near the clutch slave unit.
I had trouble with the slave in the past so cleaned up the area and pumped the clutch a few times and hey presto some fluid leaked out.

BUT
A mate came by n had a smell and told me its gearbox oil and the sheer size of the trail of liquid up my drive way leads me to belive that he is correct.
I have just spent 2 hours trying to find where this oil has come from and have no idea.
it seems to be comming from the top of the box arround the clutch slave and dripping down the back then all along the underside of the car???

I know people have issues with these boxes so any pointers on what i should be looking for.


P.S. Its an O2J with a peliquin LSD

[Golf Loon]

Is it the rubber gasket around the black endcap leaking??

[kaneda]

Is it the rubber gasket around the black endcap leaking??

No its all clean round that area .

[h100vw]

My take on the gearbox oil is it feels slippy between your fingers and smells pretty bad. Brake fluid isn't slippy and feels almost to be drying out your skin. The smell is 'inert'.

Could be from the slave cylinder in which case your brake fluid will be low. If that's at the normal level then the bad news is, it's more likely to be the box. Whether that's the diff pins or something simpler, it's hard to say without seeing it first hand.

I'd certainly not drive it 'til you know either way.

I have a new slave cylinder and the gearbox from my A3 if you need either.

Gavin

[kaneda]

The problem is at the moment i cant smell to well so thats why i was finding it hard to work out But what leads me to think its oil is that the brake fluid isnt overly low compared to the amount of fluid on the drive way.

I had replaced the slave unit late last year but its leaking from the where the hard line joins so im thinking the hose/O ring is shot (and seeing you cant buy one without the other...........)

[Jmac]

Check your brake fluid level mate, itll be low for sure, it feeds the brakes and clutch. If you say it leaks when you press the clutch then clearly its brake fluid. Diff pin problems tend to spit through the bellhousing and fills the bellhousing with oil. Check around the bottom of the box between box and engine, having said that the slave cylinder is on the bellhousing. If your mate smelt it and said gear oil then it probably is, it is chalk and cheese compared to brake fluid. If in doubt give it a good wash down or clean up with Shellite. Then recheck, but at the least you will have to rectify the hyd leak at the cylinder otherwise itll be no brakes into the bargain
Cheers and good luck
Jmac
ps did you do bolt kit with the diff????

[kaneda]

I just went for a wander down the street and there is a good and long trail of oil so that rules out clutch (just happen to be leaking aswell i guess)
Washed the car down and put it back up in the air for a good look around but still cannot see any signs of leaks or casing damage and gearbox was working fine befor i knew it was leaking and after (reversed it out of the garage and drove it back in with No clunks, ticks or flamboyant sounds of death)

Il drain the oil out of the box (if there's any left) and see if i cant find any bits that shouldn't be there , but just has me stumped as when my diff let go in my mk1 there was no missing the big hole in the gear box

I think the bolt kit wasnt done when the diff was put in but details are few as the previous owner did the upgrade.

[Stan]

check all your tubes and connections - replace and tighten any loose / leaky ones. Brake fluid is also usually a lot thinner than gear oil. long train doesnt necessarily rule out brake fluid, it's thin and goes far.
Check the amount or gearbox oil you drain out against the specs for how much there should be. See how far the brake fluid has dropped as well, replace the line to the clutch slave - use a new washer (should come with the kit) and see how you go. good luck...