Leaky gearbox

[Lemp1953]

Hi all, Yesterday was a good day to take out my beloved beastie and proceeded to Pendle Hill ( Clitheroe ) to give my new acquisition a test on hill climbing. Bad idea, after a steady climb up Pendle Hill and down the other side and then we climbed out of Sabden village to a steeper slope. At the top i came to a stop to let another vehicle pass and a cloud of blue smoke surrounded me. Opened the door and checked underneath to see precious pink fluid pouring out onto the tarmac. I immediately stopped the engine and the flow went to dripping only. the oil seemed to be pouring from mid to rear on the drivers side and the gearbox cross member as it there that it's at it's wettest. Have any of you goodly chaps had any similar experience of this and has any one got any thoughts as to where the fluid is coming from.
cheers, Mike L

[Alacrity]

That sounds like it may be overheating & blowing it out of the breather. First of all check the oil level in the gearbox - if it has been over filled that will not help.

The fact you were pulling up hill sounds like it is getting too hot. Check your cooler pipes & hoses for kinks of squashing. I'm not sure how technical you are or what facilities you have but you can remove the REAR cooler pipe (same if BW35 or 65) & attach a length of hose into a clean bucket then get someone in the car to start it up & put it into drive but leave the engine at idle (if it is on the ground make sure the brakes are held on, the handbrake is on & the wheels are chocked). There should be a good steady stream of oil coming out. If it is dribbling or not coming out at all you will need to find out if it is the cooling system or the gearbox. If you can take off the FRONT (cooler feed) pipe but this time you need to attach the hose to the front cooler fitting itself, NOT the pipe you have just removed. Do the same test & see what the stream is like then. If there is none then the issue is in the gearbox (probably a pipe left out - unlikely but I have seen it done) but if it is flowing OK & much more than was coming out of the rear (cooler return) pipe then you will need to look at the pipes & the cooler itself. Don't panic if you end up emptying the gearbox of oil doing this, you won't damage it doing this but DO remember to top it up after you have finished!!

[Lemp1953]

Hi Aclarity,

Sorry i don't know your name. Many, many thanks for that valuable information, the more i think of it the more i agree with you. The flow was quite pronounced and resembled an overflow as like a radiator to an overflow bottle and that something is getting hot . To my knowledge this is an original engine and box of 67,000 ish miles so it quite possible the pipes and the cooler may have some blockage over the years. I am fortunate that i have a friend who is a mechanic and he is coming to a look for me. He will definitely know what you are saying.
once again, many thank
Mike

[Alacrity]

Post up here how you get on, I will try to help if I can. Good luck, Geoff

[Lemp1953]

Thanks, if i get any problems i'll be in touch.
Mike

[Lemp1953]

Hi Geoff.
Looks like the oil cooler is a bit wasted as there are bits missing from it so the search is on for a replacement. I've posted a request to see if any one might have a decent and serviceable one but may have to buy a new one. Here's hoping.