Oil leak between engine block and HP4 (Tate &Lewis) autobox

[RobinLegin]

My engine had a complete rebuild early last year. In planning to hit the Alpine passes this summer I took the plunge and had the famous Tate & Lewis auto box to replace the BW65. As I had an oil leak from this area before the conversion, I had a new crank oil seal installed at the same time. Now a few hundred miles on, and the problem has reappeared.

Clearly, there must be wear or a minor defect on the crankshaft where the seal fits over. In the hope of avoiding having the crankshaft removed and reground/ replaced, I just wonder if there’s a sleeve of some sort that could fit over and then have a double seal installed. Do these exist? And who might the suppliers be?

[022Dave]

Hello Nigel,

I remember talking to Clive (Tate) some years ago about oil incontinence, and he mentioned a 'top hat' type crank seal, which puts the lip of the seal in a different unworn position on the crank face. Give him a call, or maybe others on here know of it?

Dave

[new to this]

You can buy a speedi sleave that fits over the end of the crankshaft and then use a double lip seal, search the forum there were discussions about it ,thing Paddocks sell them

Dave

[Lingen]

Robin.
Are you sure the oil is coming from inside the bell housing? Oil leaks from places like the "D" rubbers at the back of the camshafts, the cam cover gaskets, or even the oil pressure switch and oil pump, can end up at the bottom of the bell housing.
Mike.

[mole42]

Speedi-sleeve

https://www.skf.com/uk/products/industrial-seals/power-transmission-seals/wear-sleeves/skf-speedi-sleeve

[jbuckl]

My crank got over ground on the rear oil seal & they removed so much that it needed a non standard lip seal.
However it still appeared to leak, so I bit the bullet & removed the box only to find it fine & dry!
actual culprit was a new sump plug that was incorrect (parallel thread) ... oil was blowing backwards & appeared to be from the converter housing.
+1 for other culprits such as d-bung leaks that are surprisingly hard to spot.

[Alacrity]

Also check you don't have crankcase compression, if you do then you won't stop it leaking. What carb setup do you have?

[RobinLegin]

Have been in contact with Clive Tate. Like this forum he is most helpful and tells me the crank was in good order. His recommendation is to check the transfer housings and cam covers. A quick check does look like there could be oil around the oil pressure sensor. Will look at the D cups though not sure how to adjust the pressure that might affect the transfer housing. Actually not sure where this is!!

[Lingen]

Robin.
I think "Alacrity" means that you should check that the crank case breather system is working. That comprises the hoses from the r/h cam cover to the carburettors,and should maintain a very slight vacuum in the crank case The quick way to check is to slowly remove the oil filler cap when the engine is ticking over. This should make the engine speed rise, and then it might stall. If it does, the system is working. If not, maybe those hoses are loose/perished/split, or the gauze filter inside the cam cover where the hose is attached, may be blocked. Also, there should be a small felt washer sealing the top of the engine dipstick.
Mike.

[Dean]

I have had this problem before and removed the gearbox and changed the crank seal 4 times( it had a speedy sleeve) I even ran the car without the gearbox then quickly removed the flywheel and watched it leak , I did rectify it by fitting a double lipped seal

[RobinLegin]

The oil level is too high. More than tadge over the mark. I suspect from what I have read this too could be causing over pressurisation of the sump and therefore oil leaks?

[MikeParker]

I don't believe that high oil level would cause high crank case pressure. As others have said, if you have standard Stromberg carbs, there should be a slight negative crankcase pressure as shown buy lifting the oil filler cap. I have had numerous oil leaks over the years. Key suspects are half-moon rubber seals on rocker covers, rocker cover gasket seals, oil pump leaks hopefully not head oil feeds (leak into V). The thing to bear in mind is that all these leaks end up as drops on the bottom of the bell housing. To find out where the oil is coming from, clean the engine meticulously, run it on ramps or a lift and use kitchen roll to wipe the engine and show up any "wet" areas. It is surprisingly difficult to see the oil run down the engine.

[Dean]

Mine turned out to be compression gasses from the bottom of the cylinder bores the tops where fine when the engine was rebored the bottoms had the wear

[Lingen]

Robin.
A bit too much oil would not be the cause of a leak. Certainly it has never caused any (extra) ones on on mine, on the several occasions when the level has been a good bit past the "Full" mark.
Neither could it cause "Pressurisation" of the crank case. As others have suggested, clean all the oil off, and watch for leaks from the usual places.
Mike.