Help required - K series 1.6 Engine

Help required - K series 1.6 Engine

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willmac

Original Poster:

1,784 posts

171 months

Saturday 20th August 2011
quotequote all
Hi All,

Have just purchased a 1.6 Academy 2002 model, with 1.6 K series engine ( 5 speed gearbox ). I was just giving it the once over as I have booked a track day at Oulton Park on Wednesday 24th.

Unfortunately appear to have found a leak from gearbox, although very small weep, bit worried about it. Coming from seal where drive shaft exits as per photo below. Is this going to be a deal breaker for my track day you reckon ? I am assuming it is a gearbox out job to repair ? Also where do I check the gearbox oil level ?


Also just wonder what this connection is on side of gearbox as per photo below ?



Any responses will be much appreciated
Thanks

CharlesElliott

2,050 posts

289 months

Saturday 20th August 2011
quotequote all
None of this is a major issue. The tail seal leak is not uncommon, but you are right in that you will really need to remove the box to fix it if it is a problem for you (can't remember if you can remove the prop by removing the diff only, but that in itself is a lot of work).

The other picture you have is of the speedo drive - i.e. the thing that connects to the speedo to tell you how fast you are going.

To check the oil level you can do it in one of two ways. Remove the oil filler plug on the side of the box and fill it until oil starts coming out - but it is a pain to get at. The other is to undo the top plate of the box and when you look down inside you can just about see the filler plug so you can top up the oil until it just reaches the bottom of the filler plug. The only thing to watch out for here is that when you replace the lid, make sure it is down square before you tighten the bolts as it is possible to tighten it without it sitting flat and then distort the lid.

If the leak is slight, I doubt you have a lost a noticeable amount of oil anyway.

willmac

Original Poster:

1,784 posts

171 months

Saturday 20th August 2011
quotequote all
CharlesElliott said:
None of this is a major issue. The tail seal leak is not uncommon, but you are right in that you will really need to remove the box to fix it if it is a problem for you (can't remember if you can remove the prop by removing the diff only, but that in itself is a lot of work).

The other picture you have is of the speedo drive - i.e. the thing that connects to the speedo to tell you how fast you are going.

To check the oil level you can do it in one of two ways. Remove the oil filler plug on the side of the box and fill it until oil starts coming out - but it is a pain to get at. The other is to undo the top plate of the box and when you look down inside you can just about see the filler plug so you can top up the oil until it just reaches the bottom of the filler plug. The only thing to watch out for here is that when you replace the lid, make sure it is down square before you tighten the bolts as it is possible to tighten it without it sitting flat and then distort the lid.

If the leak is slight, I doubt you have a lost a noticeable amount of oil anyway.
Thanks very much for the info Charles, much appreciated.
Feel a bit of a dunce now regarding the speedo drive, but I suppose you have to learn sometime !

Will have another look at gearbox leak tomorrow, and check the level. But it is certainly a very minor weep at the moment at least.
Thanks again

grenpayne

2,018 posts

169 months

Sunday 21st August 2011
quotequote all
I had this exact leak on my car very recently. It was fixed by Caterham under warranty but they said if it was just a few drips not to worry as it would not affect the oil level and the car could be driven with no ill effects. Obviously it will need to be fixed at some point though.