oil in boot around shifting coupler

[PooShee]

I have been getting familiar with my new purchase 1985 3.2L and tackling my biggest issues with it first and slowly.

It has an aftermarket short shift and I think the syncros may be wore but wanted to start with simple fixes before having someone convince me I need a rebuild.

So have decide to start by ordering and replacing the bushings and possibly a factory short shift from our host to see if that improves things a bit

I couldn't decide to just order bushing for the rear coupler or just replace it. (101 projects says these may be difficult to replace) So I pulled off the rear panel to look at the coupler. To my surprise there was a table spoon of oil in the boot!



anyone with similar experience?

should I just replace the bushings or the whole thing?

[DRACO A5OG]

Send your coupler to the Coupler Whisperer, you will not regret it.

As far as the oil, it could be two things:

1. Reverse Light Switch may be fractured and leaking into the boot.

2. Shifter Shaft seal at the gear box nose.

Hopefully it is the reverse switch. You can raise the front end as high as it will go safely and remove and replace the switch if it is leaking.

The seal, you will need to drop the engine and gear box. Sorry :-(

Jim

[PooShee]

Originally Posted by DRACO A5OG

Send your coupler to the Coupler Whisperer, you will not regret it.

As far as the oil, it could be two things:

1. Reverse Light Switch may be fractured and leaking into the boot.

2. Shifter Shaft seal at the gear box nose.

Hopefully it is the reverse switch. You can raise the front end as high as it will go safely and remove and replace the switch if it is leaking.

The seal, you will need to drop the engine and gear box. Sorry :-(

Jim

oh oh, that sucks...will have to take a look as see where it is coming from. There is only oil in the boot and none staining anywhere else. The clutch cable was just replaced before I bought it...

Bentley says there is a "selector shaft seal" that can be replaced without a drop, however the "input shaft seal" required a drop...

will have to look and see.

[Tidybuoy]

my trans has been leaking oil for a while. Since I am working on a project, I have the engine & trans out of the car. As the trans has been sitting in the garage (now all clean), it has a small puddle of oil leaking from the input shaft. I ordered the part from Pelican for $6 and it was a 5 minute swap. No more leaking. I also changed the seal at the speedometer cable (mine is cable, yours may be electric).

I would say that if you can remove the coupler and have just the input shaft exposed, as long as you have 1/2 inch of space at the end of the input shaft, you can replace while still in the car. You will need some type of "plastic" tool that you can tap the new seal into place. I used a piece of PVC pipe on mine (but I had lots of room).

[74-911]

The seal can be replaced without dropping the engine/transmission. It is a pain but certainly less pain than dropping the engine:

Shift Rod Seal R & R

[javadog]

Originally Posted by PooShee

Bentley says there is a "selector shaft seal" that can be replaced without a drop, however the "input shaft seal" required a drop...

The selector shaft seal is the one to look at. The input shaft seal is on the other end of your transmission and is not your problem.

I would recommend putting a stock shifter back into the car if you have shifting problems. Short shifters make any problems seem worse.

JR

[PooShee]

Originally Posted by 74-911

The seal can be replaced without dropping the engine/transmission. It is a pain but certainly less pain than dropping the engine:

Shift Rod Seal R & R

great write up.
Thanks, man.
Gonna order form host and find some time to do this.
Will keep you posted.

[McLaren-TAG]

I've got a little weeping there and would like to address it over the winter. Is this the correct part? 999-113-185-40-M30

[74-911]

Originally Posted by PooShee

great write up.
Thanks, man.
Gonna order form host and find some time to do this.
Will keep you posted.

You just have a small leak so plenty of time to procrastinate...

The only caveat: once you start trying to remove the old seal, there is no going back as it will leak like the Exxon Valdez. You are definitely committed.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[Dave Colangelo]

My guess is the rod seal. Just a word of warning this could be from the short shift kit. A great deal has been said about this and a search here will reveal it but the main point is that some think the short shifter wears out your transmission faster as it allows you to apply more force and possibly shift farther than the stock shifter allowed.

Regards
Dave

[74-911]

Originally Posted by McLaren-TAG

I've got a little weeping there and would like to address it over the winter. Is this the correct part? 999-113-185-40-M30

That be it.

[PooShee]

Originally Posted by 74-911

You just have a small leak so plenty of time to procrastinate...

The only caveat: once you start trying to remove the old seal, there is no going back as it will leak like the Exxon Valdez. You are definitely committed.

Good luck and keep us posted.

holy shnikee's that's so good to know...the books never point the small little caveats out, do they.

the interior is pristine, i cringe at the tought of an oil spill disaster...

[PooShee]

Originally Posted by 74-911

That be it.

hey where in Texanistan are you...I am in Fort Worthabad.

[lespaul]

I have done this with and without the engine out. For what it is worth, I would drop the engine if I had to do it again.

a) Much much easier

b) Job will be done right without scarring the shifter tube in the transmission with sharp tools and hooks while trying to extract the seal

c) You will have the opportunity to clean up a bunch of other stuff while the engine is out

Finally, might want to check the shape of the hole through which your shift rod passes. Is it round (should be) or ovoid/triangular (bad). On the off chance it is ovoid, it could be the cause of leaking oil since the shaft has been banging against the hole. This is caused by someone transporting the car with engine out but tranny in and unsecured. If the hole is ovoid, your rod may be bent. If bent, I was able to bend mine back straight without tearing down the transmission and can send you a link to how to do that.

Good luck.

[74-911]

Originally Posted by PooShee

hey where in Texanistan are you...I am in Fort Worthabad.

For 40+ years I swore I would never live within 100 miles of Houston and yet here I are considerably closer than that... originally from small town in Abilene area and heading back that way next week for 50th HS reunion.. time do fly.

Ft. Worthabad a much better place to live than Dallastan me thinks.

[PooShee]

Originally Posted by 74-911

The seal can be replaced without dropping the engine/transmission. It is a pain but certainly less pain than dropping the engine:

Shift Rod Seal R & R

The parts are about to arrive this week.

Was this procedure done on your '74...I have an '85 and it seems like it would not be possible from underneath as the tunnel is covered.

Anyone done this on '84-87?

[74-911]

Originally Posted by PooShee

The parts are about to arrive this week.

Was this procedure done on your '74...I have an '85 and it seems like it would not be possible from underneath as the tunnel is covered.

Anyone done this on '84-87?

Yes the procedure was on the '74. Not really familiar with the 84-87s but didn't think there were any differences with the 915 setup ?

[PooShee]

This is the selector shaft seal !?
People are dropping the engine tranny to replace this little thing?
I am wondering if I ordered the wrong part...

[kshafer1]

I recently replaced that seal. I did not drop the transmission.

Here are a few links I had saved up prior to doing this:

Replacing the 915 shift shaft seal - in the car - painlessly
Shift Rod Seal R & R
Shift Shaft Seal in 915 Removal
915 Shift Coupler Leak???
Shift Rod Selector Seal - I screwed it up

[PooShee]

Different thread same issues...genius
I have a weekend project lined up but if I have any major issues this seems like a good Macgyver move


A few years ago mine started leaking. Not a lot but enough to be worrying.
So as a temporary fix I cut an old bicycle tube to the right size and slid that over the shifter rod and alloy housing.
Taped and zip tied in in place and drove it LEAK FREE for about 3 years...
(Make sure it's a bit longer than it has to be so it doesn't bind and interfere with shifting.)

I finally fixed the problem properly after I had to replace my gearbox because the differential had failed.