Bellhouse Leak

[fbnksrover]

Anyone familiar with a bellhouse leak on a series II Rover? What the problem may be and what part to check/replace? I don't have the technical skills to rip out a transmission and pull it apart, so looking for some indicators that may require a little less time and money.

[albersj51]

It could be the rear main seal on the engine. Also, it could be leaking elsewhere and just pooling/ dropping from the bellhousing.

[busboy]

If it's engine oil it has to be the rear crankshaft seal, if it's gear oil it has to be the front gearbox seal, if it's clutch fluid then it's the slave cylinder. Check the level of the clutch master cylinder, if it's down that will be the problem, they are cheap and easy to replace don't bother with a kit if it's not the clutch slave then it will require a lot of work.

[I Leak Oil]

The SII\IIa transmission doesn't really have a front seal so they seem to alway weep a little. As others have said though it's not uncommon to have a leaking rear main seal too. Sometimes they can go for a long time and not get worse, sometimes they just blow!

Check your motor oil level and gear box levels often and see which one(s) you have to top up more frequently. This may indicate what is leaking into your clutch housing.

[stomper]

I agree with everyone here and their suggestions. I would, as a hope/pray suggestion, check the oil pressure gauge line if you have a mechanical oil pressure gauge in the dash.

I had my line desintigrate behind the engine, and it caused motor oil to drip onto the bell housing, and down the side. I did have a rear main seal leak also, but this oil pressure line was causing a significant amount of oil loss.

[ArlowCT]

We have had two oil pressure lines fail on trucks. Both were braided stainless lines and both times ended up having issues with the engine not being grounded well enough. I now use nylon tubing so it can not act as a ground for the engine. It is truly amazing how quickly the motor can pump its self dry with a busted pressure line!

[slorocco]

I agree with busboy as far as the three possibilities. If it's engine oil it could also be coming from a head gasket or valve cover leaking down the back side.

[fbnksrover]

Crap.

Looks like I am going to have to replace the dual master cylinder to fix the brake problem as well. Any advice on buying Genuine Rover Parts versus the Proline series? Also, I'm a newbie, so just curious how much time/level of skill is required to replace the master cylinder? The Haynes manual makes it look pretty easy, but I've never done it.

I'll take a look at the leak later.

Thanks for the advice.

[stomper]

I've done one in a campsite in about an hour. Not hard at all.

[fbnksrover]

Is there a correlation between the master cylinder and slave cylinder? If i change the master do I need also to change the slave cylinder?