Annoying leak..

[painterdave72]

I am now going on to my fourth transaxel seal on the drivers side.. it keep leaking... I have replaced the outer large oring on the differential nut and also the smaller oring on the axel shaft and also another new trans seal.. I have also sleeved my flange and the flange is a relatively new nos one from houston.. it still leaks. so much that it flings gear oil on the muffler etc.. I am at a loss. .i have done multiple ones of these in the past and never had a problem.. I have just ordered a new double lip seal to try and see if that will stop it.. the passenger side is bone dry.. I spoke to mike at dmcmidwest and he said to try cleaning the vent hole on top out.. I did that this eve.. also he said to check and make sure the inner oring on the shaft has not moved.. i will check that when i get my new trans seal..there is gear oil hanging off of the bolts that hold the axel to the flange even... if anyone has any suggestions they would be awesome! thanks ..Dave..

[David T]

I am now going on to my fourth transaxel seal on the drivers side.. it keep leaking... I have replaced the outer large oring on the differential nut and also the smaller oring on the axel shaft and also another new trans seal.. I have also sleeved my flange and the flange is a relatively new nos one from houston.. it still leaks. so much that it flings gear oil on the muffler etc.. I am at a loss. .i have done multiple ones of these in the past and never had a problem.. I have just ordered a new double lip seal to try and see if that will stop it.. the passenger side is bone dry.. I spoke to mike at dmcmidwest and he said to try cleaning the vent hole on top out.. I did that this eve.. also he said to check and make sure the inner oring on the shaft has not moved.. i will check that when i get my new trans seal..there is gear oil hanging off of the bolts that hold the axel to the flange even... if anyone has any suggestions they would be awesome! thanks ..Dave..


If the outer sealing surface on the output flange is scored or grooved it will continue to leak. Get a Redi-Sleeve over it. The other reason it could leak is if you messed up and loosened the bearing pre-load adjustment and the output shaft is not held centered by the bearing. To fix that you have to remove the transmission and reset the pre-load adjustment.
David Teitelbaum

[painterdave72]

I just put a speedi sleeve on it.. and the flange is not scored or grooved at all.. it is relatively new...and i dont think i messed up the setting.. i only turned the nut out four turns enough to take off and put a new oring on .. then turned it back the same amount and put the lock plate back on.. Dave..

[David T]

I just put a speedi sleeve on it.. and the flange is not scored or grooved at all.. it is relatively new...and i dont think i messed up the setting.. i only turned the nut out four turns enough to take off and put a new oring on .. then turned it back the same amount and put the lock plate back on.. Dave..

Not only must you count the turns you should also centerpunch a mark so you can return the nut to the exact same spot. Very rare for the "O" rings to leak and you do not have to remove the nut to change the seal so the best advice is to not touch that nut. Now that you have, and it leaks, you probably blew the adjustment and now that bearing is loose. The only way you are going to stop that leak is to disassemble the transmission and do the pre-load adjustment.
David Teitelbaum

[painterdave72]

I did not remove the nut.. i only turned it a few turns to get the oring out then turned it back.. i have done a few other cars the same way and never had a problem... Dave.. there is another local owner here that took it all the way out when he did his and it is perfectly fine.

[FABombjoy]

What did you do to prep the old flange before installing the sleeve?

I've been through 2 sets of sleeves. The first time I sleeved the flanges, I neglected to smooth / deburr the old flange, and the defects present in the flange were transmitted through the sleeve and compromised the sealing surface. It lasted for a few years before the drips came back. Last summer I removed the sleeves and smoothed out the imperfections in the old flanges, then installed a new set of sleeves.

The other trouble that I had was with the preload nut - I had removed mine to replace the large O-ring years before. Either there was a decent amount of play in the shafts before removing the nut, or the act of removing & reinstalling it doesn't quite get everything just as it was before. While it's most decidedly against the book procedure, I turned up tension slightly on the preload nut to dial out some of the wobble in the output shafts. Everything has been leak free since.

[David T]

What did you do to prep the old flange before installing the sleeve?

I've been through 2 sets of sleeves. The first time I sleeved the flanges, I neglected to smooth / deburr the old flange, and the defects present in the flange were transmitted through the sleeve and compromised the sealing surface. It lasted for a few years before the drips came back. Last summer I removed the sleeves and smoothed out the imperfections in the old flanges, then installed a new set of sleeves.

The other trouble that I had was with the preload nut - I had removed mine to replace the large O-ring years before. Either there was a decent amount of play in the shafts before removing the nut, or the act of removing & reinstalling it doesn't quite get everything just as it was before. While it's most decidedly against the book procedure, I turned up tension slightly on the preload nut to dial out some of the wobble in the output shafts. Everything has been leak free since.

This method of retightening the nut is not "by the book" but can work. The problem is, it is not easily repeatable and there is a big chance you will tighten too much or not enough. It takes a lot of experience to get it right if possible. Much easier to mark the nut first and then just put it back the way it was if you have to change the "O" rings. BTW, too tight won't show up for a long time but it WILL damage the bearings and possibly the crown and pinion gears.
David Teitelbaum

[FABombjoy]

Agreed. I only really tightened it by a few degrees.

Basically I just reinstalled the flanges, gave them a wiggle test by hand, tightened the nut some, and did another wiggle test until it was reduced just a tiny bit.

I also went through more seals than I care to admit. Every time I'd go to insert the new seal I'd end up distorting it.

In the end I was able to avoid using a seal insertion tool by rolling a thin bead of rtv along the outside of the seal. Found I could push them straight in by hand that way. This may only work with the double-lip seals as they are quite thick and will keep themselves centered in the case well. Single lip seals maybe not so much.

Alternatively, and old seal or sacrificial seal installed backwards on the flange makes a decent insertion tool. Put the new seal in place, line up the flange w/ the additional seal on it, and tap it home with a light mallet. A light mallet. If you use a heavy mallet, one very lucky hit can send the new seal into the case (on the nut side, at least).

This problem seems to happen often to the Esprit community so at least we're in good company.

[painterdave72]

I have nos flanges .. they were not scored up or pitted or anything.. i just went and checked it.. the car is up on a ramp on the drivers side and there is fluid hanging off of the bolts for the axle.. there is a little bit of slop on this side more so than the other side which is bone dry.. i put the differential nut back to where it was.. could i tighten it up by one notch?? I am also waiting for a new double lip seal to install by the end of the week hopefully.. dave