Gentlemen The old girl(86 328 GTS) has developed an oil leak that is apparently seeping out of the lower vent area of the bellhousing. BTW, I have had a new clutch installed within the last one hundred miles. It is a fair amount of oil. It developed just today. Would the possible cause be a seal of some type. Hoe much would be involved in the remedy. The car has never had a leak of any type. I have got to beleive that the problem is associated to the clutch replacement. Any thoughts?
(Assuming that by "oil" you mean engine oil and not gearbox oil) Replacing the Rear Main Crankshaft Seal would be part of a complete "clutch job" IMO so it's a tough one for the shop either way. If they did replace the rear main seal as part of the clutch work, it's now got a problem, or if they didn't replace the rear main seal, they did a quickie clutch job (so I hope the fee charged reflected that) -- was any itemization given regarding what was or wasn't replaced?
Had the same problem on my 328 for a couple of thousand km's and eventually had to change the clutch due to oil contamination. Turned out to be leaking O-ring(s) between crank case and adapterplate, not the crankshaft seal. Had them as well as the clutch replaced - problem solved.
The invoice simply says replaced engine seals. There is no mentioning of which seals or o'rings. The leak is definitely engine oil. My guess is that someone owes me a repair due to their negligence. I seem to only have a problem with this car when it returns from the shop. Quite a phenomena.
Sorry to hear that - first step must of course be to approach the shop and have them make your car oil leak free. Second step could be to find somebody else to work on your car.
"My guess is that someone owes me a repair due to their negligence" -- with that documentation (and probably a ~$coupleK original price) I agree.
one other thought on this 18 year old car - did you recently change it out with synthetic oil? that can cause the old grime to clean up and oil will pour out everywhere. it is doubtful, but I have to ask - or the shop could have done so. but what it seems to come down to is the rear main seal leaking.
Returned car to shop. O' ring was the problem. Shop ordered main seal and o'rings. Will be complete middle of next week. Shop was very good about repairing their problem without an issue. Really weird event. Ran into an F1 360 on 94 into Michigan. The driver showed great restraint and respect for the law. Too bad! Could have been fun.
OK, Now I am ticked off! The car was finished today. I brought it home. It drove fine. Oil was leaking from the same place. I called the shop. I will leave them nameless at this point. They said that the seal must have moved or pulled in. I am not sure what they are talking about. They mentioned that they let the seal or o'ring set over night. Any ideas? This repair facility is 100 miles away. This a pain!
Schatten: You're WAY off base here. Zillions of us have switched to synthetic on older cars. It's widely recognized within the ENTIRE F-community to not be a problem. In fact, many/most synthetics have certain additives to soften seals just in case you have some older, hardened seals. I'm driving a 1975 vintage car that is completely dry using Mobil 1. It's not an issue. Quit trying to spread bad information. This is a horse that has been beat beyond death. Check the archives before speaking up!