Leak underneath clutch - help

Mike - It was leaking like a sieve...I'd get it fixed. Do you want to end up like Ernie?

 

Hmmm... strange indeed. I suppose you could just top off the brake fluid and keep a close eye on it. Its pretty impossible for an o-ring to "fix itself", so i'm now leaning more toward one of the bearing seals being bad. My theory is, its possible that one of the seals got cocked in there during a shift, and then re-seated during another shift. Maybe a fluke, maybe a warning sign of a bigger problem to come, and likely at a very inopportune moment.

Its just a theory, I could be totally wrong.

If it were me, I would probably have the bearing rebuilt and change all the o-rings and such, just for peace of mind. I seem to recall that Plugzit once told me he knew a guy who would rebuild the bearing for under $100.

 

Get in there and either get it changed or checked. Trust me when i say that when the seals or throwout casting bursts there is no warning, mine just went. The gears just go and your at the side of the road with my words ringing in your ears.
So take the leak as a very lucky pre warning.

 

A slight on your character never crossed my mind buddy.
When you see the cost for that H.E. upgrade (you have to upgrade the flange too) you may opt for the rebuild... a perfectly acceptable and responsible option. Yes, the TO bearing.

 

Even if that has occurred in the past to another car, you won't be able to determine the difference between a self-correction and the leak only having stopped because you ran out of fluid with which to leak.

If I were you, I'd still go full steam ahead with the investigation and fix if necessary once you know exactly what what happening.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

If you hold off, be very, very cautious. Keep a close eye on it. Don’t take it out for long drives. Check the fluids regularly, both brake and gear. If there was/is a leak, it will, will come back, soon…..

 

why not just pull it apart and replace the seals in the TO bearing. Contrary to popular opinion that is all that is needed in many cases. I had the same leak and found my TO and housing to be fine but a seal had torn. $30 in parts and it was fixed good as new. Repacked the flywheel and did the triple seals... under $200 including paying someone to disassemble repack and reassemble the flywheel. All the crap we know we will have to do soon is done in one shot. The alternative is waiting and pushing the clutch and it goes to the floor. Then you are stuck on the side of the road and spend more on the tow truck that the cost to freshen up the whole ass end of the car. Funny thing is you can do the whole job with nothing more than the tools in the Ferrari tool kit in the front of your car.

 

It seem like the seals for the throw out bearing (thrust bearing as the Brits say ) have had it. I say pull off the bumper remove the clutch housing and they have a good look at the trow out bearing, and slave cylinder. In side the the hole of the slave cylinder there are some o-rings that can god bad. That would be a fairly simple fix. All you would have to do is remove the bearing and the replace the seals inside. Another reason you want to remove the clutch/flywheel housing is to make sure that you don't have a throw out bearing that is about to have a blow out. It is not uncommon for the actual housing to split the back wide open. If you have hay happen you will loose your clutch completely and will have break fluid EVERYWHERE!

So, follow the instructions in the link Pap posted to get in there and see what's going on. But do just leave it go because your car is warning you that something is not right.

That's my nickels worth.

 

So long as you are careful to document everything, and remember where it goes, it's no harder to put it back together than it was to take it apart. Just take your time, don't rush, study things before you tear into them, and you'll be fine.

 

Not true at all Mike, you wont be dealing with any small parts or anything, what I like to do is put the hardware of each part removed into a ziplock bag and label it with a sharpie. Organization is the key, take your time and pay attention, and it'll go back together as easily as it came apart!

Remember, I never pulled the entire drivetrain out of a Ferrari before either, but I did it, and then put it back together 54 days later, inside of 8 hours, without a hitch OR any parts left over!! You can do it buddy, this is really not a big deal.

 

Mike - you're gonna need one of these (see below)...

Taking a wrench to your Ferrari the first time is definitely intimidating but it helps to have the Brotherhood on speed-dial. I was lucky enough to have Plugzit and 3forty8 in person for my first clutch job.
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Lol, nice one Rick!

 

LOL!

 

Any time Mike, any time.

I'm glad I could help.

 

You scored the Viking tin foil hat?!?! We need that for Saturday, good karma for sure!

Mike, just tear into that clutch pumpkin. You won't believe how simple it is until you are in there. These cars are just nuts and bolts like every other car.

 

PS I fyou have a spider or the single can exhaust you will not need to take the bumper off. I did mine with the bumper on. didn't even have to jack the car up. The muffler just slid out from under the car. Might work with the dual can exhaust as well but don't know for certain.

 

Yes, I have preserved the viking tinfoil hat -- hand-crafted (and originally worn) by FBB and mysteriously left in the passenger seat of my car during the Stooge Annual Maintenance affair. The horns have a 'concentrating' effect on the cosmic rays and prevent the aliens from interfering.

 

Yep yep. My car is a dual can system and I only removed the bottom muffler to access and remove the clutch pumpkin.

I wouldnt remove the rear bar Mike. Save yourself an hr and dont bother with it.