Really close to closing the deal on Robbie's car He mentioned that the only miniscule leak on the car was the shift sahft seal - said it was common on 328's and not to bother to fix. I hadn't heard of this and trust what he is saying but just wanted to know if anybody can shed some light on this thing? thanks
According to my mechanic, it's pretty common. My mechanic said it was about $500 job to remove the rod, and to replace the rubber seal. It just wears over time; after all these cars are approaching 20 years. Since it was only leaking a few drops, he said don't worry about it - oil is cheap.
A leak can only get worst but never better so if you can fix it or have it fix, by all means do it. Plus think about the posibilities of that oil hitting the ex manifold, it may cause fire. So I'll spend the $500 now its worth the peace of mind than spending more later after it caues bigger amount of damage, IMO.
lizard, Depends on which shift shaft seal leaks. If it's the outside seal that causes oil to leak on the floor, perhaps it could be left alone. If it's the shift shaft seal going from the oil pan into the gearbox, then it definitely needs to get fixed. Motor oil leaks into the gearbox, overfilling the gearbox, causing oil to overflow out of the weap hole and get all over the rear of the engine and exhaust. It happened to me but got it fixed a few months ago. Both are common problems with this car, so it isn't unique to the car you are looking at. Good luck.
Same seal, same duty, same life. If the exterior seal is leaking you can expect the interior one to be leaking at about the same rate.
Mine leaked internally. I had it fixed because my mechanic told me to, and it wasn't terribly expensive. What really alarmed me was when I checked the oil in the motor and it was almost dry! The broken seal allowed the motor oil to drain down into the gear box. (i think he said gear box) If I remember correctly he told me that motor oil does not have the same properties as gear oil and eventually could break down in there. It could cause a problem over time. He did say it was very common.
