G303 HOL

Great stuff, Lee.

Keep me posted about the MOT.

A few drips and I think it is bellhousing related so no quick fix .It had seals aplenty last time .

.



I have pondered about whether or not to comment on this as I am sure Lee knows about this fault, and I don't want to be accused of undermining his undoubted knowledge of these cars, but I think, for the sake of those that are unaware of this leakage, I thought it might be of interest to them.
When I saw the above pic, it reminded me of what I found after I had a small oil drip from the bellhousing. This was many years ago when the Alp had done about 10000 miles. I had a word with the Renault Garage who informed me that it was quite common on these boxes.
I had the gearbox manual and with info from them, I found the oil seal which was causing the problem. But it is buried deep inside the gear box. So there was nothing for it but to remove the engine through the rear hatch, and then the gear box. Once it was out, I split the box in order to access the seal with no real problems. Also, I was advised to replace the tube which houses the first motion shaft out to the clutch, and also the "O" ring which is around the tube and pinched between a flange on the tube and the bellhousing.
It is a long and tedious job, but not to difficult, but you need the manual to get all the torques right, and you need to get the correct tubes of sealer for different parts.
It all went back together fine and it has not given trouble ever since. Interestingly enough, when I ordered the parts, I was told that the seal they were supplying was a modified one as there had been quite a few failures.
I did rather think, as there had been no comment on this, that they must have all been changed over the years as I undrestood they failed quite quickly after cars had been delivered to the customers.
Anyway, for what it is worth, below, there is a pic of the inside of the box where arrows point to the tube and seal. If you look carefully along the tube to where it meets the bellhousing, you will just see where the "O" ring fits.
I hope this is of interest to some.
John

Cheers Jon .Yes O ring was changed but for one out of a std set of rings .Did you notice any difference in the new Renault ring ,ie was it's cross section shaped or owt like that ? I suppose a good way back in time now .Shaft design change as well ?
You can see here were the ring goes ,flange on the tube traps it to the chamfer on the bellhousing .Can't think what they might have changed ,can only be diameters to give more seal .

.Did you notice any difference in the new Renault ring ,ie was it's cross section shaped or owt like that ? I suppose a good way back in time now .Shaft design change as well ?

Lee ..... The O ring was just a normal one, and the shaft was not changed. But I suggest that judging by your pic of the extent of the oil sprayed around the bellhousing, I do not think the O ring was the problem, as if it were then the leaking oil would have just come through into the bellhousing and trickled down the housing and exited out through the hole at the bottom.
But in this case, judging by the amount of oil sprayed around the housing, I am sure it has got passed the lip seal, travelled along the tube and dripped over the rotating clutch cover which flicked it all around the bellhousing as the pic shows.
Below is an exploded pic of the gearbox (lower shaft is UN1) which shows the O ring (30), the tube (29) and the lip seal (31)



You will notice the flare of the tube which actually seats into a moulding around the lip seal, and it is held there by pressure from the bell housing being bolted back on and the O ring against the flange on the tube and the chamfer in the housing.
When the lip seal leaks, that when it travels along the tube and onto the clutch cover.
Believe it or not, I kept my old lip seal ...... what for, I do not know ..... so below is a pic of it where you can see the "step" in the "rubber" moulding where the flair of the tube seats.



I think the trick is, when a gearbox is removed, check to see if there is any oil in the tube which exits into the bellhousing with the first motion shaft sticking out of it. If necessary, get a strip of "Paper wipe", and feed it into the lower part of the tube, leave it there for a while, then remove, ..... if there is any oil soaked into the wipe, then the seal is leaking to some degree ...... the inside of the tube should be dry. Conversely, should the outer part of the tube be oily, then I would suspect the O ring, but I really can't see the O ring ever being a problem as it is a passive seal squeezed up tight, and unlikely to be disturbed. ..... but in saying that, whenever the bellhousing is removed, the O ring should be replaced.
I hope all this makes sense.

John

Car feels lovely and taught now.
Steering is very precise and responsive.
Still firm ride but very comfy and rides over potholes much nicer than before.

Brakes are feeling very nice, too!

Thanks Lee!

Jon

Good stuff.

I agree on the top coat and the Zinga manuals says the same sort of thing and even longer lasting.

Colour: trying to decide between black and silver. I know black looks good... so, I think it's probably best to go for that.

I know this post is a bit late but yes it is best to put a top coat on Zinga - if you don't this could be the result (the picture is from a platform in the North Sea from only 1year in situ), and I do realise that an Alpine shouldn't end up in the North Sea.

I do realise that an Alpine shouldn't end up in the North Sea.

some I've seen must have been in storage there for a while tho