Thanks. The Colorado sky has to take some of the credit.
Thanks. The Colorado sky has to take some of the credit.
I'm still trying to reduce the oil leaks. The car reeked of gear oil after the last drive, so I took action.
It took maybe 2 hours total to get to this point, including sliding the exhaust mid-pipe forward. With the diff on the workbench, I'm not seeing a smoking gun. But the oil I've wiped off of the exhaust has that unmistakable smell of sulphur/hypoid oil. It could be gearbox oil coming out of the overdrive, but that doesn't smell as bad. The front seal is bone dry. I'll reseal the rear and side covers and see what happens.
On a positive note, there was almost no metal residue in the oil or on the magnetic drain plug. So I must have done something right.
It took me two weeks to get the diff cover off and resealed. Work is eating up all of my time. Now I just need to lift the diff back into place.
Happy to see you/your car pop back up. It's almost poetic that both of our blue, 6-cylinder Brits are under the knife for rear-end work.
I'm betting yours will be back on the road first.
AxeHealey said:I'm betting yours will be back on the road first.
I'm gonna try to reserve two hours this weekend for putting it back together, but maybe not. I had wanted to do some hot weather tuning too, but time is running out for that in Colorado.
I did manage 2.5 hours in the garage this morning. Getting the diff back up into place takes some careful lifting. A second jack came in handy to lift the pinion end over the frame rails where it could be moved forward. Driveshafts bolted up, I rehung the exhaust and sway bar, plugging the wideband sensor back up. Then I started it to check for exhaust leaks before dropping it down off the stands.
I should have paid more attention to the wideband gauge. When you disconnect the sensor, it automatically recalibrates, and it's supposed to be open air. Not a big deal as I think I can remove the sensor for calibration.
So how did I do. This was after a 10 mile drive and sitting in the driveway for an hour.
E36 M3 berkeley. Time to put some tracer in the diff oil. Or just pick up a big metal tray from Harbor Freight and learn to like the smell of burning hypoid oil.
Oof. This is what I'm expecting when I'm done as well.
Yeah, that's kinda rough.
At least the O² sensor was easy to remove for calibration. It ran pretty well yesterday without it, but I want to use the sensor for adjusting mixture as the temperature changes.
Sorry to see the continued leak.
Having a similar leak on mine definitely contributed my decision to go with the Nissan diff conversion in my car.
It looks like I made a bad call while the diff was out that the side seals weren't leaking. I put some oil leak tracer in the diff and drove 15 miles. The passenger side seal plate has a line of oil along the bottom seam. So oil must be getting past the seal or around the bearing. The good news is that the whole stub axle assembly can be removed without dropping the diff again.
That seems like a big win!
As mentioned in AxeHealey's Big Healey thread, I messed up a little. I pulled the leaky stub axle out of the diff and put it on the bench. Then I proceeded to try to remove the flange to get at the seal plate. That didn't budge with my small HF press. So I tried pulling the bearing off the other end of the axle not realizing there's a step to keep the bearing from sliding off that way. When I pulled too hard, something shot out of the bearing and I stopped trying.
It turns out things may not be so bad. I left the axle in the press with some mild pressure and soaking in PB Blaster, hoping for a miracle. Apparently that, time, proper lubrication and a goodly dose of berkeley it use more force did the trick.
What came off of the bearing was apparently a nylon dust shield. So maybe it's not completely hosed. I also can now see that the bearing is an SKF RLS9, and that's available off Amazon for $72.10 from one supplier. That has to be better than what's available from the usual suppliers for $16. Since it's fairly easy to extract, not counting removing the flange, I may put this back in with a new seal and some non-hardening sealant and see what happens. The bearing feels very smooth. There was definitely some oil migrating past the bearing casing and also out the tapered shaft keyway.
I ordered a new bearing after the previous post, and it just showed up yesterday. After work, the stub axle was reasembled with the new bearing. I decided to not replace the seal (an SKF) as that was doing its job and looks to be of better quality that what I got from The Roadster Factory. I did put some Hylomar in the keyway and around the end of the shaft to stop oil leaking out through the hub. The shaft was reinserted with a little RTV around the seal plate, which is really all I should have done in the first place.
This morning, the half shaft and exhaust were bolted back in and we took it out for at least 15 miles. The diff is absolutely dry so far, so I hope I'm done chasing my tail.
Yesterday, I drove the TR6 up to a tree farm almost 30 miles away on a somewhat curvy road. Most of this was at 65 mph, so the diff got a workout. I parked it, waited an hour, and the diff was bone dry. But then I noticed wetness under the front. Apparently, my 25 year old oil cooler has decided it's ready for retirement. Maybe it's not strictly necessary, but driving up slopes and at higher altitudes can heat things up. So now I'm looking for a replacement.
Is it still British if it doesn't leak SOME oil!?!
Glad to see it's coming together
In reply to Apexcarver :
Drips are fine, but puddles make me nervous. Plus, the hoses are also 25 years old. So it's time for replacement.
I've been looking at an oil cooler for for mine as well.
This is really embarrassing. I realized that I bought the oil cooler and lines 30 years ago. Damn, I'm old. Now I'm thinking I'll just get a spin-on filter adapter and delete the oil cooler. I originally bought it while restoring the other TR6 and was thinking about moving to Texas. That didn't happen after I got a job offer in San Antonio but it was 106 F outside leaving the interview. No thanks. Here in Colorado, it just isn't necessary, and I'm much more likely to autocross the Miata. So the oil filter adapter and some poly bushings for the rear trailing arms (to replace nylatron) will be ordered tomorrow.
No need to beat yourself up. You caught it before all your oil got dumped all over the highway.
That's what really counts!
I have a goal for next year. I'm going to meet my brother at the VTR Nationals next September in Indiana. We can just make it through Kansas in 9 hours (to visit friends) and finish the drive the next day in 7.
Hopefully I can do a few autocrosses next summer to knock off the rust and give the car a more local shakedown. It's been over 5 years since I killed cones.
My tires will also be over 6 years old, so it may be time for a fresh set next spring. Also, it's time to hit the dyno for some fine tuning.
Sweet! That sounds like a great goal.
In reply to JoeTR6 :
Time to Reunite your cars! I'm already booked, just haven't informed the wife yet.
In reply to TRSteve and JoeTR6:
Oh wow,some more TR6s for my TR3 to beat up on! No, really, I'll try to make it there myself and it would be great to meet you guys.
Time for an update.
Damn you, Colorado.
The new home is being built. We should be there by the end of May.
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