It’s an old heavy oil machine. Oil leaks are quite common. The driveway is littered with drops of sweating power from it. However this time the drops were more pressing because they were from the gearbox and constant. Topping up a gearbox isn’t difficult. It’s just a paint in the bottom. Jack up, wheel off, shit shields down. You get the picture. So any drips from this item need to be dealt with quickly.
Thankfully Citroën kept the seal in stock. A widely used part in many older and current cars meant with it being on the shelf, I had no excuse not to do it that weekend.
Striping Down
So to the workshop, and with the Berlingo on the CJ autolift, near side wheel removed and I could begin. A quick thumb through the Haynes manual and it seemed quite simple. All I had to do was remove the driveshaft of the offending side. Not that difficult surely? Yes it was or so it seemed. I didn’t help and to be honest I did make it a bit more difficult. You see I’ve been thwarted by the front suspension on this car before when after purchase, we discovered a broken front spring.
To get the strut out you need to force down the lower wishbone. I’ve had my fair share of swearing at an Old Fiat Tempra that needed this doing to it. Thankfully at the time I worked in a garage as a service manager so I had mechanics to hand who could do this job for me. I can be a lazy sod and can quite easily take the easy option.
With no such facilities to hand and wanting to save a few quid, around 2 hours labour time, I decided to give it another go. I’d cheat and remove bits around it. Quite simple when you look at it while sipping on a black coffee, 1 sugar and coming up with a plan. A plan that would fail.
This actually proved to be more hard work than forcing the wishbone down. And thanks to one single picture in the Haynes manual on page 8.2, I devised a way with a crowbar under the wishbone, balanced on the subframe and a small ratchet strap. Suddenly the lower ball joint was free from the strut and I was able to withdraw the driveshaft. It really wasn’t that difficult to do and needed far less forcing than I thought. Haynes rate the difficulty of this job as fairly difficult. I’d go with that.
Give Me A Reason
What I wasn’t told by Citroën was the original seal had been superseded by a new design. The internet threw a few spanners into the mix. The seal thankfully was right. Berlingo owners on the forum had previously posted details of the change. There was also a number of failed seals and stories as to why it failed. I began to worry a bit. This job was turning out to be not quite a ball ache but it wasn’t something I’d want to do on a regular basis.
No one was able to give a reason for the failure of the seal though some did report scratch marks on the surface of the driveshaft where it meets the seal. I can tell you I studied that surface closer than studying for my Uni finals. No marks were found.
Sealing
One thing I was taught when in the trade was to have the right equipment to hand. And this was red rubber grease. One thing you don’t want to do when replacing a seal is to cause it too much stress. A little lube can save a lot of screaming! Fingered in place, I used the old seal and a plastic mallet to tap the new seal home. This ensures equal pressure around the seal and prevents the surface being damaged by the hammer. Let the old part take the brunt of it.
And then there was the gearbox oil drama. I have no idea what happened to this oil but it didn’t smell like gearbox oil. It has an absolute rancid smell about it. This stuff on my shell had an unusual aroma and also slightly darker in colour. I’m sure it wasn’t used because it was still clear.
I just couldn’t chance this because removing this gearbox is not a fun job. I bought new oil in a sealed bottle and so far, 300 miles later, it is still dry under there.
However the good news can’t be expressed for the 2 year old, 7000 miles N/S track rod end from Fai. An advisory on its July MOT, was now beyond “slight play” or at least it felt like it. A new Delphi part has now been fitted so we shall wait and see what happens in 24 months time.