ardiesse wrote: ↑Tue Dec 12, 2017 10:00 am
Joe,
The wobbly clutch fork pivot ball problem may be -
-it's just loose.
-the thread on the pivot ball stud's stripped, or
-the thread in the throwout bearing slide/input shaft retaining housing is stripped.
Either way you won't need a new gearbox case, but the gearbox will have to come out.
The oil leaks are a more serious concern. In my time of getting old Holdens blue-slipped, it has been useful to take the workshop manual along. Because if the garage doesn't have much experience with old Holdens, they always want to fail the car because of oil leaks at the timing case oil seal/rear main bearing oil seal/front of gearbox/transverse selector shaft oil seal/rear extension housing oil seal/diff pinion oil seal. And in all these places, the manual says "An occasional drop of oil is normal and does not warrant further attention."
Cure the easy oil leaks first. How's your oil filler cap gasket? If your oil filler cap is loose, it'll leak oil, which then drips off the motor at the bottom of the bellhousing, mimicking a leaking rocker cover, pushrod cover or rear main bearing oil seal.
Oil filler cap gasket: 2.3" OD, 1.6"ID (a 1-1/4" socket is just about perfect), cut two pieces from 2.5 mm cork gasket sheet.
To check the timing case oil seal, wipe the bottom of the timing cover clean under the seal, then run the motor for a few minutes. Run your finger under the timing gear cover. If your finger's dry, the leak's elsewhere, but if your finger comes up oily, the timing case oil seal needs replacing. You've got the grille off, so replacing the timing case oil seal isn't that major a job. Check that the timing cover bolts are tight anyway.
Do the "newspaper test" on your rear main bearing oil seal, after degreasing the engine and gearbox (and maybe even replacing the rocker cover and sideplate gaskets). How fast does it leak? All it has to do is not leak (too much - see note above) while it's being inspected.
Rob
Thanks for all this Rob!
Indeed, whatever's up with the pivot pin and the very out-of-whack clutch fork, the box is coming out.
I spent the last few weekends diagnosing the leaks properly. Flushed engine oil (just using oil, not additives) and a big old degrease then ran the car up and down the back lane a bunch of times to see what gives.
Completely dry down to the sump gasket. No smoke out the exhaust and no crazy blow by from the tube or cap.
Oil pressure switch slow leak.
Timing case seal so bad it runs back under the sump and drips on the drag link! More of a waterfall than a leak.
Rear main stayed dry until I turned the car off then it dumped a puddle. Since then, it now drips reguarly while running, takes a while to stop when it's shut down.
My 'Blue Slip Guy' (every early Holden owner in NSW has one, right?) is sympathetic to the vagaries of early Holden drips and drops, but I can already hear the Exxon Valdez jokes he'd be making if I showed up with this thing. So being as the bonnet's off, rad support and grille yet to go back in, I figure I'm gonna lift the driveline in one hit and get to work on the lot. Beats separating the box from the motor in situ I say.
The Grey from my old sedan looks to have had major attention (if not a complete overhaul) shortly before it was decommissioned back in 1999. I've kept it oiled and turn it over regularly since I got it in 2012, will set up a test rig and comp test both motors out of the car and then partly pull down the better one for closer inspection. I already have a gasket set in my stock. I also have three crashboxes to work with. Feeling optimistic that I'll get a decent driveline together for minimal $$