transmission seal bore gouge, what do i do?

[guibo09]

do i discovered that the bore where the output transmission seal sits has a significant deep gouge across the width of the bore.

obviously, replacing the transmission housing is not an option. im thinking of using some engine gasket maker to fill the gouge and then more around the seal itself.

good idea?

[!kid]

do you have pics ? i would say find a buddy to weld it then clean it up as best as you can

[guibo09]

do you have pics ? i would say find a buddy to weld it then clean it up as best as you can

welding aluminium like that isnt easy at all, and it would require taking off the transmission...

no pics sorry. the gouge is about 1x1mm across the edge (from the rear of the car to the front)

[whiltebeitel]

Gasget maker is worth a try. Without pulling ther transmission apart, you don't have a whole lot of pretty options. JB Weld may work to fill the gouge if you clean it out really well.

[JGood]

I did the same thing. Used gasket maker and it seemed to work OK. Then I ran into a string of bad luck a few years later when I tried to replace the seal, I now have a total of 3 transmissions with new rear seals that still leak pretty bad. There's a whole thread about it somewhere on this forum. There was 3 other people local to me that also had rear main seals leaking after replacing the seal. There is either a secret trick to it, or there is something in the water in southeastern PA, haha. I've just been living with it, and top off the tranny every so often.

[guibo09]

yeah i think i will fill the gouge with jbweld and then use gasket maker

a link to that thead about leaking would be good too.

[JGood]

http://r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=86005&highlight=rear+main+seal

Won't be of much help. We just discussed how we tried different seals, different greases for the splines, different techniques, etc... and all had still leaking tranny's. I still get pissed off just thinking about it.

[nando]

smear curil K2 in the bore before you put your seal in. it's also supposed to go on the splines of the output shaft before you bolt it back together.

don't know for sure if that will work but it's worth a try. I know the damn thing leaked like crazy when I just used loctite on it.

[guibo09]

ok it's reinstalled. i filled up most of the gouge with jbweld, worked very well. the gouge is much less deep now. i then cleaned the bore real well, and apply engine gasket maker all around the seal (in the little grooves). made sure to pack it in nice and even all around. i carefully tapped the seal in with a large section of tube to make sure it went in straight and not too deep. i think it's an easy mistake to make.

as the seal went it, a nice even bead of gasket maker squeezed out from between the seal and the bore, i used a wet finger to even it out across the bore and the seal. i dont think anything is going to leak through there.

i then cleaned the splines real well on both the tranny and flange. applied a ton of gasket maker to the flange splines and pushed it on. went on without any tapping, slipped on like butter. again, a nice even bead of gasket maker pushed out. this time i left it there as it will get crushed and evened out with the nut flange.

tightened the nut down to 125ft-lbs, loosened and tightened again down to 100 ft-lbs. the only place i can see it leaking now is from between the output flange and the inner seal opening (where the spinning takes place). i dont really have any control over that.

[JGood]

the only place i can see it leaking now is from between the output flange and the inner seal opening (where the spinning takes place). i dont really have any control over that.

That's where mine leaks from.

[guibo09]

That's where mine leaks from.

yeah i dont know what you can do about that. if the runout and size of your flange is good, then there is only the seal quality to blame.

[JGood]

yeah i dont know what you can do about that. if the runout and size of your flange is good, then there is only the seal quality to blame.

Well, like what was mentioned in that thread, flange forward/rearward movement could be a possibility, or possibly even balance.

[guibo09]

Well, like what was mentioned in that thread, flange forward/rearward movement could be a possibility, or possibly even balance.

i dont believe that the flange has to be clocked for balance. it's a very small part, it would need quite a large unbalance to create a problem. in the official bmw service manual, clocking isnt mentioned at all.