Hi all, up until a few days ago this leak seemed to be quite small and the odd drop on the driveway. only visible just where the bellhousing meets the engine. Now it has got quite bad and every time I park for a few minutes there's a small pool of oil underneath the car. The oil is also being thrown down the underneath of the car as you can see. It's spreading on the exhaust. Would I be looking at main engine seal behind the dual mass flywheel? Or is it possible it could be something easier to get at? It's a Fiat Doblo 1.9. Multijet 2008

Looks pretty much like the crank shaft seal as you question/suggest.

Could possibly be the gearbox input drive shaft seal but this would normally spill clean oil not polluted with combustion products.

What you can do is get a view onto the top of the gearbox bell housing. You might find a rubber plug (5cm by 3cm approx) which you can remove. You will then be able to see the clutch side of the flywheel and clutch cover plate. If this is clean and dry then it is not the gearbox shaft seal (well highly unlikely).

Ahh, so gearbox off and dual mass. The car has done 97k so I'd change the clutch kit. Do you think it would be necessary to change the Dmf due to it being contaminated with oil?

Thanks for reply!

The DMF won't really be too bothered by oil however you have to take it off to get to the crankshaft seal so at 97k you just might as well change/replace it while you are there.

Would be a shame to put new seal, clutch assembly, thrust bearing in and then at a later date have to replace the DMF.

Also a full kit of DMF, clutch, thrust bearing will probably cost less than buying the parts separately.

So I'm reading that there could be two different Clutches on the Doblo depending on the dmf but with me going to change the dmf will it matter which one I get? so let's say if I get a valeo dmf and a clutch that fits to the valeo dmf that should be ok regardless of what dmf is on the car now or does it have to be valeo e.g. or LUK depending on the engine code... any ideas anyone?

I would first use ePER on this site to look up the clutch, dmf, etc. part numbers that Fiat specify. You will need to enter your Model Type and S/N or your full VIN.

Once you have Fiats OEM numbers then Valeo / Luke / others should be able to validate/confirm that their product is the correct one for your vehicle.

So I managed to get the parts, Valeo clutch kit £76,dmf valeo £162,genuine fiat Crank seal £17 and gear box seal Febi£5, cheaper than I was expecting. I've been waiting for the rain to stop as I'll have to do it on the drive!
Anyway, with the forecast showing endless rain I gave up and it's going in local garage on Monday ?, £200 to do the job. I'd rather do the work myself but with the gear box oil at £12 a litre and it just throws it out! I figured that was the best option given no let up in the rain for the foreseeable future.

The Doblo went in for the work today. About 10.30 I get a call from the mechanic, major problem, the gearbox has 3 holes in it and that's where the oil has been leaking from! I managed to find a second hand box to replace it, £200. The machanic fits the parts, gearbox on, goes for test drive, popping out of third gear....!

This is not what I would wish on anyone.

If your mechanic is any good then he now has two gearboxes. Jumping out of gear is a completely different problem to holes in the casings. Component/casing exchanges would be the next step.

What puzzles me about your original oil leak problem is that I've not come across holes in the casing in the bell house area. You took pictures of oil emanating from the lower bell housing to engine interface?

Would be interesting to know exactly where these holes were?

s130 said:

This is not what I would wish on anyone.

Would be interesting to know exactly where these holes were?

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I echo the above sentiments - internal gearbox problems are often complicated, difficult and expensive to sort out. Even if you have the knowledge and tools to have a go yourself one of the big problems you face at home is how to get the whole thing properly clean. I'm talking about metal residue here which is nearly always present due to normal wear and tear and operator abuse (crashed gear changes for instance). You really need to get it cleaned out in a hot chemical bath for best results. At one time smaller VAG gearboxes had their crown wheels riveted to the diff carrier and these rivets would occasionally work loose. The head would then gently mill it's way through the inside of the gearbox casing inside the bell housing. First you knew of it was when gearbox oil (which smells sulphury so you can usually tell if it's gear oil or engine oil by sniffing it - not sure if this still holds true for fully synthetic though?) started leaking out the bottom of the bell housing. Nasty shock when, after removing the gearbox you found it wasn't just a leaking 1st motion shaft seal!

Please do let us know about your holes? a picture would be great if you can manage it.

Thanks for replies! I'll get some pics of the holes. Two on top of the bell housing, so not visible from underneath or above because of battery etc. The oil was coming through a hole which was right where the near side drive shaft enters the box.
The mechanic recons that who ever replaced the starter motor dropped something in (previous owner job) and either they didn't realise or........
The gearbox was from a gearbox repair shop and they are going to swap the casing from the 'new' one to my old box, free of charge. Still have to pay mechanic another £200 to swap the boxes.
All in all the whole thing has cost £900! for what i thought was an oil leak.

Did you change the clutch pack and DMF?

varesecrazy said:

Did you change the clutch pack and DMF?

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Yes. Valeo £238 all parts

Finally sorted the gearbox out. Here are pics of the holes in the old one

jon67 said:

Finally sorted the gearbox out. Here are pics of the holes in the old one

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WOW! Can't think of anything else much to say - except thanks for posting the pictures.

Didn't you hear anything? Something has obviously gone a few rounds with the flywheel/clutch cover assembly. Could well have been a bolt or large nut as you say dropped when the starter was changed?

Well I see in the picture that the timing window in the top of the bell housing does not have it's rectangular rubber plug in place.

If that has been missing during normal motoring use then it is the only and most likely entry point for FOD (foreign object debris) into the mixing machine. The mass of the flywheel and strong clutch cover plate steel (3mm+ thick and shaped/formed for strength) would certainly bash the hell out of the fragile gearbox alloy material.

Brb, checking the condition of my clutch hose rubber plug.