About to strangle mechanic

Cuchulain · 13 Mar 2014 at 14:59

Paid to have the clutch replaced on wifes car, pretty much as soon as we got it back I noticed clear fluid patches on the drive. Turns out he never changed the driveshaft seals and now suddenly, after him wrestling the new clutch in the nearside seal's leaking! Unlucky coincidence that I should suck up and pay for him to fix or should I excerpt pressure on his windpipe until he agrees to finish the job we originally paid for?

Dogbreath · 13 Mar 2014 at 16:32

It's highly unlikely to be a coincidence since the driveshafts need to be removed to get the gearbox out. He has probably damaged the seal getting the driveshaft back into the diff.

GeX · 13 Mar 2014 at 20:08

Clear fluid? Clutch / brake fluid is clear, gearbox oil isn't.

tigerstyle · 13 Mar 2014 at 20:45

GeX said:
Clear fluid? Clutch / brake fluid is clear, gearbox oil isn't.

It can be when new. Very slight yellow tinge to mine.

Matt82 · 14 Mar 2014 at 11:27

Correct, its clear if new, but would it be clear on a car old enough for a clutch change?

Either way, i wouldnt expect to have to change seals as a given when getting the shafts out unless its a known issue with those cars

ci_newman · 14 Mar 2014 at 11:29

Well if the clutch has been changed then the gearbox oil would have been drained and replaced too..

GeX · 14 Mar 2014 at 19:59

ci_newman said:
Well if the clutch has been changed then the gearbox oil would have been drained and replaced too..

Totally depends on the box and how it was removed.

pepsilol · 14 Mar 2014 at 20:21

How much did you pay for the labor?

Banny · 14 Mar 2014 at 20:43

Should change the seals when you remove driveshafts anyway once you pull them they are not the same again.

zipp0r · 14 Mar 2014 at 20:58

ci_newman said:
Well if the clutch has been changed then the gearbox oil would have been drained and replaced too..

i undid the cv boots when i changed my clutch

andy_mk3 · 15 Mar 2014 at 22:11

Never heard of changing driveshaft seals with a clutch.

Banny · 16 Mar 2014 at 00:05

You do if it is FWD I did a 206 recently and had to pull driveshafts and if you do that you should change the seals just to be sure.

GeX · 16 Mar 2014 at 00:57

Or you can remove the inner CV boot, disengage the spider from the diff cup and assuming the CVs aren't lubricated by the gearbox oil you can carry on without draining the oil.

Totally depends on the box.

andy_mk3 · 16 Mar 2014 at 01:06

I've done no end of clutches, got a level 3 NVQ, worked with people with lots of experience and master techs, at no point has anyone ever mentioned replacing drive shaft seals. I agree it's a good idea to change them while it's apart but I have never ever seen any get replaced with a clutch.

And personally I'd rather pull the shafts out and drain the box oil. How often does the gearbox oil really get changed on cars? I get the majority will have the original oil in there until the clutch is done. And I'd much rather pull the shaft than start messing about with CV joints.

zipp0r · 16 Mar 2014 at 01:26

Banny said:
You do if it is FWD

no you dont.

GeX said:
Or you can remove the inner CV boot, disengage the spider from the diff cup and assuming the CVs aren't lubricated by the gearbox oil you can carry on without draining the oil.

Totally depends on the box.

that's what i did. saves messing about

Banny · 16 Mar 2014 at 08:15

On psa engined cars you have to take the other shaft out to get box off, you can't get away with splitting CV.
Anyway it was only suggestion didn't want to get into rights and wrongs of it all, everyone does it different, I just think it is good practice on my own vehicle to pull shafts and as Andy sais also change the box oil while you have the chance.

kaiowas · 16 Mar 2014 at 10:38

I love the setup on the mr2. The driveshaft is bolted to a separate stub axle at the gearbox end so removing the shaft is just a matter of unbolting it, no need to muck around with any of the greasy/oily bits.