BE1 gearbox breather

[Tom Fenton 1,634]

Hi all

 

I’ve got a intermittent gearbox oil leak on my 1988 1.9 GTI with its BE1 box.

 

It feels like a leak from the shaft seals, but, if you clean it down and run it around the block

the area stays bone dry.

 

It only seems to leak after a prolonged drive at higher speeds, the box oil ends up all over the subframe as if it’s being thrown off the shafts/inner cv joint. If I thought it was the diff seals I’d just fit new, but I don’t think they are inherently leaking. They are 12 months/1500 miles old.

 

It feels to me as if the box isn’t breathing properly, when it gets hot on a longer run it’s pressurising inside and pushing oil out of the diff seals. 
 

On the BE3 boxes there is the big breather where the lift reverse cable goes at the top of a BE1 box. So my question really is, where does the BE1 box breathe from?

 

I’m tempted to put a circa 2mm hole down the side of the plunger plastic fitting to see if that helps. But would like to understand where it’s supposed to breathe from, if anyone knows.

 

Thanks

 

[welshpug 1,733]

on a 205 BE1 most will have the reverse detent cable screwed into the hole that a BE3 and 4 have as a breather.

 

the gti6 6 speed has an additional boss futher back on the main casing as well as the breather.

 

never had an issue with BE1 boxes not being able to breathe though, the cable isnt an air tight seal.

 

 

what type of seals do you have fitted?   and if the earlier style with the plastic teeth, are they set proud of the housing or flush?

[SRDT 240]

The early BE1 had no lift reverse cable and there was a breather on that spot. It is very likely that the lift reverse cable is also supposed to act as a breather because there is no trace of another breather before the BE3.

[Tom Fenton 1,634]

Thanks for the input guys.

I’m happy with the shaft seals as they are, I’ve done about 10 local steady miles since cleaning it all down and they are still dry as a bone.

It points back to my theory about the box not breathing as it gets hot.

So to try out my theory, I’ve had the reverse cable out this afternoon and drilled a 2mm hole through the plastic to the side of the cable. Let’s see if that makes a difference or not, it’s worth a try in my eyes anyway. 

[Leslie green 163]

I was thinking you could have drilled a hole in the oil filler plug  and tapped it for an airline fitting to allow a vent  which would be easy to plug back up if needed after with a new plug. Oil blows back onto the subframe as you drive so finding leaks isn't that easy , it could also be the o rings on the speedo cable drive , I never changed these and probably need to .

Edited July 19 by Leslie green

[ALEX 101 1 Cars]

There's a seal for the gear selector, have you changed that?

I've just changed mine with a off the shelf rotary oil seal 22mm ID 32mm OD 5mm thick.

 

[SRDT 240]

It's not from an official Peugeot document but maybe there is a lateral hole in the gear case to replace the breather.