I expose the problem: the mechanic noticed and showed me that the seal/ring between the transfer box and the manual gearbox on my MY2003 2.5 X-Type leaks a bit. Since it involves a lot of work hours from the mechanic (10-12 hrs according to him), he advised me to change the most possible parts to avoid paying for such a big job later. then I need some advice on which ones are useful, please!
I've made a list and wonder if the following (expensive) pieces are useful :

• flange nut (CSC2S11360 C2S4900) - around 500 € ;
• sealant wax (C2S 12099) - around 300 €, which according to the workshop manual is needed when changing the transfer box oil, but the mechanic never made me pay for this when I pay for the yearly oil change (along with engine oil) ;
• flywheel - around 300 €, the mechanic told me it isn't needed to change it but I know it's usually recommended to change it along the clutch system.

Another question is about bolts and screws : do I need to change all of them or can I keep some ? It's not a money-related question since these aren't that expensive but some of these aren't available at the usual dealers (SNG Barratt, British Parts or David Manners Group) but I can get these through the dealership or Jaguar Classic Parts.

For information, here are the two diagrams involved for reference !
https://www.sngbarratt.com/fr/#!/Fra...tegoriesAnchor
https://www.sngbarratt.com/fr/#!/Fra...-MANUAL-PETROL

Another point : the transfer box works well but would a change of the bearings with a kit like this one : https://www.ebay.fr/itm/JAGUAR-X-TYP...T/113075121162 be useful?

To sum it up: I don't want to spend money on useless expenses but I'm ready to spend it on keeping my X-Type in good shape for more years.

Many thanks in advance !

 

Up ! I'm quite confused with it.

 

SolarWinds, I am not sure who your mechanic is, but I think that he is taking you for a big ride and trying to get all your money from your wallet. If you have a leak, nothing is going to make it stop unless you fix the root of the leak (ie, the seal). So, unless you drop the transfer case, it is still going to leak. I am not seeing how replacing the parts that you have listed will make any difference to the rate at which your transfer case is leaking. So, as far as I can see, replacing those parts is just throwing money down a hole that you will never get back.

I would start with getting a price quote from another mechanic and see what they say. YOu might be surprised as to the price difference. The other question that I would be asking is once the case is out of the car, what are they doing to fix the leak. Are they going to just pull the one seal and then put in a new seal or are they planning on rebuilding the transfer case? This can have a dramatic difference on the price and time involved.

If you do get the transfer case rebuilt, make sure that the shop that does the work rebuilds the transfer case correctly. The original cases in the early cars had the wrong pre-load on the bearings that lead to a lot of cases having issues and early failures.

As for the sealant wax, I have done the transfer case fluid change and that is not needed. The drain plug is a tapered plug and as you insert it more, the plug fills the opening in the transfer case until it goes metal on metal. At that point, it seals itself. If you are truely worried, then a dab of RTV is all that is needed.

 

Two old adages come to mind..

1. If ain't broke, don't fix it.
2. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

If your mechanic says there is no need to replace the flywheel, I wouldn't. I've done a LOT of "clutch jobs" on BMW's, and the items that I replaced were Disc, Pressure plate, throw-out/release bearing, and input shaft bearing. If your fly wheel is excessively grooved it can be removed and taken to a shop to be resurfaced (much like a brake rotor/disc). Reusing bolts, nuts, etc.. Unless they're extremely rusty or have been "rounded off" from wear.

The other thing; As long as your mechanic is there; Have him take a look at the rear-main (engine) crankshaft seal.

JMHO

'hope I didn't step on your toes Thermo.. My experience with transfer cases has been in light-truck applications. "Sealant wax", I need to ask the guys at ORW if they have any..

 

Many thanks for both your answers. I'm quite a perfectionist and not all is my mechanic's fault. The point of changing so many parts is that the leaking seal is the one between the gearbox and transfer box. Changing it would imply that he has to deposit/drop both the assemblies and that it'll take 10-12 hr of work, according to him.
So, to avoid paying for these 10-12 hr of work at least one more time in the future, he advised me to change all seals/plugs/etc along the leaking one and changing the clutch since my car has 151 000 km on the odometer.

I'm buying the parts so the mechanic won't make any money on these. They're reputed in the area and I've had no problems before with them so I tend to trust them.

While doing a list of parts, using for example SNG or Jaguar models, and the workshop manual, I've come across the companion flange and sealant so I wondered about these. I won't buy those expensive parts thanks to your advice. If there's some change or problem, I'll update the topic and hopefully mark it as solved. The car goes to the shop on February 26th.

What's on my purchase list (most are bought/received): all transfer box and gearbox seals/plugs/dust shields, the transfer box cooling duct, transmission fluids (Castrol Syntrans and Syntrax), the clutch friction disk, the clutch cover, the clutch slave cylinder.

Is the engine crankshaft seal this part : https://www.sngbarratt.com/fr/#!/Fra...6-7cbf3570954f ?

It looks like the input shaft bearings are part of the driveshaft. So if they fail one has to change the whole driveshaft. Hopefully those cheaper versions sold by British Parts and others fit well and do the job well (I know since I've mounted one). For the moment I won't change these.

 

Solar, if you are in there anyways, then changing out other bits may be worth while. Granted, I would be having them at a minimum replace the seal on the transfer case.

As for the other parts, like was said, if it isn't broke, do not worry about it. I would say to look at the pieces and see how they look. IF the flywheel is grooved, they yes, replace. Otherwise, let it be. If the flywheel bolts are rounded, that is a tough one. If you install new, odds are, the new ones are going to round with a little bit of time also. Granted, if you are having to pull the flywheel, then new bolts would be a no brainer at that point.

Blown, no toes hurt here. It is always good to get a second view of things.

 

Here's the part list (excluding a couple of unrelated ones ordered along those) :



Sorry if part of it is in french language but I guess it's not that hard to translate. "Pièce achetée" means "part ordered (bought)" and "pièce livrée" means "part delivered". "1" means that it's done.
"Référence schéma" means the corresponding number on the diagram that's on Jaguar Classic Parts, SNG Barratt or Terry's Jag websites.

Clutch cover and clutch friction disk were bought as a kit. The brand is LUK.

So is the seal you're talking about in my list?

The only missing parts are the transfer box bearing kit and maybe a propshaft gasket for the front side which is maybe useful too

 

My first question would be, How does your mechanic know the seal between the boxes is leaking? There is no way I know of other than at least draining either the gearbox or the transfer box. And with a manual box, I would need persuading that a small mixing of the two oils would be casually detectable.
I'd start again with a new mechanic!

 

To be honest, I'm not a mechanic - even self-taught myself - but that's what he told me. I noticed the leak in September when I made a voluntary control at the technical control center (in France cars older than 5 yo must pass a technical control at a certified center every 2 years)*.

The technician told me there's a small leak on what's called in French the "joint spi", probably the companion flange oil seal CSS11506, but that it was small and that there's no hurry in changing it. I've waited since January when I asked the mechanic to change it. When I came back to get my car, he told me what is leaking according to him is a seal between both boxes and didn't charge me for the time. I can't say who's right but there is a visible leak since I witnessed it by myself.

* I did it because I thought of selling it since I wanted to buy an XJ6 (X300). I postponed this plan for various reasons.

 

If you can see the leak, it's not the seal between the two boxes! That seal is inside and not visible without removing either the transfer box or the main gearbox.
It must be either the seal at the rear end of the transfer box, where the drive shaft for the rear wheels comes out, or it's the driveshaft to the front righthand wheel that comes out the side of the transfer box. Both can be changed without removing the transfer box.

 

OK, thanks for the precision! I'll talk with him again. Anyway, I now have bought some parts so what to do with them now?

 

Astromog, mine seems to be leaking from the nut and shaft (gear carrier?) below the drive shaft on the right hand side; is there a seal there that can be changed?

 

There's the obvious oil seal where the output shaft comes out of the transfer box, but a common leakage path is past the large nut that secures the output flange to the output shaft. The fix for that is described in this TSB from Jaguar http://www.jagrepair.com/images/TSB/...%20Leakage.pdf

 

I don't think that is the nut that I am talking about.
The one that is leaking is directly below the right side shaft; it is round on the left side and the large nut is on the right side.
It looks like there is a shaft running from left to right through the gearbox, maybe a gear carrier?

 

Yes, that nut secures a gear shaft. It's one hell of a job to get the transfer box out and stripped just to fix that leak. Perfectionist or not, I could manage to live with a small leak like that rather than either taking on the job or paying big bucks to get someone else to do it. Its much easier to change the oil every year or two to keep the level correct.

You might just check and be sure that the leak is not actually coming from the vent that is out of sight on top of the transfer box. If the t'box has been over filled, it will blow out from the vent and run down the side looking like either a shaft seal leak or from the nut you suspect.

 

How bad is it leaking? If it leaks 1 drop a month, you will see it because oil doesn't dry. Use "oil stop leak" additive or heavier oil and check after a week or so. Clean leak with break cleaner, drive 10 km and check leak. Considering high repair cost maybe it is a good idea to check oil every month or so. I am sure some people will disagree. I would definitely try to find some easy solution before doing hard work.

 

I am all for easy solutions, believe me!.
There is no easy way of checking the level.
I had the oil changed a few years ago and it has been fine right up until I had a wheel bearing go a couple of months ago.
The various efforts to remove the bearing seem to have disturbed the box causing it to leak.
It's a real pain 'cos I want to sell it and get an automatic!