Nissan Note 1.5dci December 2006 - Differential oil seal

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Fri 16 Mar 2012 10:52
Nissan Note 1.5dci December 2006 - Differential oil seal - tcb180

I have owned this lovelly little motor since mid feb 2011 and picked her up with 28k on the clock. She is is just approaching 34k now.

About two months ago I detected smell of gear oil when parking and saw few drops coming off under tray. Closer exam revealed oil weeping from n/s diff oil seal which gradually got worse to such an extent I got her up on ramps and drained the original oil out to find that i had lost about a litre or so.

Whilst on the ramps I thought it a good idea to refill with my recently aquired fully synthetic gear oil which is obviously of a lighter viscosity.

As the oil came up to level it just began to trickle out of the affected seal at quite a rate which led me to lay the vehicle up until I could replace the oil seal which was put on order for me.

Three weeks ago I did the job fitting the new Nissan Seal and everything was spot on with no oil leak whatsoever.

Last saturday just before setting out on a 250 mile round trip I caught the wiff of gear oil on the garage forecourt but everything still seemed dry around the seal and nothing dropping to the floor at all.

Last night I noticed three slight drips of gear oil on the driveway and it is coming from the very same seal which is obviously going to start to get worse all over again.

I have never experienced a diff oil seal to fail like this in all my years involved with car mechanics.

I have visited forums and searched internet and can't find anyone who has had a similar problem?

What next? Should I try a new drive shaft and seal? This may even lead to requiring a new gearbox perhaps?

Are you aware of any such problems with the Note Renault gearboxes.

Highest Regards

Chris G

Gwent

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 16 Mar 2012 11:33
Nissan Note 1.5dci December 2006 - Differential oil seal - TeeCee

Sounds like the end of the drive shaft is "iffy" and chewing through seals. Did you have a good look at it while it was off?

Could be a manufacturing defect, it may have got some grit work its way in between it and the seal which has worn the surface, or maybe it's been over a pothole at some point in its life and the shaft's out of true (I'd expect some obvious vibration at speed with the latter though). I'd pull the thing, inspect the shaft and particularly the surface where it engages with the seal and replace both shaft and seal if it's less than perfect.

The only other thing that I can think of would be the bearing holding the output shaft on that side of the diff being on the way out, allowing the driveshaft to move around in the seal more than it should. I'd have thought that you'd hear it if it were that bad though.

I'm sure others will be along with more ideas soon.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 16 Mar 2012 15:25
Nissan Note 1.5dci December 2006 - Differential oil seal - ChannelZ

Sure it's not "her" time of the month?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

From which small car to buy at which price point to the best UK-built cars, our Top 10s have the lot. Click now for your shortlist.

Unsure of what to buy? Our Top 10s are here to help you....

If you cover no more than 100 miles per day and have easy access to a charging point at home or work, then an EV is ideal for you.

Is an electric car right for me?