by Orlando St.R » Sun Apr 14, 2019 9:10 am
Hi Alan
Before you invest in some form of seal expander, I feel bound to remind you of my previous post on the subject of DG leaks:
Orlando St.R wrote: ↑Wed Feb 13, 2019 6:49 pm
Whilst we are on the topic of automatic transmission fluid, I asked Graham Whitehouse why my DG gearbox leaks (even) more when I don’t use the car much (eg. over winter).
His reply was...
"When you leave the car standing the torque converter drains back into the gearbox and raises the oil level higher than normal and it reaches parts that aren’t sealed ( eg speedo cable etc )."
I can affirm this from my own experience replacing the speedo cable and getting an unexpected face full of ATF.
The best thing to do to reduce leaks is to use the car frequently and that way the torque converter stays full.
And some leaks seem inevitable with the number of routes out on the DG box - anti-creep switch, speed-hold solenoid, dipstick tube, etc. You'll find it even comes down the threads of the brake band adjusters.
Graham Whitehouse did say on a previous occasion that he could rebuild my DG box so it didn't leak by sealing every route out (probably with something like the Yamabond Glyn describes), but he would only do that as part of a full rebuild at £3k. I'm sure a suitable specialist in the USA could achieve the same; the DG was fitted to period Studebakers as well, so there must be experts around.
I've just stopped worrying about it. I have a nice big drip tray and I think of it as a rolling ATF change.
Finally, I have a suspicion that all Dexron II is not created equal. I suspect that the stuff from reputable suppliers (eg Penrite, Castrol, etc) badged for classic use likely has more in the way of seal expander than standard stuff. That may not be the case with Type F, if you are using that, as all such fluid is for use in classics.
Hi Alan
Before you invest in some form of seal expander, I feel bound to remind you of my previous post on the subject of DG leaks:
[quote="Orlando St.R" post_id=2201 time=1550083768 user_id=141]
Whilst we are on the topic of automatic transmission fluid, I asked Graham Whitehouse why my DG gearbox leaks (even) more when I don’t use the car much (eg. over winter).
His reply was...
"When you leave the car standing the torque converter drains back into the gearbox and raises the oil level higher than normal and it reaches parts that aren’t sealed ( eg speedo cable etc )."
[/quote]
I can affirm this from my own experience replacing the speedo cable and getting an unexpected face full of ATF.
The best thing to do to reduce leaks is to use the car frequently and that way the torque converter stays full.
And some leaks seem inevitable with the number of routes out on the DG box - anti-creep switch, speed-hold solenoid, dipstick tube, etc. You'll find it even comes down the threads of the brake band adjusters.
Graham Whitehouse did say on a previous occasion that he could rebuild my DG box so it didn't leak by sealing every route out (probably with something like the Yamabond Glyn describes), but he would only do that as part of a full rebuild at £3k. I'm sure a suitable specialist in the USA could achieve the same; the DG was fitted to period Studebakers as well, so there must be experts around.
I've just stopped worrying about it. I have a nice big drip tray and I think of it as a rolling ATF change.
Finally, I have a suspicion that all Dexron II is not created equal. I suspect that the stuff from reputable suppliers (eg Penrite, Castrol, etc) badged for classic use likely has more in the way of seal expander than standard stuff. That may not be the case with Type F, if you are using that, as all such fluid is for use in classics.