Xsara Picasso gearbox oil filling problem

[JamesQB]

Hi, I'm hoping someone can advise on this. Just changed the broken spring on the front passenger strut, and pulled too much on the hub when removing the strut, causing the driveshaft to partly come out of the gearbox and dump quite a lot of oil on the floor.

Using the haynes manual, I located the filler/level check plug and removed it. Oil started seeping quite rapidly, so I stuck a jug under it and removed it completely. After half a litre flowed out and didn't seem to look like stopping, I put the plug back in. I've read that a "certain amount" of oil will trickle out when the plug is removed, but half a litre and still flowing?

I'm worried now that the gearbox is going to be low on oil, but what should I do?

I double checked and I am removing the filler plug at the gearbox end accessible when wheel and middle arch liner is removed. The drain plug is visible at the bottom of the gearbox. The car was level.

Any advice please?

[Hell Razor5543]

First, I would get some of the correct gearbox oil. It is probably (but you MUST check in the owners handbook) Total BV 75W80 oil. It probably will need 1.8L (again, check). GSF do this for about £6.50 per litre. Once you have found out these details I would then drain the gearbox, and then (using a clean, preferably new, measuring jug and a clean funnel) refill the gearbox through the reversing switch hole with the correct amount. It is a damn site easier to get the oil in through the reverse switch hole than the level hole (I speak from experience here).

[RichardW]

^^ wot he said....

[JamesQB]

Thanks for the advice, sounds the cleverest idea. I'm just too stressed to think straight. Was an awful job doing the spring and now there's a rattling from the strut area and I don't know what's causing it. I put the strut back together correctly as per the manual and nothing is loose. On a speed bump there's a slight knock, on smooth roads it's silent, rough roads it's rattling loudly. Grabbing the spring or strut though shows it to be tight and cannot cause any noise. Why is nothing ever easy?

[chinkostu]

Top mount nuts done up and droplink nice and tight?

As for the oil peeing out, was the car level?

[PeteEd]

I'm new here. Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings but I think you're strut top mount is toast. The symptoms you describe are exactly what I have experienced in the past on Picasso when the springs were replaced without changing the mounts. The rattling is because the rubber I the mount has perished and allows it to move sideways and knock on the outer edge. That's your noise, right there.

[RichardW]

There's something funny about these struts - either one of the bolts is a different length, or the strut top is not quite symmetrical. If you put it back the wrong way it knocks just as you have found. See here

[citronut]

after doing the new strut, top mount bearing and spring ( from GSF ) on northern Mikes Berlingo this also had a slight knock over bumps,

it turned out the old strut top had very very slightly started separating, without very very close inspection up inside the underneath of it it was not noticeable,

had it down again and fitted a new strut top ( again from GSF ) and BONGO silent,

[JamesQB]

Thanks for all the replies.

The drop link and strut bolts are tight and car the car was level during the oil check.

I checked the strut bolts last night after reading about them being slightly different lengths, removing the untouched ones on the drivers strut one by one and comparing to the strut I removed. I found that there are two long bolts which have no threads at the last 3mm of the threaded shaft, and one that lacks this unthreaded portion and so is 3mm shorter. On the drivers strut the long ones were the ones nearest bulkhead and front of car, and the short one was closest to the wing. Looking in the bolt holes I could see the wing side one had the spring seat right beneath it, so the longer style bolt would push into the seat. I checked the strut I put the new spring on and sure enough I'd put one of the long bolts in the hole nearest wing. I've corrected that now but haven't driven the car yet.

If the noise persists it looks like a new strut top then. When the top of the spring snapped off, the rest of the spring jumped past the spring seat and was pressing into the top mount so perhaps it caused damage to it.

Also checked my engine oil to find it wasn't showing on dipstick despite servicing it a short time ago and filling with oil. Looks like oil is leaking either from sump joint or where oil filter carrier bolts to the block, or both. Only leaks when the engine is running. Joy joy.

[Hell Razor5543]

What could be worse (but, based on the initial post, possible) is a leak from the engine into the gearbox. You did say that she was on level ground when you removed the level/fill plug, and oil came out.

[JamesQB]

If the crank seal was leaking oil into the teansmission it'd be in the bell housing wouldn't it, unable to get past the gearbox shaft oil seal and coating the clutch?

I'm wondering if someone overfilled it in the past, but I'll start by taking the advice given and drain box completely then add 1.8l of oil.

Driven to work and found the knocking is completely gone after putting the shorter bolt in the top mount hole nearest to the wing. Sounds 10 times better, but there's still a rattle. Over certain road types it's like the spring is loose and rattling about. Over speed bumps there's no noise at all. Bit puzzled.

[wheeler]

My advice here is always do both side springs at the same time, i usually find its not long till the other side breaks too.

[citronut]

Also checked my engine oil to find it wasn't showing on dipstick despite servicing it a short time ago and filling with oil. Looks like oil is leaking either from sump joint or where oil filter carrier bolts to the block, or both. Only leaks when the engine is running. Joy joy.

it is possible on removing the old oil filter when it was last replaced, you could have loosened the the shaft/tube the filter screws onto, this can cause an oil leak at the base of what you call the oil filter carrier, which is actually the oil cooler, this has an O ring between it and the block

[flying clutchman]

What could be worse (but, based on the initial post, possible) is a leak from the engine into the gearbox. You did say that she was on level ground when you removed the level/fill plug, and oil came out.

How could oil from the engine leak into the gearbox? The bell housing yes, but not the box

[lexi]

Only possible mixing of oils I am familiar with are on fourbys. Migration from main gearbox to transfer box, resulting in one overfilled and other low on oil. The other mixtures were by design......the BL boxes where engine and gearbox oil were combined and it all ran on engine oil.