Brake/Clutch Fluid leak....

[jimjamyaha]

Hey, quick question... Having slow fluid loss from brake fluid reservoir. Have checked all brake lines etc and have found staining on the behlhousing near the clutch. This looks to be on the gearbox side of the transmission, but it's def not gearbox fluid.

 

As the brake/clutch fluid is shared is it possible that the clutch could be leaking it, and if so is it a seal gone or something more serious.

TIA.

[JONATHAN_11_80]

Could be the slave cylinder leaking or a union.  Worst case its a gearbox out job.

[Tdci-Peter]

1 hour ago, jimjamyaha said:

As the brake/clutch fluid is shared is it possible that the clutch could be leaking it, and if so is it a seal gone or something more serious.

Sadly, any leak inside the bellhousing is fairly serious. Your car has probably got a concentric slave cylinder for the clutch, mounted around the gearbox input shaft. So any leak will mean removing the gearbox, quite an expensive job in itself unless you are a real keen DIY expert.

I think I would thoroughly clean around the area, to get a better idea of what was leaking and where.

It is most likely a worn or damaged slave cylinder seal. If it is a hose or pipe, it could worsen suddenly and unexpectedly, but this is unlikely. If it did you would lose the use of the clutch, but the braking would be unaffected. It is designed to cope with clutch failure.

I once had a Sierra with a cable operated clutch, that failed regularly. I got quite used to driving with no clutch!

[jimjamyaha]

Thanks for your replies... will have a closer look at the lines into that area. As I had the clutch done at about 103k miles would the concentric slave cylinder have been replaced as a standard practice along with the clutch?

As I've also probably got a main rear seal leak on the oil side it may be "ok" having it sorted as the gearbox would have to come out for that too.

[Tdci-Peter]

2 hours ago, jimjamyaha said:

would the concentric slave cylinder have been replaced as a standard practice along with the clutch?

I doubt it. As far as I know, it is not standard practice. It would have been detailed on the invoice if it had been.

Changing an oil seal is usually quite cheap & easy once the gearbox is off, so worth that.

But unless the problem is urgent, it is worth cleaning the area, and monitoring fluid drop & any re-contamination for a while, to double check that the problem is inside the bellhousing. I would expect some problems to develop with the clutch & gear change, either clutch slip, or difficulty changing gear, if the clutch plate was getting oil contaminated.