Oil leaks which are common are as a result of wear or breakdown of the driveaxle oil seals, vehicle speed sensor O-ring or the selector shaft oil seal Can be easily rectified as it does not require disassembling of the transaxle. Driveaxle oil seals are located to the sides of the transaxle, at the places where the driveaxles are inserted. To check for leakage, safely jack up the vehicle on axle stands; if it is leaking, one will see oil on the driveaxle. First, it is necessary to dismantle the proper driveaxle, and then, using a large screwdriver or pry-bar, the oil seal has to be pulled out from the transaxle casing while being careful not to wounded the casing. Remove the old oil seal and clean the oil seal seat surface, submerge the new oil seal in new oil, and then push the new oil seal partially into the casing till it is in square. This is done by using a seal driver or large socket to force the new oil seal up to the casing where it will fit with the seating. In the case of replacing the left hand driveaxle on the iB5 transaxle, use the protective sleeve provided with the factory parts, fit it to the seal and then fit the driveaxle. Then for fitting the selector shaft oil seal, set the parking brake on, and then with the help of a jack, raise the front part of the car on axle stands. Disconnect seven more clips to take out the selector mechanism cover You have to pull the shift and selector cables out of the transaxle levers. Loosen the nuts of the rear cover of the selector mechanism and take out the bolts Usefully providing access to the transaxle shift lever and also disconnect the selector lever from the dust cover. Remove the selector shaft oil seal with considerable caution so as not to impune on the selector shaft or housing. The selector shaft must also be cleaned, the oil seal housing, for the new oil seal to be fitted, should have some tape wrapped round the end of the selector shaft and the new oil seal should be smeared with oil before being guided on to the selector shaft end with the lips inwards. It should lie flat and parallel to the shaft for the entire width of the shaft seal, while pressing the seal fully into its housing; then, the tape must be removed. After the above procedures, reverse the removal procedures, and tighten theselector lever securing bolt to the specified torque, but replace the clips for the shifter cables with new ones if any, and then check for any misalignment of cable and adjust if necessary.
Posted by FordPartsGiant Specialist