MG4 Reduction Gearbox Oil Leak

[Harry 17]

Yeah that will have been me then when I mentioned it on Saturday when I picked mine up.

Fair play, I've been dealing with Nigel.

I have sent the above pics to Matt and also a further two taken from mine a little earlier. So this should help them out a bit

 

[Jester27]

I have sent the above pics to Matt and also a further two taken from mine a little earlier. So this should help them out a bit

I've done the same to Nigel and also copied him links to these 2 threads on here so they can kee an eye on what other dealers are doing and recommending

 

[Taq]

Had the cars a week to 10 days so may take a few hundred miles on them before it starts showing up on the underside

 

[Lespresso]

We have news… leak confirmed, awaiting more information.

Had a call from dealer, car ready to collect….

 

[Harry 17]

Small update: - My dealer Has stripped down the Demo (SE) and found some residual (hay coloured) residue see pics below. Gear box oil was emptied a little and was a very dark grey, completely different colour. All nuts checked all were tight. Area wiped down, gearbox oil replenished, car will be used tommorow, then stripped down again tomorrow night for a nother report for me.

The engineers believe the residue could be from wax applied to running gear etc, and has melted and ran off over a few hundred miles. hoping to confirm this tomorrow as they are not convinced it is gearbox oil.

will update you, when I get an update

PS (you will have to pinch zoom to see the straw coloured residue.

 

[Lespresso]

Had a call from dealer, car ready to collect….

Time will tell.

 

[Jester27]

Had a call from dealer, car ready to collect….

So does that mean that they've reduced the oil level.
Earlier posts were quoting 0.85 ltr which would be 0.15 more than what they've put back in on yours
Hence the potential overfill

 

[siteguru]

Should these posts be moved to the general Oil Leak thread?

If it was melted wax/lubricant I'd have thought the smell would be noticeably different to gear oil.

 

[Lespresso]

So does that mean that they've reduced the oil level.
Earlier posts were quoting 0.85 ltr which would be 0.15 more than what they've put back in on yours
Hence the potential overfill

Looks that way, anyway obviously I’ll keep an eye on it but hopefully it’s been resolved.

 

[Jester27]

Looks that way, anyway obviously I’ll keep an eye on it but hopefully it’s been resolved.

Fingers and toes crossed

 

[Harry 17]

Should these posts be moved to the general Oil Leak thread?

If it was melted wax/lubricant I'd have thought the smell would be noticeably different to gear oil.

Not sure what it is, it was a best guess. Could be. A red heron too, as this car may not have the same issue. But one for sure, this car is not Gear box oil IMO

 

[Taq]

Small update: - My dealer Has stripped down the Demo (SE) and found some residual (hay coloured) residue see pics below. Gear box oil was emptied a little and was a very dark grey, completely different colour. All nuts checked all were tight. Area wiped down, gearbox oil replenished, car will be used tommorow, then stripped down again tomorrow night for a nother report for me.

The engineers believe the residue could be from wax applied to running gear etc, and has melted and ran off over a few hundred miles. hoping to confirm this tomorrow as they are not convinced it is gearbox oil.

will update you, when I get an update

PS (you will have to pinch zoom to see the straw coloured residue.

or could there be a leak elsewhere, it didn’t feel like wax to me as you’d think it would dry again not stay fuid on the cowling

 

[Hallix73]

Small update: - My dealer Has stripped down the Demo (SE) and found some residual (hay coloured) residue see pics below. Gear box oil was emptied a little and was a very dark grey, completely different colour. All nuts checked all were tight. Area wiped down, gearbox oil replenished, car will be used tommorow, then stripped down again tomorrow night for a nother report for me.

The engineers believe the residue could be from wax applied to running gear etc, and has melted and ran off over a few hundred miles. hoping to confirm this tomorrow as they are not convinced it is gearbox oil.

will update you, when I get an update

PS (you will have to pinch zoom to see the straw coloured residue.

We would use a spray on, light protection to spare parts on the ship to stop rusting (I'm a retired Chief Engineer). Correct to say that this then dry's waxy and under some heat will melt and drip. So hopefully it is something like this. Also possibly mixed with wet roads would dilute and hence could make it runny like oil. Doubt it is gear oil as usually gear oil has a much higher viscosity to stick to mesh gears and withstand the extreme pressures of gears meshing. Surely MG Mechanics can do a test on the oil and compare to oils in the drive train.

 

[tsedge]

I’d like to recap my understanding of the possible causes people have speculated. Please correct me if any of this is wrong:

1. The gearbox can be overfilled, leading to excess oil escaping through the breather. Remedy: drain excess.
Edit: this is the current explanation from MG, waiting to see if it works.

2. The breather valve could be stuck or faulty, leading to oil escape. Remedy: replace valve.

3. A seal could be faulty, leading to oil escape. Remedy: replace seal.

4. Bolts could be loose, leading to oil escape. Remedy: tighten bolts.

5. It could be a delivery sealing wax, not oil at all and it will naturally burn off. Remedy: none needed.

6. A manufacturing error could cause oil to leak. Remedy: replace gearbox.

7. A design error could cause premature gearbox failure. Remedy: redesign and replace all gearboxes.

Any others?


Tom.

They have got to do something that’s for sure before one breaks down altogether when someone’s gearbox goes bang hopefully not at speed
Les.

If there is a circular, can someone please post it here so we can understand what is going on?

 

[ph79]

The breather theory sounds the most credible so far.

Thats what i have just been told by Paul Rigby Redditch. Overfilled and escaping through breather. They have drained and refilled mine to correct level. Im not very mechanically minded so taking it that this makes sense! To be fair they got me in and sorted very quickly.

 

[tsedge]

Thanks, please monitor and report back so we can get confidence that this is the right fix and it works.

 

[shaunuk]

Thats what i have just been told by Paul Rigby Redditch. Overfilled and escaping through breather. They have drained and refilled mine to correct level. Im not very mechanically minded so taking it that this makes sense! To be fair they got me in and sorted very quickly.

similar story here, took mine into the dealer this morning and waited, tech said seemed to be coming from the breather, drained some out and cleaned up. Will keep and eye on more leaks...

Any one know how to clean this oil from the drive ?

 

[tsedge]

similar story here, took mine into the dealer this morning and waited, tech said seemed to be coming from the breather, drained some out and cleaned up. Will keep and eye on more leaks...

Any one know how to clean this oil from the drive ?

Found this:

https://www.allstate.com/resources/car-insurance/how-to-remove-oil-from-driveway

 

[Taq]

Quick update - The Trophy has been sorted, took just over an hour, Luscombes drained the gearbox oil and refilled with the correct amount, hopefully that’s it done with, will keep an eye on it over the next few days. Big thumbs up to them for that.

My wife rang cars2 who say they have carried out the work instructed by MG and hopefully that will be back tomorrow after they test drive it and check it’s sorted.

If it hadn’t been for my awful experience with MG / MG Assist / AA this morning it might have been a reasonably stress free day but only other diabetics will understand what it’s like to be left stranded with only an apple in your pocket and the last 10% on your phone.

 

[Ian Key]

similar story here, took mine into the dealer this morning and waited, tech said seemed to be coming from the breather, drained some out and cleaned up. Will keep and eye on more leaks...

Any one know how to clean this oil from the drive ?

At least it appears to be an easy fix