Gearbox leaking after adding oil!

[alexmak]

We added gearbox oil today and in 5 minutes fluid started coming out of the gearbox in the back. It's TKO600, the one that FFR requires you to cut off a rear mounting point. In our case the gearbox came with the engine, and the mount point was already removed by manufacturer. Initially about 200ml of oil came out, now it's dripping at about 1 drop per 30 seconds. How serious is this? Can it be repaired or is the new gearbox needed?

129770

129771

[egchewy79]

Can you find someone locally to weld that? I feel like your engine builder should be responsible for the cost or replacement.

[Ducky2009]

Send it back to who you purchased it from.

[alexmak]

Can you find someone locally to weld that? I feel like your engine builder should be responsible for the cost or replacement.

Builder says that it’s a porous aluminum and can be fixed with permatex sealant (actually was supposed to be sealed with it but they forgot). Want to hear forum’s take on this

[Jim1855]

Big boo-boo!

Weld maybe. not Permatex. That's a really cheezy way to fix a serious screw up.

Jim

[sread]

It looks like a flawed casting to me. It has obvious porosity. It would have leaked no matter who trimmed it. No easy answer as to who should be responsible for it...maybe split it?

[alexmak]

It looks like a flawed casting to me. It has obvious porosity. It would have leaked no matter who trimmed it. No easy answer as to who should be responsible for it...maybe split it?

Even if splitting, I want to understand better what exactly to split - what’s the fix here.

[edwardb]

Porosity in aluminum casting happens. Was around this during my career. Pretty likely this particular one was exposed when the mount was machined off. Unfortunate to say the least. That area definitely needs to be trimmed back to clear the frame. But the TKO usually needs to be shimmed up. So really doesn't need to be cut quite that much. Who knows whether less would have made a difference. All hindsight at this point. Replacing the part itself is one option. TKO Tailhousing part number TCEP4307 around $350-375 plus labor. Not a lot of parts back there so wouldn't be that hard to change. There isn't a lot of pressure (e.g. compared to oil pressure in an engine) so Permatex might work. Although I'm not so sure I would be happy with that solution. Welding is an option. But depends on the material it's cast from and in some cases the method used to cast. It's not going to be easy to place blame here. Tremec is going to say don't cut the housing. The engine builder is going to say it was an internal defect they couldn't control. But on the other hand they shouldn't have shipped it to you after the defect was exposed. 50/50 for whatever solution is probably fair. But needs to be as good as would have been without the porosity. I'm not sure Permatex is quite that.

I've done business with http://libertysgears.com/ and have a lot of respect for their knowledge and in-house capabilities. Have purchased two modded TKO's from them and they're excellent. I know others have as well. I'll bet they have an opinion and experience with this. Perhaps a call to them might give some insight.

[alexmak]

Thank you, edwardb!

[rich grsc]

Well thats is very unfortunate! :( One possible fix would be to drill out the pinhole, then tap it. Threading in a very short bolt with sealant on it would do the trick.

[CraigS]

If you end up needing to fix it, years ago I had great success w/ Devcon liquid aluminum.
https://www.amazon.com/Aluminum-Liquid-F-2-Cap-Wt/dp/B00065TMWQ/ref=asc_df_B00065TMWQ/?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=&hvpos=&hvnetw=o&hvrand=&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4583451663330713&psc=1
I laid my BMW motorcycle down and scaped the valve cover almost identically to your trans case. I removed it, cleaned it, and applied the epoxy and rode it for a couple more years. W/ some careful sanding I got the contour just about perfect so the only tell tale was a very slight color difference. For your case, I'd stand the trans on the bell housing so the oil drains away from the worn area. Several applications of acetone and compressed air over a day or two to get rid of the oil. Trowel on some devcon. I would build it up to about 1/8 inch thick so even if the weeps are not perfectly sealed due to remaining oil, your patch extends out to pure non-porous aluminum.

[alexmak]

An update: we have reached an agreement with Blueprint Engines that provided engine/transmission combo, to replace the flawed transmission - they will send us a new one, and will pick up the flawed gearbox. Huge shout out to Johnny from BPE!

[BB767]

An update: we have reached an agreement with Blueprint Engines that provided engine/transmission combo, to replace the flawed transmission - they will send us a new one, and will pick up the flawed gearbox. Huge shout out to Johnny from BPE!

Gotta love BPE! They really stand behind the products they sell, even if they did not manufacture it.
No, I don't work for them, but I have needed support for defects that were not their fault.

[Papa]

Gotta love BPE! They really stand behind the products they sell, even if they did not manufacture it.
No, I don't work for them, but I have needed support for defects that were not their fault.

Same experience here. They sent me a complete Sniper EFI when I was having problems with the system they originally shipped with my engine. Johnny is great to work with.

Dave

[initiator]

Love to see the forum vendors step up like this.

[CraigS]

This is great news for you and for anyone thinking about an engine.