Transmission leak ZF Hurth - Any ideas?

[NJMatt50]

Hello,

After getting to the boat (00 340DA) this spring I noticed quite a bit of trans fluid in the bilge. I suspect it can be from this front seal. The strange thing is I topped off the trans and put a pan under there, waited a few hrs but nothing leaked out. I never had a trans leak before. Could this be something that happened over the winter? Has anyone replaced that seal behind the coupler? Is it a big job? Can it be done with the trans in place?

 

[LG111]

I would be concerned about all that rust on the coupler. What is causing that is more than likely making the seal fail.

 

[NJMatt50]

That was an old issue, bought the boat that way...

 

[northern]

You may have pitting in the seal area. Only way to find out is to clean all the rust off. If it was my boat I would pull the transmission and start by cleaning the exterior that will show you what you have for problems.

 

[PlayDate]

My guess is that debris found its way into the seal enough to cause the leak over the winter. If you are lucky.....the debris has dislodged and it has fixed itself. That said the pictures (which are great) tell a story of rust which always seems to find its way into seals. In the worst case, the seal is compromised and will continue to leak. I would clean up the area with non flammable rust penetrate and use the boat with a few absorbent pads in place. Keep an eye on it.

 

[NJMatt50]

So the crazy thing I cleaned up the bilge and have not had a single drip for 2 days. I will clean up the rust and monitor for now.

 

[George Thorp]

Has anyone used transmission leak additives like Bar's Leaks to stop a leak at the bottom seal on a Hurth transmission?