Russell82

Just bought an 82 Chiffon White Auto, 47K miles, very well maintained but driven little for the last 7 years or so. Everything works, 2 problems I'd like to get some experienced advice on before taking it to the dealer for diagnosis. 1-Oil leak, theres small amount seeping from rear of DS cam tower that I can live with, but I get saucer sized puddle on the floor each night, threw it on a lift and there's oil in the bell housing - sound like a rear main bearing seal? Thinking this is a big one to fix, anyone have any experience? 2-Auto shifts are crisp in 3 fwd gears, but it drops into reverse slow (2 seconds+) and there's considerable slippage in reverse only. Heard there might be an external adjustment for reverse gear brake band, any ideas? Lastly, PO changed the timing belt and all related stuff at 27K, but that was probably 10-12 years ago. What I'm reading says change it now, but how much can you tell from visual inspection re belt condition?
Any help greatly appreciated.

Jim V

Russell,

There are covers on the rear of the cams on both
sides, these commonly leak.
You'll want to get new gaskets from one of the
suppliers and change these both (3 bolts ea.).
THe oil in the bellhousing could be leaking in
from the cam towers.

JimV

Ern

Hi, I can't give you much advice about the oil leak but I would, for sure, change the belt. My car, 1979 lost teeth on the belt at 60K miles. The belt look like new from the top side. I think we both have non interference engines but after I changed the belt one lifter clicked for quite a while. My guess it that the piston and the valve had enough carbon that the valve got a good hit by the piston. I was on the freeway in the fast lane when the engine just died. I had to cross four lanes to find a safe place to stop with a dead motor; no fun. This is an easy job for you to do and it will take you longer to clean and detail the engine than to replace the belt. I was at it for a couple of days, mostly cleaning and learning. A good machanic could do it in a couple of hours. There is an after-market belt tension tool for $60 that will take some of the guess work out of the job.

Good luck on the project, Ern

jpitman

Russel, my car is similar - 83 Euro Auto, 41k miles. Also slow to take up reverse, but I hope it is normal. CHange the oil and filter - this improved my changes perceptibly.
My belt had fine cracks along the edges, so I changed it and all the other moving parts in there. Now runs noticeably crisper. I have a slight weep on rear main area, but it doesnt drop any oil so far - just damp on the rear of the pan.

Good luck
jp

Steve Cattaneo

Russell,

You’re A 22 3 speed transmission does have an adjustable reverse brake band (B3). The adjustment bolt is a twist off style. There are no means of turning the bolt in or out unless you grind a slot in it. The adjustment bolt is located on the Passenger side in front of trans next to the bell housing. It is locked in place with a ¾ /18 mm nut. With a grinder or hack saw blade. Cut a slot in the center of the adjusting bolt. You can hold the blade with a pair of vise gripe pliers. Once the slot is cut, loosen the nut. Do not take the bolt out of the transmission. With a short flat head screwdriver turn the bolt in (clock wise) until it stops. Then back out 1 ¾ turns. Retighten the lock nut. That’s it you’re done.

Steve C.
The Great White

Bruce Sinclair

Steve is right about your transmission adjust ment, mine did the same until I adjusted it. If your car has had minimal miles in the past few years replace the belt,it is cheap insurance. My car survived a timing belt failure at 80 MPH 400 miles from home. I had just picked up the car from the P.O. 200 miles before who claimed that it had just been changed but couldn't produce any documentation after I had my problem. There are allot of while you are in ther things to replace like oil pump seals , water pump, etc. It's not a hard job to do, only reqires two special tools(about 90 bucks) and is a good way to get to know your car. Set aside an entire weekend to do the job. Get a new themostat and hoses as your coolant will have to be changed.

Curt

Russell,

When I bought my 79 Euro 5spd. it had the same oil leak as yours does. The rear main seal. I noticed it before I bought it so I was able to negotiate another 700 bucks off the purchase price. Yippeeeeee!!! I hope you had the same good luck. My 79 is a manual so not sure how hard your rear main is to get at. Mine took me a total of about 6-8 hours to do. Get the car in the air as high as possible using jack stands. I had to remove the starter, slave cylinder, bell housing, short axle shaft, clutch assembly and also the flywheel that used a special very large star socket. Cant remember the size but bought it for 21 bucks. The seal only cost 17 or 20 bucks. The old one was hard and was spinning around the crank shaft. Pulled it out, pounded the new one in. Had all the clutch components inspected before slapping it all back together. Works perfect now. Cost under 50 bucks when the shop wanted close to 500. No oil coming from the rear main. I do now have oil coming from somewhere up front on the drivers side. Leaks badly when the motor is cold but after it warms up it doesnt leak a drop. That will be my next major fix. These cars seem to have problems if the car is not driven enough. So get out there and hit the gas.

Russell82

Want to thank Steve C - your advice on adjustment of the reverse gear brake band was bang on. Some sleepless nights worrying over a possible expensive teardown and rebuild, especially as the slipping in reverse got worse, but your recommended fix was simple and effective. Perfect now, thanks again.

V-Fib

If you are anywhere serious about working on your 928,BUY THE MANUALS! I got mine 2wks ago from 928 International. Worth every penny.

Anthony
79/928 Auto
Metallic Silver