OD

[Sundowner]

Hi,
I took the Sprint out for a run last weekend. A fast-ish 45 mins run to a nearby town and return. Naturally I used the OD quite a bit and the car did everything it was supposed to and did it well. Yesterday, I took it out for another, shorter run, but when I went to close the shed up before we left, I could smell gear oil and I noticed a small puddle of the stuff on the floor of the garage.
Yesterdays shorter run had limited use of the OD and I noticed just a small amount of oil on the concrete when we returned. Today I drove it into town for a car show with no OD use and no oil leaking on return. So I can only assume that its the OD pumping out oil while its engaged.
Is this a known problem with the unit? If so what do I need to do to fix it?
Thanks & Cheers,
Rob

[soe8m]

That can only be the solenoid or the take off plug where to measure the pressure. Both on the outside and sealed with a copper washer.

Jeroen

[Sundowner]

Thanks Jeroen,
That's a confidence booster. I'll take a close look at it next weekend.
Thanks again,
Rob

[DavePoth]

It might not be the OD unit at fault.

When I assembled my 1850 without the copper washer on the bottom bellhousing bolt the gear oil leaked out continuously. I still drove it all the way to TDCIR and back again, topping up the oil as I went. While this was a tremendously bad idea it did give me a good view of how oil level affects the overdrive.

With an over-full gearbox the engagement is almost a bit violent, and then as the level in the gearbox drops the engagement gets progressively lazier until it eventually refuses to engage.

Based on what you've said I'd wonder whether it could be the gearbox instead; it might well be the OD, but it's something to consider.