Gear Selector Seal

Hi

I've only just registered so thank you in advance for any help and advice given.

My 2008 C3 1.6 HDI has developed a slight oil leak. A local garage has inspected this and had advised me that the Gear Selector Seal has the slight leak.

Has anyone had any experience in changing this seal and if so is it a easy job (for a mechanic) and also how successful is the repair after (does it cure the leak).

Thank you again in advance for any help and advice.

Hi and welcome to the club.

I'm not that familiar with the manual gearboxes but I'll try and help you out.

From the Haynes manual there is apparently one of three gearboxes you could have. MA5, BE4 or BE5. From the manual, the BE4/5 seal is relatively easy to do, however forget the MA5. Haynes says gearbox specialist only, it cant be done from the outside. I think that's because the gear selector shaft is one piece and you wont be able to remove the seal without removing the shaft but that's not really relevant.

If you don't know which gearbox you have PM [Arfur Dent] your VIN and he will tell you.

There are two failure modes with seals. Either the seal fails or the shaft that it runs on becomes worn. Seals can disintegrate or dry out. The input shaft doesn't do much work so it's unlikely to need replacing. Most likely scenario is the seal has dried out and become brittle. So just replacing the seal should fix the problem.

Thank you for your help and advice and is very much appreciated.

I have had limited success with AT-205. It's a seal rejuvenator.
You add it to oil...engine oil, gearbox oil, differential oil, auto transmission oil ETC.
I had a big leak in the input shaft of my auto transmission...it didn't fix it, LOL! The reason is that the seal had disintegrated!
However I also had a small leak from the rear crank shaft seal but it fixed that. The point is, if the seal is intact and just dry, this stuff will usually fix it but if the seal is damaged, only replacement will fix it.

Thank you for your reply again.

With regards what gearbox it is I did call a Fench/Italian spares supplier who was very helpful and from my car reg he said he couldn't see how the seal could be changed without the gearbox being removed.

The Citroen/Peugeot specialist where my car is serviced/mot'd is currently closed due to the coronavirus lockdown but I managed to speak with him & he also thinks the seal is fitted from inside the gearbox.

I think the seal rejuvenator will be worth a try.

Thank you once again.

I'm also struggling to find a uk supplier of  AT-205 when looking on-line. Is there another product that anyone has used with some success?

I had to get mine from Amazon and it came from the U.S.