Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[bubble1973]

Hi guys. Recently noticed a burning smell coming from the rear of my 2001 2.2 cd. I could only smell it after the car was being driven for an hour or so. I had a look under the rear of the car and noticed alot of oil around the area of the differential, and alot of it seemed to have dripped onto the exhaust, hense the burning smell i guess. Are there any replaceable seals on the differential, or is it a replacement unit? Thanks in advance for any advice!!

[Welung666]

The seal around the front where the pinion is can be changed, not an easy job due to the torque settings on the pinion itself.

[bubble1973]

Thanks for the quick reply, what is the problem with the torque settings? Do you think it would be an expensive job to have a garage replace this seal and refill the fluid i have lost?

[Welung666]

IIRC the nut is tightened to 120nm then another couple of degree turns so very tight indeed! Easy enough once the pinion is off though.

[Andy H]

If the design is the same as it was on the Carlton then the problem is that instead of using shims to set the preload on the pinion bearings GM used a 'crush spacer'.

In the factory the pinion is installed with a soft metal tube (the crush spacer) between the bearings on the pinion shaft. The input spider is then pressed onto the splines and the retaining nut is done up tight. Initially the crush spacer holds the bearings too far apart and so the nut is then done up in small increments to crush the spacer until the bearing pre-load is correct.

To fit a new seal you need to remove the input spider. The splines on the input spider are very tight. When you put the spider back on the stiffness of the splines is such that you cannot easily tell when the bearings are starting to crush the spacer. The nut needs to be carefully marked and the number of turns taken to undo it counted carefully so you can wind it back to exactly the same place when it goes back on.

Several years ago I took my Carlton for an MOT and foolishly accepted their offer to fit a new seal. When I went to collect it they were keen to tell me that they had had to use their biggest hydraulic puller to get the spider off but looked blank when I asked if they had used a new crush spacer or been able to mark the nut and re-use the old one. I drove 12 miles to work and the diff was roasting hot  . Drove back to the garage and they agreed it was scrap. They replaced the whole diff for me but the episode left a sour taste.

[markfree]

My diff leaks as well and has done for the past 2 years (there's always a slight burning smell every time the car is used), but I just check the oil level every 6 months and top it up as needs be - must have lost about 20ml (couple of teaspoons maybe) in last 2 years so hardly worth the effort/expense to change the seal if you can live with it.

[Omegafantasy]

I'm not sure if an oil leak is the reason. Does it smell like oil or rubber? Reason saying this is I have the same thing on my current car and had on my three previous carltons (where one was an auto).

Mine smells like burning rubber and it's not from the tires. Only happens if I've been somewhat heavy on the pedal. No ideas about what's causing this, but might be as easy as the rubbers on the propshaft (the big "Hardy"-bushings) or something..

Anyway, just my little thought. I think all omega's smells like that