Oil Leak - 410 R L/H Axle

[John Keighley]

Hello all,

My 410 has begun to leak what I suspect to be diff oil out from the rear, left-hand wheel of the axle housing (photo attached). I am wondering if this is possibly a wheel bearing/oil seal self-destructing. I am loath to drive the car anywhere until I can establish whether the differential has oil remaining in it. I have also noticed there is a sizable of oil that has accumulated on the floor of the garage directly underneath where the leak is. Has anyone else experienced this and if so, what is the likely issue?

Many thanks,
John Keighley.

[Geoff Dowdle]

John,
welcome to the world of Bristol Cars , and leaks from the rear suspension arms.

The 410 is basically the same design as the 6 cylinder cars .
It is diff oil that is leaking , but what is required to fix it correctly is

remove the rear axle and LH & RH suspension arms (which will need grinding and hard chroming to original size) .
The large bushes in the diff housing on each side will need replacing and reaming to original size , then fit new seals and re assembled .
Probably best to get the diff check over at the same time or at least the pinion seal replaced. Sounds like a job for Bas.

Your other choice is to just keep topping the diff oil up before any major trip.

Geoff

[John Keighley]

Many thanks Geoff. I was suspecting it may be a reasonably major issue so I will get this attended to. Information is gratefully appreciated!

John K.

[livermoreb]

Hi John,

Did you manage to get this done? I seem to have developed the same problem and am interested to know how big a job it is and whether I might be able to do it myself.

Thanks.

Bob Livermore