This was one of those jobs that always feels a bit awkward, I had been asked to have a look at this 2005 Citroen Xsara Picasso 1.6 by the owner, to try and determine where the oil was coming from that had formed a new stain on her drive. She had recently had the clutch replaced, but I didn’t get to do this job as after ringing round and getting a lower price she decided to go with a lower offer.

I suspect that the garage that carried out the job didn’t remove the offside driveshaft. This means that when the gearbox is put back into place, it can press against the seal if it has not been lined up perfectly. I always take the longer route doing this job, as it saves time in the long run when relocating the gearbox.

The new leak on this Picasso was gearbox oil and it was coming from the offside driveshaft seal. As the leak had only occurred after the clutch job, it was pretty certain that the seal had been damaged during the process of replacing the clutch.

I did work out a fair price for the replacement of the seal, but I suspect that the owner was about to go and try to get the original garage to put right the problem.

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