Rear seal leak after clutch change - garage at fault?

[TheFungle]

I had the clutch replaced on my recently purchased Peugeot Partner dog-mobile about 6wks and 1k miles ago at a local indie.

Having been parked up for two weeks I was greeted with a lovely oil patch (30cm radius), dipstick hasn't dropped and there is no leak from above.

Underneath there is a pooling of oil at the bottom of the gearbox housing and research indicates this is a result of a failing rear crankshaft seal.

Question - Should the garage have replaced the seal as part of the clutch replacement and have I case for reduced labour to remedy this issue?

Hacked off I'll likely have to pay for a very similar labour job so shortly after.

[BunkMoreland]

TheFungle said:

I had the clutch replaced on my recently purchased Peugeot Partner dog-mobile about 6wks and 1k miles ago at a local indie.

Having been parked up for two weeks I was greeted with a lovely oil patch (30cm radius), dipstick hasn't dropped and there is no leak from above.

Underneath there is a pooling of oil at the bottom of the gearbox housing and research indicates this is a result of a failing rear crankshaft seal.

Question - Should the garage have replaced the seal as part of the clutch replacement and have I case for reduced labour to remedy this issue?

Hacked off I'll likely have to pay for a very similar labour job so shortly after.

Did they take the flywheel off?
Was there a leak before?
Are you sure its not clutch fluid?

Sometimes sods law is just what it is. There's very little a clutch change could do that would cause a RMS to leak.

Would speaking to them be better than asking randoms on the internet?

[Catnip64]

Any more photos? It look like the leak is coming from above on that shot.
Could it be gearbox oil?

[lemonslap]

Looks like clutch fluid or gearbox oil to me, wrong colour for engine oil

[Mad Maximus]

Rock and hard place. If you go in guns blazing I would imagine they wouldn’t be very accommodating. Talk to them and see what they say, just see how the conversation goes. It’s not really something you would give more than a glance at during the change so it’s not their fault.

[TheFungle]

I guess my expectation is that a £10-ish seal should be replaced as a matter of course when carrying out a significant job such as clutch replacement, especially when car has 118k miles on it.

That said I have no experience to suggest whether most other garages would either suggest or just carry out a seal replacement.

Finger and sniff test suggests engine oil - hopefully this image is clearer.

[Volvo1956]

If it's engine oil and lost as much as you say surely it would show on the lipstick.
Does it have an hydraulic clutch?
If so has that level dropped?

[Sebring440]

TheFungle said:

I guess my expectation is that a £10-ish seal should be replaced as a matter of course when carrying out a significant job such as clutch replacement, ]

Did they replace the flywheel "as a matter of course"?

If that was unnecessary, why would they remove the flywheel to replace the crankshaft seal?

[98elise]

Sebring440 said:

Did they replace the flywheel "as a matter of course"?

If that was unnecessary, why would they remove the flywheel to replace the crankshaft seal?

Agreed. They aren't going to do unnecessary stuff they haven't been asked to.

[sherman]

You dont price a main seal for a clutch.
Clutch plate kit including bolts
Flywheel -only if needed
Slave cylinder
Gear box oil.
Garages work on the principle of its its not broke dont fix it.

[RustyNissanPrairie]

Berlingo owner here - albeit the early M59 model. The gearbox output seals should be replaced whenever the driveshafts are removed. Its not that is it?

I'm replacing my clutch over winter and I have a replacement main seal ready to put in regardless but it isn't showing any sign of leaking.

[TheFungle]

RustyNissanPrairie said:

Berlingo owner here - albeit the early M59 model. The gearbox output seals should be replaced whenever the driveshafts are removed. Its not that is it?

I'm replacing my clutch over winter and I have a replacement main seal ready to put in regardless but it isn't showing any sign of leaking.

Interesting, I also had ball joints and track end replaced recently as well as a separate job to the clutch.

[itcaptainslow]

The rear main seal isn’t routinely changed as part of a clutch replacement job unless there’s evidence it’s leaking.