MG4 Reduction Gearbox Oil Leak

[AndyL61]

This is a shocker if it is, still can't remember what member it was that explained what was going on in the gear box and how in their opinion it would need a full redesign.
The fact that we have had about 4 members all reporting their cars leaking post mod, In the last 2 days, might rule out human error.
If the mod doesn't work where do MG go from there?

From the start I said I thought they would need to either move the breather or fit an internal baffle plate to prevent the oil getting into the breather. However they probably have a few thousand gearboxes to get through before anything like this can be done. The breather mod was only ever a belt and braces affair which they hoped would see them through.

 

[Les burrows]

Well from what I can see the only change in the polling in the last 8/9 days is in one part that being
I have a leak but don’t know what the cause is up one to 43
and total votes cast 114 there are no other changes.
I must say I don’t think this poll is being updated like it was in the beginning.
Les

 

[colsky]

Well from what I can see the only change in the polling in the last 8/9 days is in one part that being
I have a leak but don’t know what the cause is up one to 43
and total votes cast 114 there are no other changes.
I must say I don’t think this poll is being updated like it was in the beginning.
Les
View attachment 15031

I need to update mine. I am - had leak, breather fixed, now leaking again. There isn't a specific vote for this, so presumably I'm now "I have a leak and don't know cause".

 

[tsedge]

Well from what I can see the only change in the polling in the last 8/9 days is in one part that being
I have a leak but don’t know what the cause is up one to 43
and total votes cast 114 there are no other changes.
I must say I don’t think this poll is being updated like it was in the beginning.
Les
View attachment 15031

Yes, I think people don't update it, was much better when it was pinned but the powers that be let it fall off the front page.

 

[Deleted member 9692]

I need to update mine. I am - had leak, breather fixed, now leaking again. There isn't a specific vote for this, so presumably I'm now "I have a leak and don't know cause".

I also had the modified breather and was presumed sorted. Found out last week that there is a “misting” of oil thought to be coming from where the breather is attached to the reduction gearbox. Apparently, they have been told that the “zip tie” type device they were using to secure is not giving a good enough seal and they have to use something else. Words in quotes are what the service manager said.

 

[tsedge]

I also had the modified breather and was presumed sorted. Found out last week that there is a “misting” of oil thought to be coming from where the breather is attached to the reduction gearbox. Apparently, they have been told that the “zip tie” type device they were using to secure is not giving a good enough seal and they have to use something else. Words in quotes are what the service manager said.

Could be worse, might have been sellotape.

 

[siteguru]

I need to update mine. I am - had leak, breather fixed, now leaking again. There isn't a specific vote for this, so presumably I'm now "I have a leak and don't know cause".

I would choose the 2nd last option ... is or was more serious.

Once I've had the leak confirmed by the dealer that's what I'll change my selection to.

 

[ssally]

At least you’ve been given the choice. My dealer told me to use the AA to get a courtesy car which I had access to for 2 days as per AA’s policy on offering a courtesy car. The dealer didn’t offer me a courtesy car at all and said they would only do so if MG themselves authorised the expense for it. MG wouldn’t authorise it because they said my MG4 was safe to drive with the oil coming out. So their only concern was safety and didn’t care one bit about the inconvenience or the damage done to anything the oil might land on. So I just went without the car and left it at the garage.

When I got the car back, it was the end of the day in the dark, I picked it up, took it home. Next day I could see it was absolutely caked in mud from where they’d stored it in a field or whatever their overflow parking is. They didn’t bother cleaning it so I had light coloured mud about a cm thick lining all four wheel arches and up the sides of the tires and the car. I have been far from impressed so far.

That is terrible service. You are right I seem to be lucky with the dealership.
I would have been really upset about the dirt on the car ?

 

[Macadoodle]

I had the leak emerge in the first week of ownership, coincided with giving it more welly after I had put 100 miles or so under its wheels , I have the standard breather fitted.
It only amounted to a few spots on the driveway and some staining of the gear casing and inner surface of the wobbly undertray.
If there was more than 20 or 30 ml dropped I'd be surprised, and it now seems to have stopped, no matter how much I cane it.
Really tempted to drain the box's contents into a clean 1 litre jug to see just what oil volume is left in there now that it seems to have settled. The drain plug is easy to access but the fill plug is a little more difficult.
There seems to be no actual level plug, which might explain the factory overfill if the wrong amount was decanted as they claim.
If there's around 900ml I know not to worry, if there's 500ml, might have a problem ?

 

[AndyL61]

I had the leak emerge in the first week of ownership, coincided with giving it more welly after I had put 100 miles or so under its wheels , I have the standard breather fitted.
It only amounted to a few spots on the driveway and some staining of the gear casing and inner surface of the wobbly undertray.
If there was more than 20 or 30 ml dropped I'd be surprised, and it now seems to have stopped, no matter how much I cane it.
Really tempted to drain the box's contents into a clean 1 litre jug to see just what oil volume is left in there now that it seems to have settled. The drain plug is easy to access but the fill plug is a little more difficult.
There seems to be no actual level plug, which might explain the factory overfill if the wrong amount was decanted as they claim.
If there's around 900ml I know not to worry, if there's 500ml, might have a problem ?

The fill plug on gearbox's is usually the level plug, you fill it until the oil comes out which gives you the correct level.

 

[Macadoodle]

The fill plug on gearbox's is usually the level plug, you fill it until the oil comes out which gives you the correct level.

Yup, but this box's filler plug is way above inner CV joint / driveshaft level , don't think the 900ml supposed fill volume would come anywhere near that, nor would you want it to.

 

[OhmMy]

Just turned 600 miles yesterday and found oil on my gravel drive. Feel like a proper (anointed) member of the forum now!
It's going into the dealer next Thursday for this and the 'lock-in' software update recall.

 

[siteguru]

Mine's going to the dealer tomorrow morning for a look-see ... to check that it is actually leaking. Thereafter it'll be booked in for further fixing as necessary. (For the uninitiated ... mine's already had the breather mod done).

 

[Deleted member 9909]

Siteguru, it can't be leaking surely if this dealers response is to be believed ?‍?

Just sharing reply from dealer

Just thought I would share a reply from my dealer as below before the car arrives in May. Did kinda put my mind at ease "a bit"..... Hi Mark Regarding the gearbox oil, MG resolved this on 28/10/22 via communication to all dealers stating the gearbox being slightly “overfilled” with oil at the...

www.mgevs.com

 

[EVNewbie]

My inbox has been overfilled with rubbish information.

 

[Deleted member 9909]

My inbox has been overfilled with rubbish information.

Easily solved just unwatch thread...

 

[EVNewbie]

Easily solved just unwatch thread...

I mean info from manufacture/some dealers saying its fixed towards Oct 2022.

It could be true to some but mine is one of those confirmed fault, "fixed" with new breather pipe but then leaked again.

 

[Deleted member 10041]

I mean info from manufacture/some dealers saying its fixed towards Oct 2022.

It could be true to some but mine is one of those confirmed fault, "fixed" with new breather pipe but then leaked again.

Definitely not fixed and now over 4 months from the first report

 

[siteguru]

Took my car to the dealer this morning ... update as follows:

I was initially just going for a check, to see if it was actually leaking, but the dealer confirmed it was and "sorted" it (TBC). I spoke with the "technician" (who seemed pretty clued up) and he said that when fitting the breather mod there was some dubiety in the instructions from MG, so they'd topped up the oil to the fill point. (As would seem normal for a gearbox). However digging through the instructions they actually say to drain (not to the last drop, so some residual oil will remain around the gears) and then top up by 750ml. (900ml fill is when filling from dry). So that's what they did this time - 750ml top up.

I'm going away at the weekend so the car will have a good run ... the technician said to drop by one day next week and they'll do a recheck to make certain all seems OK.

 

[tsedge]

Took my car to the dealer this morning ... update as follows:

I was initially just going for a check, to see if it was actually leaking, but the dealer confirmed it was and "sorted" it (TBC). I spoke with the "technician" (who seemed pretty clued up) and he said that when fitting the breather mod there was some dubiety in the instructions from MG, so they'd topped up the oil to the fill point. (As would seem normal for a gearbox). However digging through the instructions they actually say to drain (not to the last drop, so some residual oil will remain around the gears) and then top up by 750ml. (900ml fill is when filling from dry). So that's what they did this time - 750ml top up.

I'm going away at the weekend so the car will have a good run ... the technician said to drop by one day next week and they'll do a recheck to make certain all seems OK.

This seems to confirm that it isn't as simple as we thought and maybe other dealers have made the same error?