hole cut in bellhousing and red fluid

hello all .

my wife owns a disco 1 300tdi manual . she had some problems with the clutch recently and had work done on it at a localgarage . before she had the work done she notified the garage of some vibration from underneath the vehicle and was told it was probably the clutch . when the car came back to her (after spending over £300 on clutch) the vibration was still very evident , so i changed the rear prop donut and front prop uj's which solved the vibration problems .

what worries me though , is that when i was under the vehicle i noticed that a rather large hole had been cut into the bellhousing with a grinder , i can actually fit my whole hand inside , and the car seems to be dropping oil all the time and when the car is reversing , it drops red oil which looks like ATF fluid ?? . also , there is next to no power anymore . this disco used to pull like a train , now it struggles to climb any sort of incline unless kept in 3rd or lower .

just in front of where the hole has been cut , there are two threaded holes ( 1 is horizontal facing toward the front of car and 1 is vertical ) which look like they should be plugged ??

any ideas guys ? we live in a rural area and my wife and kids really are stuck without it .

You got a pic and was it there before it went to garage?.

no hole before it went there for the clutch work . i'll try and get a pic up asap .

another point of note is that the car now sounds like a 'pod racer' from star wars ep 1 !!!! and the noise is definately coming from directly under the gearstick .

after doing my clutch arm the other week I did wonder why there isn't an access panel on the bell housing, maybe these guys couldn't be bothered dropping the gearbox and just chopped it.

sounds like a bunch of cowboys, let's see the pics and then name and shame them.

Then take it back to the cowboy that did the job an demand to know why he cut a hole in a perfectly good bell housing. the vertical thread you are asking about sounds like the drain hole that has a plug for wading this is a separate part. The horizontal I will not know what it is till I see a pic.

even if they have "cut" an hole in the bellhousing that wouldn't allow for the clutch to be fitted. So if sounds like they've replaced clutch?? and buggered up fitting the fork arm. and made an hole to save having to remove the gearbox a 2nd time. either way get the vehicle down to trading standards. Don't let the garage do any further work

where abouts are you based?

Maybe someone from here could check it out?

op2:

Well I could if you'r neer me as in less than 10 miles

i'mbased just outside abergavenny , and if someone could could take a look i'd be more than happy to sort out a few beers

ok , here's a couple pics . i'm guessing that the fluid is from the power steering asw it just made some awful noises when i just drove it to the shop .

the horizontal plug that i referred to is just in front of the 'missing plug in the pic . i tried to get a shot of it but i didn't want to get covered in oil when i'm not in my overalls !

Ok just a wee bit out the way there I'll just wait for the pics lol

I agree with Redhand, get that to trading standards

Ok the fooker has chopped the bell up for no reason other than pure laziness. Go to the cowboy ask to see the owner. demand it is put wright if they do not take it to trading standards tell all your mates name and shame the cookers then small clames court. Just don't let them off.

Oh and stop driving it until put wright more fore the power steering than anything else.

elsobrante01 said:

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ok , here's a couple pics . i'm guessing that the fluid is from the power steering asw it just made some awful noises when i just drove it to the shop .

the horizontal plug that i referred to is just in front of the 'missing plug in the pic . i tried to get a shot of it but i didn't want to get covered in oil when i'm not in my overalls !

Click to expand...

Ok what they have done to the bellhousing is downright vandalism and suggests the quality of work they deliver.

I would take it back to the garage but don't be surprised if you get fobbed off or threatened.

Then take it to trading std's.

The other threaded hole is the wading plug hole and is perfectly normal.

The red fluid on the floor is atf and is used in the pas system ( so check the level) and also in the main gearbox and could be leaking out that great big hole in the bellhousing !!!

Good luck - I have a feeling you're going to need it.

Dave

I wouldn't let anyone that did that to my motor. A 2nd chance to **** it up even more. get to Trading standards and sue the fooker for the cost of replacing bellhousing (at a reputable garage)

OH and name the fookers now so we all know who it was. someone on here may know them and know of other horror stories to strengthen your case.

redhand said:

I wouldn't let anyone that did that to my motor. A 2nd chance to **** it up even more. get to Trading standards and sue the fooker for the cost of replacing bellhousing (at a reputable garage)

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Normally Trading Stds will ask you you have tried to resolve things directly, before getting involved.

name and shame the bastids

Bloody hell!!!!!!!

That really is vandalism. They need stopping before they do it to someone else's motor.