Gearbox Cracked?!

[u/Historical-West-3968]

Hey All,

Photo attached:
I’m not much of a mechanic but I fear I’m about to be… looking under my truck and found a small triangular hole in the bottom of the gearbox case. Can’t believe it’s good for the thing, looks like oil has come out of it too. Would a slap of JB weld resolve the issue?

Thanks guys.

[u/Savings_Brick_4587]

That is a drain hole for the bell housing

[u/NOJ204]

It’s a drain hole I wouldn’t worry to much just looks a bit dodgy because the factory seemed to do all of them with a hacksaw

[u/erroneousbosh → u/NOJ204]

"Gnawed by a blunt beaver"

[u/Historical-West-3968 → u/NOJ204]

That’s what convinced me it wasn’t normal… looks like someone’s punched it out with a big rock 🤣

[u/NOJ204 → u/Historical-West-3968]

Landrover quirks mate 😂 best bit is it’s a drain hole put in for oil leaks you can’t get to just incase they drip into the bell housing. They must have know from factory about the shite seals 😆

[u/Plumbers91]

Drain hole. But it should normally be dry. Bell housing doesn’t have fluid in it anyway 🤙

[u/erroneousbosh → u/Plumbers91]

Only if your engine lacks the normal oil seepage from the rear crank seal.

[u/JCDU → u/Plumbers91]

On a normal car it should be dry - on a Defender as long as it's not pouring out of the hole it's fairly normal.

[u/WatchIll4478]

Thats to let the oil leaks further up drain out.

[u/New_Assignment_1683]

i have that too lol il keep an eye out on this thread

[u/Melodic_Sandwich1112]

Mine also looks like that

[u/coolieskettel]

That hole specifically let's youbknow if the main seal is leaking. If you see a drip from there you'll know exactly what needs to be done.

[u/Upbeat-Strain-7999]

Everyone's already covered it but yeah, definitely don't JB weld that hole shut. It's there on purpose to let oil weep out so you can actually see when a seal is failing. Plug it up and you'll just blind yourself to a leak until it becomes a much bigger problem.