Gearbox output end oil leak fix

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Introduction

Some Jimnys 3, particularly those with R72 gear box built between 2005 and 2008, can develop an oil leak from the output end of the gear box (where the small propeller shaft towards the transfer box connects).

The usual suspect is an oil seal on the output side of the gear box and that is what usually gets replaced as a first measure. However, in many cases the oil leak returns after a short while, as the actual usual cause is a faulty mini propeller shaft.

More details about the issue

To be more specific, there is a round metal seal glued into the actual yoke part of the mini propeller shaft (yoke part goes into the gear box). That glue from the specified production era has a tendency to fail, and then the oil from the gear box starts to leak along the yoke of the propeller shaft.

Suzuki has even acknowledged this moderately widespread issue in its service bulletin Q-SN-006-R1 and has replaced the faulty propeller shafts under warranty.

Suzuki service bulletin

The following is a summary of the contents of Suzuki's above mentioned service bulletin.

Issue No:Q-SN-006-R1

Subject: Oil leak

Jimny older than vin: JSAFJB43V00453307

This bulletin is to inform you of the modification of Propeller Shaft No.1 For SN413.

The customer may complain of an oil leak from the cap part of the sliding yoke. This is due to the insufficient performance of the sealing adhesive used on the cap during quick acceleration.

If you encounter this please take your Jimny to your dealer.

Solution

The official solution, if the propeller shaft is indeed faulty, is to replace it with another one.

However, there is a DIY solution to repair the faulty propeller shaft by cleaning the old glue from the seal on its yoke and applying a new proper high quality glue, preferably an epoxy one.

Note: Someone should mention a few specific glue products here as a reference.

Changing the gear box output oil seal as the part of the procedure might be a good idea, as it is not an expensive part and there is a clean opportunity to do it when the propeller shaft is already removed from the vehicle.

Additional info

The following forum discussions contain additional useful info:

• Forum discussion 1;
• Forum discussion 2;
• Forum discussion 3;
• Forum discussion 4;
• Forum discussion 5;

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Page last edited on 6/11/2019 by user Bosanek