Leaky Gearbox Mystery Solved – Wrong Bolts! Full Tear Down & Fix

Leaky Gearbox Mystery Solved – Wrong Bolts! Full Tear Down & Fix

This one’s been a wild ride! I’ve got a 5.5 GPM gear-driven pressure washer pump back on the bench, leaking oil like crazy. Turns out… it was pre-assembled with the WRONG hardware.

🕵️ During teardown, I discovered:

35mm bolts were used to mount the gearbox plate to the pump

They should’ve used 30mm bolts — the 35s bottomed out and never sealed properly

To top it off, the bolt holding the gear on the shaft was too short
➡️ All of this combined caused the gearbox to leak right from day one

And yes, I sent this unit back nearly a year ago — marked it because I suspected a bad build. Now it’s circled back to my bench for me to fix it properly.

🎥 In this video, I:
✔️ Diagnose the leak
✔️ Tear down the pump/gearbox assembly
✔️ Explain the bolt issue
✔️ Reassemble it the way it should’ve been done
✔️ And… take a Cheez-It break. Not sponsored. Still salty. 😅

💬 Got a similar shop mystery? Tell me about it in the comments — I’d love to hear your version.

🛒 Tools & supplies I actually use:
👉 https://amzn.to/4lR5R9a

🙌 Thanks to North Georgia Airless for keeping my parts shelf stocked:
👉 https://www.thepumpoutlet.com

🔔 Like, comment, and subscribe for more gear-driven diagnostics, repair how-to’s, and shop-tested mayhem from The Rusty Rooster. Woo-HOOO!



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