Gonna have a crack at changing the oil
I mean how difficult can it be.
I mean how difficult can it be.
Gearbox oil change.
- Thread starter LtRipley1983
- Start date
Dead easy if you want to come over to the Shed on Saturday.
Tony.
Tony.
Working on SaturdayDead easy if you want to come over to the Shed on Saturday.
Tony.
Otherwise I'd have taken up your offer.
Pretty simple procedure but you'll need to make sure the car is high enough up to get underneath it. You'll want the car flat so wheel ramps at the front aren't adequate. It's more of a pain than difficult, takes as much time to get the car raised than carrying it out.
Undo the drain plug at the bottom and allow to drain fully, it should drop around 1.5 litres so use a large bucket/tray to catch it. Then refit the plug and open the upper fill plug. You'll ideally have bought something like the picture in advance to allow you to fill it again. Keep pumping it in until it comes out the upper fill plug. Refit the plug and away you go.
Just done this on my Z4 and it's really made a difference to the feel.
Undo the drain plug at the bottom and allow to drain fully, it should drop around 1.5 litres so use a large bucket/tray to catch it. Then refit the plug and open the upper fill plug. You'll ideally have bought something like the picture in advance to allow you to fill it again. Keep pumping it in until it comes out the upper fill plug. Refit the plug and away you go.
Just done this on my Z4 and it's really made a difference to the feel.
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2016
- Points
- 231
- Model of Z
- Z3M Imola and Z4 (e89)
Undo the filler plug before you undo the drain plug just in case the filler plug is seized, bit of a problem if you drain the box and can't refill.
Fair point sir!
Be careful not to over torque the drain/fill plugs too! I think I’ve heard horror stories of people cracking the housing, or maybe that’s the differential?
Although I am off SundayDead easy if you want to come over to the Shed on Saturday.
Tony.
I don’t do Sundays anymore, I used to when I worked for myself.
Tony.
Tony.
Bugger. How much am I looking either way?
I'll reply in a while.
Tony.
Tony.
So, cost is your gear oil. All you need to refill your gear box oil (and Diff. Oil) is this.
A small hand pump can be useful but if you won't use it much £15 - £20 can be saved by using a small funnel for around £3 and 3ft. off the end of your garden hose. You just feed the hose down the righthand side of the gearbox from the engine bay into the fill/level plug hole. As Gary says you do need to have the car level to get an accurate fill.
If you want to use my pit or lift you're welcome just turn up, with your oil and we'll get it done.
Tony.
A small hand pump can be useful but if you won't use it much £15 - £20 can be saved by using a small funnel for around £3 and 3ft. off the end of your garden hose. You just feed the hose down the righthand side of the gearbox from the engine bay into the fill/level plug hole. As Gary says you do need to have the car level to get an accurate fill.
If you want to use my pit or lift you're welcome just turn up, with your oil and we'll get it done.
Tony.
Newtricks
Dedicated Member
I followed @t-tony advice/instructions and found it worked a treat. I also used Opie’s recommended mix (50% manual fluid, 50% automatic fluid - pretty sure it was Miller), and have found that it perks the gear change up tremendously. I had all sorts of problems getting the filler plug open, and in the end used a jack under the wrench handle to provide the necessary leverage to loosen it.