glasgow Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 Hello everyone.Yesterday I removed the top-up plug from the 5 speed gearbox of my 2003, K series, 1.8L, no oil came out.- I don't know what is current oil in the gearbox but if I am just topping up, is there an issue of mixing different GL4 (75W-90, 75W-80 or 80W-90)? and if ok to mix, which one I should use (road use with occasional trackdays)- If i want to replace the gearbox oil, can I do it through the top-up plug hole (very tight space) or I have to remove the top plate (which I am not keen to do). - during filling, and in order to get as much oil in, should I jack the car from the front or the rear please? Thank you for your help. Ahmed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted March 25, 2019 Member Share Posted March 25, 2019 I would top up with oil that meets the specification recommended by Caterham.- during filling, and in order to get as much oil in, should I jack the car from the front or the rear please?Neither.Maintenance notes from Alcester Racing Sevens.Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SM25T Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 Hello Ahmed. Welcome back. If you feed a plastic tube into the fill/level plug you can suck a lot of the oil out with a syringe or Pela vacuum pump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted March 25, 2019 Member Share Posted March 25, 2019 And if you do decide to suck it out it will be a lot easier with warm oil.Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glasgow Posted March 25, 2019 Author Share Posted March 25, 2019 Hello Jonathan and Ian. Manual just says GL4 - doesn't mention the grade. Other than warm oil, any other advice please? is it just a straight forward suck and replace while the gear is in neutral? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SM25T Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 Doesn't matter what gear it is in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Vine Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 Of course, Henry Ford in his wisdom didn't consider oil changes necessary anyway, which is why there's no drain plug on the 5-speed. So I would simply top it up, using CC's recommended oil from Comma, available from several places, including ebay.JV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim 123 Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 As Jonathan suggests, it is not a good idea to try and get more oil in than the filler plug will allow with the car level as you could get leaking seals. Re the filler plug access, my car is a later model with the Mazda box so the following may not apply. Lift back the carpet from the passenger lower footwell along the side of the transmission tunnel. You might find there is a large removable grommet that allows access to the filler plug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SM25T Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 On my 2002 SV the filler plug is blocked by a chassis diagonal ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glasgow Posted March 25, 2019 Author Share Posted March 25, 2019 What slightly confuses me is we aim at oil level dribbling from the filler plug ie the oil level has to be "ABOVE" the level of the plug. If the oil level is "at" or "below" the level of the plug, oil will not dribble when opening the plug and would need top up. That's why I thought we may need tilting or special pressure pump. Thank you John for the links. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SM25T Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 No .... the correct level is to the bottom of the plug hole. So when the oil stops running out... it is correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glasgow Posted March 25, 2019 Author Share Posted March 25, 2019 Oh, so I may not need top up then. Was just about to place an order for the oil.I need to do the finger (or cable tie) test tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadsport06 Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 Cable tie will work a treat for checking the level. Unlikely you will need oil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Area Representative Geoff Brown Posted March 26, 2019 Area Representative Share Posted March 26, 2019 Recently assisted a local member to service his Sigma 140 with Type 9 gear box. Factory 'built' car.Took plug out, no oil dribble. Decided tie wrap test irrelevant & proceeded to fill.......THREE QUARTERS OF A LITRE LATER THE OVERSPILL OCCURED !!Order the oil as a JIC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7 wonders of the world Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 Type 9's should have 1.2 ltrs from dry, the variation in filler plug height comes from which casing you have some were designed to hold up to 1.9ltrs for transit use etc, running this much in a 7 can channel and overheat the oil. (and its extra weight )Redline MTL is known to work very well in these boxes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leadership Team SLR No.77 Posted March 26, 2019 Leadership Team Share Posted March 26, 2019 In my 6-speed I swapped from MTL to a standard GL4 gearbox oil ... the gearbox now runs much quieter which can only mean less wear.Stu. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elie boone Posted March 27, 2019 Share Posted March 27, 2019 Long ago i used ATF without any problem during 6h races in a beat up Escort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genneton4 Posted March 27, 2019 Share Posted March 27, 2019 Had the same worries as you along with a slightly noisy layshaft in neutral so decided to try and replace gearbox oil in my 1990 Supersprint with type 9 gearbox. Couldn't get the plug out because there was no way to wind it out before it hit the tunnel let alone getting a syphon tube in. Luckily, I could see the top of the box in the engine bay and after removing the washer bottle and pump I could just get to all the bolts on the top plate. Sucked all oil out - I was absolute sludge - evil stuff, quite suprised how it looked. Car has only done 10K. Replaced with 1.2L of GL4. Not sure if you have the same access. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SM25T Posted March 27, 2019 Share Posted March 27, 2019 That sounds worrying .... especially after only 10k !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted March 27, 2019 Member Share Posted March 27, 2019 Couldn't get the plug out because there was no way to wind it out before it hit the tunnel let alone getting a syphon tube in.That's unusual. There's usually room to get the plug out even without making it easier with a hole in the tunnel.AFAIK the smallest possible tool is a cut down section of hex section in a *ratchet ring wrench. Is there something different about Sevens before my 1998 on which there is enough room?ThanksJonathan* But do make sure that it's the right type of ratchet... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SM25T Posted March 27, 2019 Share Posted March 27, 2019 .... one that can be switched to reverse if everything gets stuck. Otherwise you will be really stuck ... big time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SM25T Posted March 27, 2019 Share Posted March 27, 2019 Maybe box not centralised in the tunnel ? Propshaft UJs working overtime? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted March 27, 2019 Member Share Posted March 27, 2019 .... one that can be switched to reverse if everything gets stuck. Otherwise you will be really stuck ... big time.I know NOW! ;-)Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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