Gearbox Level

[Guest Anthony B]

Hi All

 

Things are moving fast with the s7. Fitted a cooling fan from a Cherry and the transformation from the rover one is amazing. Can now keep temp down to approx 85 degrees all day long now. I have also lagged the exhaust manifold and I think it really does give the car more power and keep it cooler

 

Anyway one of my last few problems is a sticky one.....how the hell to check or top up the gearbox oil level on a S7, stainless monocoque car. The gearbox is almost totally enclosed. I assume cutting the floor pan will not be a good idea due to rigidity. I was thinking of putting a removable panel in the passenger side of the tunnel, a piece of plate drilled and tapped to the tunnel side.

 

How have you all got round this problem.

 

Thanks for any help.

Ant

[Guest boggie]

I just kept squeezing it in until it started coming out which is the correct level. It was a bit of a fiddle with the gearbox in the car but it is possible. This is how I checked the level last week although as soon as i stuck the pipe and squeezed the container the fluid started to leak out so level was OK. I thought about using some clear syphon tubing to extend the tube on the bottle but just fiddled around and got away with it.

[Guest Anthony B]

All

 

Managed to get the plug out and the box topped up ok, nowhere near as difficult as I thought it would be.

 

The diff plug is another matter though.........

 

 

Thanks

Ant

[ibrooks]

Hi Guys,

I too have the diff plug problem - you know the hexagonal hole in the middle - well I've got one that's round. For the time being I'm going to jack up one side of the car as high as possible and pop a half-shaft. I'll then shove as much oil as possible in there, re-assemble and treat it as a consumable item (I have a spare rear axle or two that I'll rob a diff from for replacement when I have time or when it starts to make noises).

 

Regarding the gearbox filling problem. I have a -well I don't know what it's called really-. It's a big can with a pump on the top and a long tube with a small nozzle on the end. You stick the nozzle in the appropriate orifice and turn the handle and the orifice (or whatever it leads to) is filled with oil. It's currently filled with EP90 and if anyone who want's to collect/return it to Darwen would like to borrow it I just ask that you replace the oil you use. Be warned that the tube is perishing so it may be prone to dump oil all over the floor at an in-oportune moment - if anyone has some suitable tube it would be appreciated - failing that it will be sorted when I get around to it.

 

Iain

[Longboarder]

Iain, steady on with the half shaft bit. The filler plug is quite a good diameter and will often turn with a cold chisel and hammer. Sounds brutal but usualy works fine.

 

Nigel

[ibrooks]

Been there, done that and the outside of the plug is now well and truly chewed to prove just how determined it is to stay in there. Also anything I use to get a grip just ends up slipping whilst stripping a little more metal off the outside of the plug. After much grunting and swearing I decided to give it up as a bad job and work around it. Like I said I'll re-visit when the knuckles have healed.

 

It's been suggested that I could weld a big nut to it so I could get a grip with a socket and a long bar (also the heat may help free it). It's another possibility but it's a little close to the fuel tank and ep90 will go up if you get it hot enough so mucho care needs to be taken.

 

All this said I'll probably stick with plan-A coz even popping a halfshaft isn't going to take too long so why muck around.

 

Iain

[Guest DaveB]

Hi Iain

 

Seeing as your plug is knackered anyway why not drill a hole in it and use a screw extractor.

 

Just a Thought

 

Dave B

[Guest Great Scott!!]

Iain

 

you could try finding a spline bit (12 sided) and hammer that in until its solid then warm the surrounding area with a hotair gun not a blow torch then crack it undone with a big bar.

 

or failing that you could fill it through the breather pipe on top, if you drain the diff completely then measure out the amount of oil haynes recommends you will find a 500ml squeezy bottle fits in the breather pipe normally.

[ibrooks]

Dave,

I thought of a screw extractor but given how tight it obviously is I suspect it would break before it came out and I didn't want to fill the diff with swarf from drilling a hole in the plug. My uncle (well great uncle actually) used to be the serice dept manager at the local Ford dealership and he tells me that they used to drill a hole through the plug and then insert a saw blade and cut to one edge of the plug and also nearly to the other edge. You need to be careful not to do too much damage to the threads in the casing. If you then get a grip with something the plug will crush a little and break it's grip on the alloy. I still think popping a halfshaft will be easier and quicker.

 

Scott,

Again I've seen the spline bits and debated it but I'm kind of short of hammering room square onto the face of the plug. My other thought is that if the torx bolts around the outside of the rear plate are more willing to come out I could work on the thing on the bench.

 

Like I say popping a half-shaft isn't that big a job and I should be able to get a reasonable amount of oil in there to make it a non-urgent problem that I can deliberate on for some time.

 

Iain