Gearbox Oil Change

[angelw]

Having not seen a filler plug on the RH Side of an S2 gearbox, today, a new client's car was delivered to work and it had the plug on the RH Side, but with the access hole in the transmission tunnel still on the Left Side.

Hypothesizing that a change may have been date related (S3 Gearboxes have the filler plug on the RH Side), I looked at the build date of the new arrival in comparison with cars currently in the workshop. One car was built three weeks after the new arrival and its filler plug was on the LH Side; so much for that theory.

The Gearbox with the Filler Plug on the Right Side, also had a boss on the Left Side where a Left Side filler plug would normally be fitted. Those Gearboxes with Filler Plugs on the LH Side had no boss for a RH Side Filler Plug. Accordingly, it was a casting from a different pattern.

Regards,

Bill

[mgcjag]

Hi Bill......yes my 69 with the right hand filler also has the boss on the left side of the gearbox......Steve

[Steve Marshall]

“gearboxes are usually lubricated for life - aren't they? ”
No no no no no......

Only do this if you want that gearbox to have a short life. There is a service interval for E-Type gearboxes and axles, it is 12,000 miles. And don’t forget that the oil change interval for the XK engine is 3,000 miles. Brake and clutch fluid change every two years.

Other will chime in with recommendations for owners manuals and workshop manuals. I’ve always used Haynes, mainly because they are local to me and I did once buy a vehicle from them after it had been used to make a new manual. Or you can find reproductions of the original owners service handbook online.

Chris I just meant modern gearboxes which don't even have drain plugs I believe. Never tried to change the oil on one.

[Steve Marshall]

My garage is a very tight fit for an E-Type, I can only open the bonnet about 18".

I jacked the front up pretty high using a 3 tonne trolley jack under the picture frame and some HD axle stands and drained the gearbox. I have a strip of oak cable tied under the picture frame permanently to protect it.

Then I left the drain pan under the car and lowered the car to get it level - not another drop came out!

Then I jacked it up again, and I pumped in 1700cc of oil using a Draper 1 Litre Multi-Purpose Engine Oil/Transmission/Brake Fluid Pump - 23242 £18 on eBay. Took about 750 strokes of the pump in a very confined space (I can only get under the car from the RH side).

Anyway - the moral of the story is, the car does not need to be level to drain the gearbox.

Steve