Gearbox Oil Change by Paul Beasley

How to Change Gear Oil

You'll need:

Some oil (1.8 litres); the recommended oil is 10W-30 or 10W-40 engine oil
Something to actually get the oil into the gearbox (space is tight). I used
a funnel and a piece of cooling hose.
A jack
Axle stand
Wheel brace
A 17mm socket/ring spanner
A 3/8" ratchet drive
Washer(s) for the drain (and fill?) plug(S)
A dry day

1. Take the car for a good drive, to warm everything up.

2. Jack up the driver's side front wheel and remove it (using an axle stand
of course). You should now see the fill and drain plugs on the left-hand
side of the gearbox (looking from the front), one above the other.

3. Using the 17mm socket/ring spanner, remove the fill plug. Mine was VERY
tough to shift.

4. Put a drip tray under the gearbox (don't forget to allow for the fact
that the oil will shoot out a fair distance).

5. Using just a socket drive (3/8") remove the drain plug and allow to drain
(go for a cup of tea or something).

6. Clean up the fill and drain holes and their respective plugs. Fit new a
washer and refit the drain plug.

7. Now put the oil in the gearbox. There is no space to simply tip the oil
in, and since engine oil doesn't come in the same small, handy, sqeezeable
packs that gear oil does, I recommend the funnel approach. Fill until the
oil just starts to overflow.

8. Refit the fill plug.

9. Remove the drip tray.

10. Refit the wheel and lower the car to the ground.

11. Clean yourself up and go for a drive!

You can do this job with the car on the ground and without removing the
front wheel but believe me, it's a lot easier with the wheel off. It might
also help the have the bonnet up to get a bit more light under there.