Changing Gear & Diff Oil

[A2Z]

Hi All,

Just received a load of gear oil off Opie Oils (top service by the way).

It has arrived in 1 litre containers like a small bottle of engine oil and not in the traditional gear oil bottles with the filler pipe.

How do people get this into the filler holes on the gearbox and diff? Squeezy bottle / turkey baster??

Also, I want to as much work as possible myself. Looking in Rods' manual on changing the gearbox oil he gets the car fully off the ground on 4 axle stands. I'm a little reluctant to test this by working underneath. What does everyone else do?

[franv8]

Axle stands good, I do this - but in a garage. If on the road, or a sloaping driveway, then ramps are a better choice - I think the MX5 will clear them...

[Risotto]

For the gearbox oil I used to use a 4 foot length of clear plastic piping (about 10mm diameter - the sort you can get from a garden centre for pond pumps etc) and a funnel.

Once you're ready to put the oil in, put the funnel in one end of the pipe, open the bonnet, feed the open end of the pipe down to the gearbox. Get under the car and push the gearbox end of the pipe into the filling hole and get someone to pour the oil down the funnel.

As for filling the diff, it's possible to do it with the car on the ground but as you've got to get it in the air to do the gearbox, you might as well just do them both at once using the same technique.

[Munter]

A tip given to me about changing the diff oil. Make sure you can open the filler hole BEFORE you open the drain hole. Otherwise you could drain the oil out but not be able to replace it. I'm sure it's in rods manual. But it's the kind of dumb trap I'd fall into if not.

[lord summerisle]

I did the diff using a turkey baster... but it was labourious... and took a good long while.

When i did the Gearbox - i did the turret oil with the baster. but underneth i dont think i could have got a baster in position to put the oil in.
What i did get was one of those pumps off a soap bottle, which screwed onto the oil bottle, fitted a length of tubing onto the nozzle of the pump, then just pumped the oil into the box. Quick n easy

[A2Z]

Turret Oil. I have heard about this but can't find a reference to changing it in the service schedule.

What does this oil do and is changing it really just for completeness / peace of mind?

[skinny]

turret oil won't be on service list - it's the oil that the gearstick sits in, just helps to smooth out the action. you need to remove the centre console (and gearstick to remove it completely) and upper shift boot in order to see lower shift boot - that basically holds the gear lever in position and seals the turret - if the rubber is perished on the bottom one it'll need replacing, and the oil will probably be low.