Manual Gearbox Oil

[djpt]

How often should I drain and renew the oil on my 5 speed gearbox? The Haynes manual only says how to check the oil level, but there is no mention of when you should change it.

What type of oil is best to use? Are there any oil filters in the gearbox or is it just a case of dropping the oil and filling it up again?

[danhay]

It should be a simple case of draining and refilling the gearbox, not sure if there's anything special on your car? The drain plug may have a magnet on it to collect any small bits of metal, so be sure to clean it off. It's well worth using a synthetic oil if you do plan to change. When I changed mine to synthetic, it made the shift smoother and the gearbox less noisy.

[opieoilman]

djpt said:

How often should I drain and renew the oil on my 5 speed gearbox? The Haynes manual only says how to check the oil level, but there is no mention of when you should change it. What type of oil is best to use? Are there any oil filters in the gearbox or is it just a case of dropping the oil and filling it up again?

What kind of car is it?

Cheers

Guy.

[stevieturbo]

No one type of oil is best. Different boxes require different oils.

Some use synthetic gear oils, others just mineral, some use engine oil, others ATF.

Just because synthetic oils sound good, doesnt mean they will work better. In a lot of cases, they can make gearchanges worse, as the synchros/baulk rings arent designed for use with such oil.

Subarus are a perfect example of that. I know many people who used a top quality fully synthetic gear oil in theirs, only to find it crunching into most gears.
Put plain old simple Castrol Syntrax into it, and it feels like a new box.

[djpt]

Guy,

It's a 1997 (R) Renault Clio 1.2 RL Paris, five speed manual.