Gearbox and Diff

[Yatesy350i]

Hi All

Quick bit of advice if possible please. The new addition to the family 1979 1500 Midget, seems to have a vert noisy gearbox. Only in first gear? And the diff whines terribly in reverse. Not sure if the latter is normal as one of my Spitfires did this and I was told it was normal?

Anyway as a starting point I will be changing the oil in both. Recommendations would be appreciated in the oil department.

And do any of the above symptoms sound serious?

Cheers Karl.

[nta16]

not sure about later but first gears can be noisy but it depends how noisy you mean - as changing the oil is cheap and I think fairly easy on a 1500 it's worth doing particularly as it's often forgotten and if you find the level is low or oil like water or soup it might help explain the noise

same for diff, it should be very easy to change the oil and same reason to do so and possibly similar results

your Driver's Handbook will tell you the quantities and original type of oil used (along with numerous other things useful to you) - Driver's Handbook (Ref:0058) - http://www.mgocshop.co.uk/catalog/Online_Catalogue...

gearbox - EP80 (GL-4) for refill and EP90 (GL-4) for topping up (the GL-4 spec is important for the gearbox)

I'd recommend for easier gear shifting in cold weather and longer lasting oil you use a modern alternative like Castrol Syntrans Multivehicle 75W-90 Fully Synthetic MTF (which is GL-4)

diff - EP90 but you're normally given EP80w/90 (GL-5) nowadays, GL-5 is ok for diff

again for reduced cold weather drag and longer lasting oil I'd recommend a modern alternative like Castrol Syntrax Longlife 75W-90
or
Mobilube 1 SHC 75W-90

(hyperlinks to example of item, you could buy cheaper elsewhere)

personally I'd change again after 3-5 years or double for synthetics

I'd suggest (once you've checked you've got the right tools) getting the oils as warm as possible and leave to drain for as long as possible to get as much current oil and muck out as possible (same for engine changes), comparing the current oil with new might tell you a lot about how the g/box and diff were maintained and possibly a little about their condition

Edited by nta16 on Friday 19th July 21:17

[Yatesy350i]

Thanks Nigel

I'll get the oils ordered and get it all changed out over the weekend.

Karl.

[nta16]

be interesting to know if you get much difference in noise of diff and/or first gear

I changed from a cheapish 'semi-synthetic' gearbox oil recommended for the Type-9 I have to the Castrol (fully) 'synthetic' and about a year ago and immediately noticed better changes and it wasn't cold then and the previous oil had only been in the gearbox about 2 years so wasn't old

for the diff I changed to the Castrol (fully) 'synthetic' from standard 80w-90 (GL-5) that I'd put in a couple of years before but I can't say I noticed in the diff, whined just as much with the roof up (apparently mine's noisier than usual) so I keep the hood down as much as I can

with these two oils in and the thinner 'synthetic' engine oil there was a very small noticeable difference on the rollers in drag - but the thinner engine oil (of that make and model at least) was a mistake, but that's another story