Gearbox oil-change on my Mk1 1.9 Multispace.

[Usual Suspect]

Well having seen a thread in this section about doing an oil change on a 2.0hdi box..I thought I'd do a report on the same job I did on my 1.9.

So then, moving along..I've got the car jacked-up, & the front wheel off the passenger side, & are now looking at the slot-headed screws that hold-in the front part of the wheel-arch liner.
Things got outa shape straight away here..of the 4 screws, 1 came out OK, 2 had their heads snapped off by levering behind them! (due to them turning, but not screwing out).
The 4th (& final) screw..Nr the base of the shock I left slackened & swivelled the liner round to come to rest on the caliper..
Next I made a mug 0 tea & consulted the Haynes manual for clues to the whereabouts of the drain plug & filler/level plug..?
(the photos in this book are just so crap!)
So then..here's the drain plug..c/w my finger & a 21mm socket.
   

Right then..when that oil floods out..what we gonna catch it in..cratch:
Next door's garage door was open & a paint-roller tray was spotted..mmm?
   

Yup, oils out, & the plug's back in & torqued-up to 22lb/ft.
New oil back in time now I guess (well, after more tea )
Filler/level plug..? Looking straight in thru the wheel arch it's right there in front of you..a 19mm hexagon stud..
   
Now at this stage we've got the old stuff out, drain plug back in & we're needin' some new stuff in there..1st job now is to lower your jack to bring the car level again..NOW I tackled the task of getting 1.8L of Valvoline 75/85 into that filler-hole.. cratch:
Well here goes folks..I got about 2ft of clear fuel-line hosing, some parcel tape, a small funnel & a bit of black tape..plus the use of the hot water in the kettle from my last brew..:lol:
I dunked the pipe-end into the kettle's hot water, then slipped the funnel into the softened pipe-end, then wrapped parcel tape for good measure.
At the other end of the pipe I wrapped some insulation tape until the pipe-end was a snug-fit into the filler hole (had a vision of me pouring new oil into funnel & it running out instead of flowing into gearbox).
That done here's the crafty trick..get more black tape & tape the pipe/funnel to your cars wing (with the wide end of the funnel pointing skyward).
   
Now I was ready for pouring some in..:thumbsup:
The pipe was quite thin, so the oil ran slowly & did have to be topped-up bit by bit all the time..but the pipe/funnel/tape system DID work.
May I add at this point that I am partly disabled, so cannot kneel to pour the oil into the funnel..no worries..I could sit down & see the level in the funnel & in the clear pipe.. :thumbsup:
After tipping in about 1 .8L when I let the pipe/funnel drain dry & pulled out the pipe from the filler-hole..a couple more little pours had the oil up to desired level & back in with the plug..NOT FORGETTING IT HAS A WASHER ON IT..

Torqued the filler-plug stud to 15lb/ft, wipe round,& replaced the inner liner back again (with 2 more screws). Then carefully took paint-tray & it's blackish contents away, screwed the jack up a bit, wheel back on & Blingo..:woop: Job done..:thumbsup:

Now you'd think I'd now be jumping in the Blingo & out for a test-drive to see if it felt any different..?
That came 2nd on the priority-list..toilet was 1st..after all that tea!! alut:

[addo]

Good to see the priorities right.

Being a 1.9D, your oil change is probably equal in elapsed time to the quarter mile run.

[chronyx]

First vehicle I've ever owned where I've even entertained the idea of doing a gearbox oil change, let alone done it.

Everything else "Simple remove the drivesha - " Yeah **** that then.

Did the 'lingo before the first cup of tea had gone cold. Great bit of design.

(Didn't take the liner out, filled it via the breather at the top)

[Trevor]

Good job, I would have liked to see a brew taking a more prominent role in the job though (1/2 Yorkshire myself)
I wonder if you can still get an oil syringe? I used to have one ages ago that held about a pint and a half which made the job easy.

[andy-womble]

Good job, I would have liked to see a brew taking a more prominent role in the job though (1/2 Yorkshire myself)
I wonder if you can still get an oil syringe? I used to have one ages ago that held about a pint and a half which made the job easy.

Think the gentleman was reffering to his waterworks and not his bowels...... have a word with your friendly nieghbourhood nurse who may be able to get you an enema kit !!!!:whistle::whistle::whistle:

[Houdini]

Thanks for this. Saved me a whole lot of hassle. Great