Checking/adding gearbox oil??

[TNMGB]

I'm getting a little different feel now when I shift gears, especially from first to second and want to make sure I've got enough lubrication in the gearbox. I want to check the gearbox oil level but where is this to be done??
Thanks!
TN

 

[Radford]

You should find the fill plug on the the passenger side of the transmission housing a little more than halfway back and about 6/10th2 of the way up the transmission housing. Open this, fluit level should be level with the plug.

If you need to drain the tranny the drain plug is situated on the bottom to the housing.

Is there a better way anyone?

 

[703MGB]

sounds good to me

 

[TNMGB]

Thanks for the info...and what do I use to fill it with and what type/weight, etc.? Dumb question, but I don't know.
Again, thanks...
TN

 

[Radford]

Which gear box (Model car/year/ and O/D or non O/D)?

 

[TNMGB]

Oh, yeah...duh!
'79 B non O/D. By the way, where is the plug for this? Is it somewhere in the cockpit on the passenger side amidst carpeting and such?
TN

 

[Radford]

A good 20/w50 oil should do the trick. I know there is a way to check from inside the car (used to in my dad's 58 A), but I've always done it from under this car. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazyeyes.gif

 

[MattP]

BTW: Just to prove there are no dumb questions, I've been wondering all these things myself. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Actually, come to think of it, that doesn't prove the question isn't dumb, just that you're not alone. I think I may need to shut up now.

 

[TNMGB]

Gag! Under the car? How in the world...? Surely there is someplace else to check this from inside the car or I'm getting my padded foam out and crawling up under there.
BTW, thanks for the reassurance, Matt...nice to know I'm not alone in my musings!
TN

 

[Stewart]

On the earlier b's there was a dipstick that was reachable from inside the car on the later ones the only way to check is to pull the plug and check the level. Not hard to do. If you do drain it make sure you have some sort of pump to get the new oil in the tranny. I couldn’t see any way to fill it otherwise. 20w 50 seems to work well.

 

[Geo Hahn]

[ QUOTE ]
On the earlier b's there was a dipstick that was reachable from inside the car on the later ones the only way to check is to pull the plug and check the level.

[/ QUOTE ]

Same thing happened to the TRs dipstick -- guess they found a way to save 10 shillings.

[ QUOTE ]
If you do drain it make sure you have some sort of pump to get the new oil in the tranny. I couldn’t see any way to fill it otherwise.

[/ QUOTE ]

Most gearboxes can be filled by snaking a vinyl tube down thru the engine compartment to that filler hole. Make it a clear tube & you can keep an eye on progress. Takes awhile for the thick stuff to drain down but have something else going on and top up the funnel each time it empties -- or just sit and watch the IV drip of oil.

 

[aerog]

A little clarification (I had a tech article on here about this but can't find it now): some transmissions do have fill hole on the side (and therefore a "check" hole too), others have a a fill-hole at the top of the transmission. You may have either transmission, regardless of what year your car is because someone could well have swapped transmission along the way. In any event, if you can't find an obvious side-fill plug on the transmission feel around the top of the transmission for a dipstick that is located just forward of where the radio is in the car. You should be able to run your fingers along the top of the transmission there fairly easily.

If you have a top-fill transmission you'll have to work from inside the car - the dipstick (and fill-hole) is located behind the radio under the dash. You can get to the dipstick by carefully peeling the carpet back from the console (being careful not to break any plastic), then pull the soft rubber seal from the transmission tunnel directly behind the radio. The dipstick can be pulled up through the hole and checked (you may need to coax the dipstick up from the bottom through the hole, some people tie a string or ribbon onto the dipstick to make it easier to pull out later).

Either type of tranmsmission can be filled using a oil/fluid pump available at any autoparts store for a few dollars. The pumps screw right onto the top of a bottle of oil and look like something you find sticking out of the top of a huge ketchup bottle at a hot-dog stand but with a hose attached to it. For filling the top-fill transmission just line your carpet with newspapers (including the area around the console), push the hose into the hole and pump slowly. The side-fill can be done from under the car. Either way the pump will finish the job without spilling any oil.

 

[Radford]

Thank you Obi-Wan, great job at parting the muddied seas - must be one of those jedi mind tricks. My little store on information has been greatly augmented. So. the early B's have the same arrangement as A's did, cool.

BTW what F1 team are you pulling for?

 

[aerog]

[ QUOTE ]

BTW what F1 team are you pulling for?

[/ QUOTE ]

!!!
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[Radford]

Well good luck with that new car then. I was a Mika H fan so I'll stick with Kimi and Juan Pablo. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif

 

[TNMGB]

Ah, I just now pulled back the carpeting from behind the radio and found a rubber seal which I am assuming is what I am looking for. I will give it a try as I have some time later and will report back with results. Couldn't this have been put in a better place???

TN

 

[Moose33]

I wish.

 

[sparkydave]

[ QUOTE ]
A good 20/w50 oil should do the trick. I know there is a way to check from inside the car (used to in my dad's 58 A), but I've always done it from under this car.

[/ QUOTE ]

20W-50?? My 1977 Midget uses SAE 90 gear oil in the gearbox and rear end, and since he did say it was a non O/D unit, I would think that would be much closer. Better check the service manuals or owner's manuals before you stick something that's too thin in.
-Dave

 

[Radford]

Its a British car, think of it as being something akin to a character building exercise. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazyeyes.gif

 

[aerog]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
A good 20/w50 oil should do the trick. I know there is a way to check from inside the car (used to in my dad's 58 A), but I've always done it from under this car.

[/ QUOTE ]

20W-50?? My 1977 Midget uses SAE 90 gear oil in the gearbox and rear end, and since he did say it was a non O/D unit, I would think that would be much closer. Better check the service manuals or owner's manuals before you stick something that's too thin in.
-Dave

[/ QUOTE ]

The service manuals all call for 20w50 in all MGB transmissions (OD or otherwise). Some owners manuals do allow the option for the heavier gear oils, others apparently don't.