-
Hi Guest!
You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.
There are some perks with a member upgrade!**Upgrade Now**
(PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Hey - did you know if you click on the title of a thread it will take you to the first unread post since you last visited that thread?
but were afraid to ask: 
STOP!! Never post your email address in open forums. Bots can "harvest" your email! If you must share your email use a Private Message or use the 
smilie in place of the real @
Pretty Please - add it to our Events forum(s) and add to the calendar! >> 
Checking/adding gearbox oil??
- Thread starter TNMGB
- Start date
Share this page
A
aerog
Guest
Guest
Offline
[ QUOTE ]
Keep it simple friends!
[/ QUOTE ]
It is simple - nobody touches my MG but me (except for balancing the tires - those go to the local Hunter-9600 equipped shop).
Keep it simple friends!
[/ QUOTE ]
It is simple - nobody touches my MG but me (except for balancing the tires - those go to the local Hunter-9600 equipped shop).
sparkydave
Jedi Knight
Offline
I stand corrected. I was not aware that MGBs used a different oil. Good to know though, if I ever trade up to a 'B.
-Dave
-Dave
Hi all,
I am new to this forum... I am just entering my third season with my yellow 1970 MGB Roadster. I live in Toronto, Canada, and I am just getting my car on the road after its long winter's nap...
Anyhow, I have some tips about the whole transmission oil issue:
First, the older cars (like mine) have the incredibly awkward internal filler cap. The newer cars (not sure of the transition year) have no internal cap and you have to go under the car to do the work. I have a friend with a late model B so I can state this with 100% certainty!
The cap is located at the front of the transmission tunnel, just inside of the centre console (if you have one). There is a round hole cut in the floor and sealed with a rubber bung. Just to confuse people, my friend's 1979 MGB still has the hole and the bung, but no internal filler cap! When you lift the bung there is nothing but the solid metal of the tranny underneath... They got rid of the filler cap but were too cheap to redesign the floor to eliminate the hole, evidently...
If you do have the internal cap, when you lift the bung you will squeeze your hand into the hole (just big enough to allow your hand in while scraping the skin) and there will be a dipstick underneath. The dipstick isn't actually inside the car - you are working on the top of the transmission where it touchs the underside of the floor, and there will be road grime all over the place.
A previous owner had looped a plastic tie around the cap ring of my dipstick - a great idea because you're working blind behind the centre console. Pull out the dipstick and see whether you need to add oil. 20W50 is the ticket for MGBs as per the earlier post - same as in the engine.
If you do need oil, you are going to have fun... It's impossible to get a bottle of oil into the filler hole. I bought myself a filler hose that screws right onto the oil bottle and has a valve so that you can turn it upside down without spillage (for any fellow Canucks out there, the device is available at - you guessed it - Canadian Tire).
I would suggest you work from the passenger side (more room) and remove the floor mat in case of spillage. Poke the hose into the big hole in the floor, and try to get it into the small filler hole underneath. How do you tell if it's in the hole or not? (As the actress said to the Bishop...) Good question! If you miss the hole and push, the hose will just slip down the side of the transmission...
Once you think the hose is in, open the valve on the filler hose. Here's the part that really threw me - nothing much will happen. I think a vacuum is created and you need to punch a hole in the bottom (now the top) of the upside-down oil bottle... Or, do what I do and squeeze the bottle like a tube of toothpaste!
How to tell when to stop putting oil in? Good question! If you have somebody to look under the car while you fill and they see oil pouring all over the ground, it means the transmission is full (or that the hose has slipped out of the hole...) The only way to tell for sure is to put the dipstick back in... Sounds simple right? Wrong!
Getting the dipstick in can be the hardest part of the job - it will keep slipping off the narrow top of the transmission as you grope around. Feel around with your finger to get an idea where the filler hole is before trying to insert it... Of course, as you blindly grope around for the hole with the end of the stick, you will be dragging it throught the coating of greasy dirt on top of the tranny - you don't want that gunk in your gearbox! So between failed attempts you should pull the stick out (skinning your hand yet again on the edges of the floorboard hole) and wipe it off.
Incidentally, this is where the plastic loop on the dipstick end really helps - without it you will probably drop the dipstick, which will probably get hung up on the side of the gearbox - which means you'll be going under the car to retrieve it.
Of course, once the dipstick finally goes in the hole you have to immediately pull it out again to check the oil level! Murphy's Law states that you will have underfilled and will have to repeat the process...
Is this more convenient than crawling under the car to get at the filler cap of a late-model B? Ummm.... Well, you don't get as dirty...
If you take one thing from my little essay it should be this: It is NOT POSSIBLE to get oil into an early-model MGB gearbox without some kind of hose. Unless you are willing to fill the footwell of the car with oil up the dashboard and let it seep through the hole...
Cheers! And good luck!
Loaf
I am new to this forum... I am just entering my third season with my yellow 1970 MGB Roadster. I live in Toronto, Canada, and I am just getting my car on the road after its long winter's nap...
Anyhow, I have some tips about the whole transmission oil issue:
First, the older cars (like mine) have the incredibly awkward internal filler cap. The newer cars (not sure of the transition year) have no internal cap and you have to go under the car to do the work. I have a friend with a late model B so I can state this with 100% certainty!
The cap is located at the front of the transmission tunnel, just inside of the centre console (if you have one). There is a round hole cut in the floor and sealed with a rubber bung. Just to confuse people, my friend's 1979 MGB still has the hole and the bung, but no internal filler cap! When you lift the bung there is nothing but the solid metal of the tranny underneath... They got rid of the filler cap but were too cheap to redesign the floor to eliminate the hole, evidently...
If you do have the internal cap, when you lift the bung you will squeeze your hand into the hole (just big enough to allow your hand in while scraping the skin) and there will be a dipstick underneath. The dipstick isn't actually inside the car - you are working on the top of the transmission where it touchs the underside of the floor, and there will be road grime all over the place.
A previous owner had looped a plastic tie around the cap ring of my dipstick - a great idea because you're working blind behind the centre console. Pull out the dipstick and see whether you need to add oil. 20W50 is the ticket for MGBs as per the earlier post - same as in the engine.
If you do need oil, you are going to have fun... It's impossible to get a bottle of oil into the filler hole. I bought myself a filler hose that screws right onto the oil bottle and has a valve so that you can turn it upside down without spillage (for any fellow Canucks out there, the device is available at - you guessed it - Canadian Tire).
I would suggest you work from the passenger side (more room) and remove the floor mat in case of spillage. Poke the hose into the big hole in the floor, and try to get it into the small filler hole underneath. How do you tell if it's in the hole or not? (As the actress said to the Bishop...) Good question! If you miss the hole and push, the hose will just slip down the side of the transmission...
Once you think the hose is in, open the valve on the filler hose. Here's the part that really threw me - nothing much will happen. I think a vacuum is created and you need to punch a hole in the bottom (now the top) of the upside-down oil bottle... Or, do what I do and squeeze the bottle like a tube of toothpaste!
How to tell when to stop putting oil in? Good question! If you have somebody to look under the car while you fill and they see oil pouring all over the ground, it means the transmission is full (or that the hose has slipped out of the hole...) The only way to tell for sure is to put the dipstick back in... Sounds simple right? Wrong!
Getting the dipstick in can be the hardest part of the job - it will keep slipping off the narrow top of the transmission as you grope around. Feel around with your finger to get an idea where the filler hole is before trying to insert it... Of course, as you blindly grope around for the hole with the end of the stick, you will be dragging it throught the coating of greasy dirt on top of the tranny - you don't want that gunk in your gearbox! So between failed attempts you should pull the stick out (skinning your hand yet again on the edges of the floorboard hole) and wipe it off.
Incidentally, this is where the plastic loop on the dipstick end really helps - without it you will probably drop the dipstick, which will probably get hung up on the side of the gearbox - which means you'll be going under the car to retrieve it.
Of course, once the dipstick finally goes in the hole you have to immediately pull it out again to check the oil level! Murphy's Law states that you will have underfilled and will have to repeat the process...
Is this more convenient than crawling under the car to get at the filler cap of a late-model B? Ummm.... Well, you don't get as dirty...
If you take one thing from my little essay it should be this: It is NOT POSSIBLE to get oil into an early-model MGB gearbox without some kind of hose. Unless you are willing to fill the footwell of the car with oil up the dashboard and let it seep through the hole...
Cheers! And good luck!
Loaf
OP
TNMGB
Jedi Trainee
Offline
Well, that explains why I can't find ANYTHING under the rubber seal on the top of the tunnel! I guess I'm doomed to crawl up under the car and give it a go from there.
That was quite an essay by the way. Perhaps you could rewrite the manuals for those of us who need help deciphering the mysteries of LBCs!
TNMGB
That was quite an essay by the way. Perhaps you could rewrite the manuals for those of us who need help deciphering the mysteries of LBCs!
TNMGB
A
aerog
Guest
Guest
Offline
Welcome to the forum!
[ QUOTE ]
They got rid of the filler cap but were too cheap to redesign the floor to eliminate the hole, evidently...
[/ QUOTE ]
Yes and no. I would like to think they anticipated some compatability with other transmissions out there. I've seen '79s and '80s with OD transmissions that have a top dipstick - very nice to be able to not drop the transmission just to check the oil /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
[ QUOTE ]
If you take one thing from my little essay it should be this: It is NOT POSSIBLE to get oil into an early-model MGB gearbox without some kind of hose. Unless you are willing to fill the footwell of the car with oil up the dashboard and let it seep through the hole...
[/ QUOTE ]
FWIW, as I said previously - it is very very easy to fill transmissions using a pump designed for the task and available at almost any auto supply store. The pumps come with a long piece of vinyl hose and do a great, mess-free job of pumping fluid into the transmission. I've changed my transmission oil twice in the past few years without spilling a drop inside the car - simple, and quick.
By the way - the dipstick is usually very easy to reach from under the car (without jacking the sucker up...I've checked a few at shows for people who didn't have a clue there was a dipstick there). Just feel along the top of the transmission until you find it, and push up with your fingers. Mine popped right up with no trouble at all the first time I did it. I also had no problem dropping the dipstick right back into the filler-hole afterwards - I just wrapped the end of the filler-hose with a paper towel to avoid drips, and replaced the dipstick to check the level. No biggie.
Here's what a pump looks like - the cost around $5 and fit the tops of engine and gear oil bottles:
[ QUOTE ]
They got rid of the filler cap but were too cheap to redesign the floor to eliminate the hole, evidently...
[/ QUOTE ]
Yes and no. I would like to think they anticipated some compatability with other transmissions out there. I've seen '79s and '80s with OD transmissions that have a top dipstick - very nice to be able to not drop the transmission just to check the oil /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
[ QUOTE ]
If you take one thing from my little essay it should be this: It is NOT POSSIBLE to get oil into an early-model MGB gearbox without some kind of hose. Unless you are willing to fill the footwell of the car with oil up the dashboard and let it seep through the hole...
[/ QUOTE ]
FWIW, as I said previously - it is very very easy to fill transmissions using a pump designed for the task and available at almost any auto supply store. The pumps come with a long piece of vinyl hose and do a great, mess-free job of pumping fluid into the transmission. I've changed my transmission oil twice in the past few years without spilling a drop inside the car - simple, and quick.
By the way - the dipstick is usually very easy to reach from under the car (without jacking the sucker up...I've checked a few at shows for people who didn't have a clue there was a dipstick there). Just feel along the top of the transmission until you find it, and push up with your fingers. Mine popped right up with no trouble at all the first time I did it. I also had no problem dropping the dipstick right back into the filler-hole afterwards - I just wrapped the end of the filler-hose with a paper towel to avoid drips, and replaced the dipstick to check the level. No biggie.
Here's what a pump looks like - the cost around $5 and fit the tops of engine and gear oil bottles:
A
aerog
Guest
Guest
Offline
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
the dipstick is usually very easy to reach from under the car
[/ QUOTE ]
on the RB cars, right?
I haven't ventured into this area of my vehicle yet.
[/ QUOTE ]
Shouldn't matter - I didn't specify (duh) but you can reach it by reaching under on the passenger side.
[ QUOTE ]
the dipstick is usually very easy to reach from under the car
[/ QUOTE ]
on the RB cars, right?
I haven't ventured into this area of my vehicle yet.
[/ QUOTE ]
Shouldn't matter - I didn't specify (duh) but you can reach it by reaching under on the passenger side.
Interesting - it never occured to me to try getting at the dipstick from underneath.
I was looking at the hose with the pump and thinking that this is essentially what I invented by squeezing the bottle! Definately a more slick arrangement than the thing I bought...
Loaf
I was looking at the hose with the pump and thinking that this is essentially what I invented by squeezing the bottle! Definately a more slick arrangement than the thing I bought...
Loaf
78MGB
Jedi Hopeful
Offline
https://www.mgcars.org.uk/cgi-bin/gen5?runprog=mgoc&p=emg/may97a.html
I know I am late getting in on this thread, but here is a site that some may find of use.
I know I am late getting in on this thread, but here is a site that some may find of use.