Draining Gearbox Oil & Refilling

[SaxoVTSHull]

Can anyone tell me how to do this in some sort of step by step.. is there anything i should look out for, and air locks etc... is it as simple as 123


i know there is a section in the premium bits, but i dont wanna sign up just to get the step by step ! surely someone can give me a lite guide!

how much oil i should be refilling and stuff!!! thanks! pics helpfull

:afro:

[westy2k1]

wrong section but i did it recently. easy and hard.

Take ya car for a lil drive til its warm. Park in ya drive look underneath ur car and as you look at it on the passenger side of the gearbox is a sump plug (square ended so make sure u have the sump plug socket)

get a bowl or bucket an position it about 10cm further from the plug, undo it and slowly....very slowly unscrew it an be careful when it comes out cuz ull get a sleeve full of oil and it will be hot.

let it drain until all empty. You should already have ur g.box oil ready, i got castrol e75w or something 2 bottles. Now the hard part is filling it back up as its hard to get the bottle verticle but i managed it with some jiggling of the bottle. it takes around 3 to -3.5 ltrs. fill it up clean off the bits of metal magnetized to the sump plug and tighten it back up. jobs a good en

[vtcarl]

there are 2 plugs on the side of the gear box, 1 lower one which you use to drain the oil, then clean and replace the plug. then undo the upper one and top up. best to remove the passenger front wheel and pull the inner arch liner to one side before you start. read the haynes manual or the maintanence manual with the car for how much oil to use.

[vincevtr]

I haven't read the guide on here (not being a prem member), but I guess it suggests you can refill through the breather hole - which makes it an easy enough job. First take your car on a good drive to get gear oil hot (as said). Then you need to open drain plug - so you'll need to go to Citroen and buy a new copper sealing washer before you do (if I remember right they charge you near a £1 for one). You can get at plug with car on ground - as long as it's not been overtightened you should get enough leverage to open it (and as already said you'll need a square end socket... think it's 8mm in size but can't remember and am in work so can't check). Be careful draining oil - it's like water when hot and will come out fast. Cld burn yourself and almost guaranteed to splash out whatever bowl or oil can you try and catch it in.

When you're happy you've got as much oil out as poss then tighten up bolt (with new washer) - think torque was 25nm, but far from certain about that! Then you need to pull plastic cap off breather hole. With air filter removed you can get at breather hole below power-steering fluid pipes - or at least you can in my vtr. You can carefully unclip and move pipes out way. If engine is hot the cap should unclip easy. Then you'll need a pretty small funnel - one that'll fit into breather hole. You won't get the oil in otherwise.

The correct grade for vtr gearbox is 75w/80 and sure it'll be same for vts (in fact most citroen/pug boxes). Holds 2 litres - not 3. You have to pour it in very slowly because you're filling through breather hole and will get air locks - at times it will back up, then burp, and the oil will fall in. Just take your time.

One final thing - you will almost certainly not get 2 litres out. So best to put in a little under 2 I reckon.

Hope that helps.

[RCD-Performance]

The above post saves the need for me to reply :)

Great spot on info there mate.

Ross
RCD Performance.

[Joesnow]

One final thing - you will almost certainly not get 2 litres out. So best to put in a little under 2 I reckon.

If I recall correctly it’s just over 2 litres that you will need.

There is a plug just above the drain plug…only when oil starts and then stops dripping out of the upper plug you will know for sure you have the correct level.

This is when the car is level, which isn’t as straight forward when doing it at home. You will probably need to jack it up (if it’s been lowered) to drain the oil, replace the drain plug and remove the top plug. Then lower the car on the jack (you might have to remove the wheel) to fill it up again.

It’s important to get the correct level as too much oil could cause mpg to suffer and too little will soon wear synchros and bearings resulting in a written off box…

[vincevtr]

Cheers Ross.

Joesnow - both the citroen maintenance booklet and the haynes specify 2L for the oil mate, though I imagine that's a round figure and it's no exact science.

I put exactly 2 litres in mine after leaving it to drain for a good while and a few wks later had to remove the speed sensor - a bit of oil poured out, about a 100ml or so I guess. If the correct amount is in it should reach near the top of the hole the sensor plugs into (as I've had to remove the sensor once before). That's why I say prob best to put a little under 2 litres in (and remember those 1 litre bottles of oil are always about a 100ml or more over 1 litre in total so best use a measuring jug of some kind - don't just pour two bottles worth in or you'll be well over).

Same as when you change engine oil - you never get 3.5 litres out. In fact I only get about 3 litres - 1/2 a litres still in there somewhere. Wld be easy to overfill engine if you weren't careful.