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Re: Transmission Questions

To: "Christopher Delling" <saschris@flash.net>,
Subject: Re: Transmission Questions
From: "Scott McKorkle" <bmc@aa.net>
Date: Mon, 23 Mar 1998 10:10:52 -0800
Chris,

I know this response may be a little late for your purposes, but I changed
my oil in the gearbox over the weekend in order to replace a
faulty seal on the speedometer pinion.  I chose 20W/50 (strictly because
the manuals say to).  Even though my B is a 1978, it has the non-overdrive
transmission off a (I believe) 1973 MGB.  To fill the gearbox quickly and
easily, I fashioned a four foot piece of 5/8" outside diameter clear
plastic
tubing (1/2" inside diameter) with a small funnel at one end.  I fit the
other end into the gearbox filler hole and stuck it in two or three inches
to ensure it would stay in place.  I held the funnel with one hand and
poured about 2.5 quarts of oil into the funnel.  This brought the oil level
onto the very bottom of the dipstick.  I then used my hand-pump oil can
filled with 20W/50 to bring the oil level up to the full mark on the
dipstick.  I didn't note the exact amount of oil used to go from Low to
Full, but it seems like it had to be less than a pint.  The whole process
took about ten minutes.

Hope this is of some help.

Regards,
Scott McKorkle
Issaquah, WA
1978 MGB
----------
> From: Christopher Delling <saschris@flash.net>
> To: 'Lawrie  Alexander' <Lawrie@britcars.com>
> Cc: 'mgs@autox.team.net'
> Subject: RE: Transmission Questions
> Date: Thursday, March 19, 1998 7:43 AM
> 
> Thanks for chastising me on this one.  Getting a little cranky are we?  I
know that the owners manual specifies motor oil, I didn't choose to have it
filled with 90 weight.  What I wanted to know was if the use of the gear
oil is causing my problem.  I intend to drain the gearbox and overdrive,
and refill with motor oil.  I have one vote for 20W50, and one for 30
weight.  What do you recommend?  Do I need to flush out the box (if so,
what should I use?), or is simply draining and refilling going to be O.K.  
> 
> I also know what a dipstick is for, and in general how they work. 
Specifically how low is the tranny when the oil drops to the low mark?  A
pint?  A quart?  No marks that I have seen give me a clue, and seeing that
it's already a pain in the ass to get oil into the transmission (as opposed
to in the interior of the car, I would prefer to have some idea of how much
oil to put in so that I don't have to keep pulling the hose out to check
the level during the filling operation.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Chris Delling
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Lawrie  Alexander [SMTP:Lawrie@britcars.com]
> Sent: Thursday, March 19, 1998 12:55 AM
> To:   Christopher Delling; 'mgs@autox.team.net'
> Subject:      Re: Transmission Questions
> 
> Chris....if the factory had felt it was OK to run the gearbox low on oil,
> they'd probably have fitted a longer dipstick. Also, if they hadn't
wanted
> you to use engine oil, they'd have said so.
> I think you just proved why it's so important to read the owner's manual
> and do what it tells you!
> 
> Lawrie
> 
> ----------
> > From: Christopher Delling <saschris@flash.net>
> > To: 'mgs@autox.team.net'
> > Subject: Transmission Questions
> > Date: Wednesday, March 18, 1998 5:32 PM
> > 
> > My B is fitted with a 4-synchro O.D. tranny, which was rebuilt last
year.
>  It seems that the gears in the tranny have a ceramic like coating on the
> taper that the synchro ring rides on.  The bond between the coating and
the
> 2nd gear failed, and the coating fell of, rendering the synchro useless. 
> This occured very suddenly, one gearchange was fine, the next was
> accomapnied by a crunch of gears, all of which resulted in the re-build,
> after which everything seemed fine for several months.
> > 
> > This spring, when I returned the car to the road after winter storage,
I
> noted that the 3rd gear synchro seems to be acting up.  It was fine when
> the car was put into storage.  All new synchros were fitted during the
> rebuild.  
> > 
> > I have noted that the tranny oil level is down a bit, below the low
level
> mark - I don't know how much down this mark signifies.  The mechanic who
> did the work - only does Brit Cars by the way, uses 90 weight gear oil in
> all trannies, and this is what he filled my box with.  Also, when I drove
> the car, the temperature was quite a bit lower than in the summer when
the
> car gets most of its use.
> > 
> > What is the list wisdom on 90 weight in the trans?  Could this account
> for my problem?  I know that 20W-50 is the normally reccomended fluid. 
How
> about the low oil level?  Anyone have a feel for how low the transmission
> is if the oil drops below the low mark on the dipstick?
> > 
> > Best Regards,
> > 
> > Chris Delling

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