Manual Gearbox Oil Change - Ins and Outs

[Martin Mc]

Hello folks,

My S 1.7 manual has developed a slight oil weep which, from the colour of the oil on the underside of the engine appears to be (clean) gearbox oil. I'd like to be able to investigate further, and check the oil level in the gearbox, and have trawled the forums here for a guide (especially one with helpful pictures). Unfortunately the posts that I can see all appear somewhat old (2007 or so) and any photos seem to be long gone. Having driven the car now for a few hundred miles, and based on previous experience of the 480, I'd say the transmision is somewhat notchy / stiff - and I certainly don't wish to trash it by running it dry, if a simple top up / oil change would work - I'm more than happy to have a go at doing it myself.

Fall back position, which I'd rather avoid, is to take the car to my local friendly garage and ask them to replace the gearbox oil.. £££
Does anyone have clear images of the gearbox oil drain and filler plugs in situ that you could either post on here, or provide a link?

Martin

[jamescarruthers]

Is it not in Haynes?

[Martin Mc]

Thanks James, yes, I'm sure it features in the book of lies!!

Anyway, I've been under the car this afternoon and made some progress, ish..

I think I have identified the gearbox drain plug, adjacent to the gear selector mechanism, and under a handy plastic tray that pivots down at the front of the gearbox.



The filler is on the front plane of the gearbox and is relatively easy to access - except of course for filling it with oil!!



I've cleaned up the oil that appears to have leaked so far, and placed a receptacle below the box overnight to see if I can identify where the leak is coming from - fingers crossed.

Having got the filler plug out, and a finger into the hole, I can tell that the gearbox is somewhat low on oil. So as a minmum I'll be adding more oil to bring it up to normal level.

As far as I can see there are no problems with oil seals around drive shafts etc, which I am hoping is good news.

Watch this space!

Martin

[Jay-Kay-Em]

Yep they're the ones!

General rule, undo the filler before the drain - because if the filler doesn't come undone you don't have a dead car with its oil drained!

You'll need a square drive key. Amazon do a set for peanuts; PRIME too.

Washers are compression washers so best to get a pair. Already compressed washers never quite seal again.

Hopefully the square drive on the drain plug wasn't as butchered as mine.

I found filling was made easier with a two foot long tube with a funnel and fill from above.... slowly! I cheated and had a spare 90' elbow so used that to go into the 'box.

I spent hours and hours researching gearbox oil. Haynes is full of lies. There are pages of threads on here about it. Opinions included that Volvo modified the Renault boxes, some oils are not compatible with the bronze syncro rings...... plus many many more scare stories. The safe bet is the genuine Volvo oil. This is the one that comes in a bottle the exact capacity of the 'box itself. Volvo still sell it; Cambridge Volvo gave me a price to make your eyes water only the other week. I didn't want to pay that and used Millers TRX SYNTH 75w80. I am in no way telling you to do the same but my reasoning was :

• Its dual purpose GL4/GL5; a lot of the threads argued it should be one or the other; well this is both so happy days.
• Millers list it for the 480 in their online parts catalogue
• Its available from OPIE OILS
• Its cheaper than the Volvo stuff
• Its also listed for the Renault 21 Turbo which is a much greater animal (that torque steered all over the place!)

I cant say its good oil because the car is laid up, so if the gearbox explodes I take it back

Given that the drain plug was so mullered, I'm not convinced the previous garage invested so many hours into oil research. That may be evident by the amount of sparkly gold swarf that came out. Any ordinary garage would slap any old stuff in

Lastly, if you fill the 'box up to the point of overflow on a set of car ramps, when you lower the vehicle it will be slightly overfilled. Drop it to the deck, get the car level and fill from above is my advice

Good luck!

[Martin Mc]

Jay, many thanks for your excellent post and useful insights. I'll certainly drop the car off the ramps before filling up. Whilst the filler plug came out nice and easily, I haven't been able to shift the drain plug yet. A matter of time I guess... and skinned knuckles no doubt!

Where are you at with your own rolling project? With any luck there will be enough of us around early next year to justify a spring get together somewhere civilised and accessible, perhaps in the middle of the country?

All the best!

Martin

[Jay-Kay-Em]

Where are you at with your own rolling project? With any luck there will be enough of us around early next year to justify a spring get together somewhere civilised and accessible, perhaps in the middle of the country?

Its progressing; slowly! This week I have been welding/fabricating new sections of front brake disc backing shields.

As soon as its all done, I will be campaigning strongly for a meet. I genuinely cant remember the last time I saw another. They are so special.

I would also love to jack up a visit to VDL NEDCAR in BORN; NL. I want to visit reception and moan about the rear arches.

Next year, next year......

[dcwalker]

Good pointers from Jay - a length of hose and funnel is essential!

From the photo it looks as if your drain plug is quite rounded off - IIRC you can undo with an external socket or an internal square/hexagon which is the better way to go.

I checked the oil in my GT when I first serviced it but it was in good condition (later saw from records it had new genuine oil when 5th gear cover was replaced). So it's a few years since I have done an oil change myself. When I did so, though, I always used genuine Volvo oil to be on the safe side, but it was always expensive even then. So if process now are as eye-watering as Jay says, I can understand looking at another make!

Good luck!

I am near York so if you do set up a meet mid-country in due course I'd be up for that in principle...

David

[Alan 480]

I'd be canny swinging off a long bar/scaffolding pole to undo the sump drain, if it shears/strips threads you''re stuffed!!!

maybe a wee tommy bar and if not shifting then consider a top-up only, half a box better than a box with large hole in base

[Ade]

Definitely agree with the previous comment and if I could venture a suggestion.....

If it were me, I would find a piece of steel bar and grind/file it to a really good fit in what's left of the square drive, even to the point that it needs tapping in, apply a little heat and then try it.

[Alan 480]

Definitely agree with the previous comment and if I could venture a suggestion.....

If it were me, I would find a piece of steel bar and grind/file it to a really good fit in what's left of the square drive, even to the point that it needs tapping in, apply a little heat and then try it.

good call
been there with the engine oil drain plug, previous oil change person had re-used the copper washer and cos it was weeping they'd tightened it so far I was concerned I'd shear the thread out of the sump!!! so made a key from a piece of 1/2" square bar carefully filed to be a VERY ticht fit, so tight it needed driven into place then used the biggest shifter wound down tight onto the square . personally avoid shifters but i reckoned the 12" BAHCO was stronger than my 1/2" AF 'proper' spanner

I reuse that square section each time from then on even though never needs to be that tight, cos it is a nice fit.
PS C30 has a rubber 'o' ring and it gets very tight as it is into cast ally sump. SS1 no problems as just use some PTFE tape with the plastic washer

[brinkie]

I would also love to jack up a visit to VDL NEDCAR in BORN; NL.

You won't get much closer than the parking lot.

They don't do factory tours anymore. We've tried for the Volvo 480-Register (with members who are former NedCar employees) but to no avail.

[brinkie]

Concerning the gearbox oil: I had it changed by a Volvo dealer who happened to have all the stuff needed, because the receptionist used to drive a 480 until recently! The filler and drain plug are of different sizes, and many drain plugs have been ruined because someone didn't have the proper tools at hand. I don't have the sizes at hand, from memory it was an 8 mm hex wrench.
You will need some sort of hose that allows you to reach the filler plug. There is no dipstick, if the filler overflows, the gearbox is full (usually 3 litres)
Volvo sells 3,4 litre cans (Volvo p/n 31437148), alternatively you can use Elf Tranself NFP 75W-80 (formerly Tranself TRX) or Kroon Oil Gearlube RPC 75W/80W (though availability of the latter may be troublesome in the UK, it is a Dutch brand)
It is imperative that you use oil which is compatible with bronze synchromesh rings! If compatible gearboxes are listed with the oil, make sure the Renault JB/JC gearboxes are one of them. Otherwise the additives in the gearbox oil will eat the synchromeshes away and subsequently destroy your gearbox.

[Martin Mc]

Quick update - the drain plug appears intractably set, so I'm giving up for now trying to get it out.

There was a very, very slight accumluation of oil at the bottom of the gearbox assembly today when I checked. This appears clean, and doesn't seem to be coming from the drain. There are a few 13mm bolts at the bottom end of the gearbox housing, so I've tightened these slightly. I'll be adding some new oil this afternoon, once the car is back on the level (battery has gone flat) and hopefully that will be the end of it and I can get on with enjoying the car. Going for the Elf Tranself NFP 75W-80 recommended by Robert.

Martin

[Martin Mc]

Further update. I've now added 1 litre of the ELF oil recommended by Brinkie, and the gearbox certainlt feels smoother and less notchy. However, there is still a slight weep under the gear linkage, and I can see that this isn;t coming from the oil drain side. So, the likelihood appears to be an oil seal on rhe drive-shaft side of things.

Question is, how easy/complex is a repair to oil seals on the drive shaft? Is it something I might have a go at myself with basic tools, or is it a job best left to my friendly local mechanic?

Any views?

Martin

[brinkie]

The Renault JB/JC gearboxes have a tendency to leak through the gear selector shaft (underside of the gearbox)
There are repair kits available:
http://www.skandix.de/en/spare-parts/dr ... e/1047048/
However, I have read mixed reviews about them.
Of course it is worth investigating where the leakage comes from in the first place

[CrazyJarvis]

Out of curiosity is this gear oil suitable for my 2.0 litre manual?
I want to find it ideally in-store so I can perform the service tomorrow and use the car for work

[jifflemon]

The Renault JB/JC gearboxes have a tendency to leak through the gear selector shaft (underside of the gearbox)
There are repair kits available:
http://www.skandix.de/en/spare-parts/dr ... e/1047048/
However, I have read mixed reviews about them.
Of course it is worth investigating where the leakage comes from in the first place

Interestingly, I found this guide, which shows the same "skandix part" available here

You have to create an account before you can see a price though.

Found a similar one on amazon here

[travelman]

Any idea where to get the sealing washers for the gearbox plugs? Skandix do not list them for the 480.I am changing oil soon and do not want to end up with leaks.

[jifflemon]

I'd simply re-use the washers but wrap the threads of the plugs with PTFE tape

[arthuy]

I'd simply re-use the washers but wrap the threads of the plugs with PTFE tape

This is what I have just done with mine.

Any motor factor should have the copper washers, usually in little packs.