Hello,
I had to do some work on the front hub of my 406 2.0HDi 110 today (its pretty tight that hub nut!). Unfortunately the left hand driveshaft came out of the gearbox slightly so some about half a litre of gearbox oil leaked out. There was no problem reassembling the hub and refitting the driveshaft but obviously I need to refill the gearbox oil and check the level.
My Haynes manual shows where the fill / level plug for my gearbox (ML5T) should be but it definitely isn't there on my car. The drain plug is fairly obvious and all the other bolts on the final drive housing are hex head retaining bolts. I eventually found a black plastic filler cap on top of the gearbox next to the selector mechanism so added gearbox oil here using a long plastic tube and a funnel. It filled up pretty quick to the top.
Is this supposed to be the correct level?
What happens if I overfill the gearbox oil?
Thanks
Edited by Pugugly on 21/03/2009 at 19:42
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If its the same gearbox as the 1.9 engine the level/filler plug is on the end of the gearbox behind the wheel arch liner at the l/h side bottom. It looks like one of the securing bolts but a slightly fifferent size.
It won't hurt the gearbox to everfill it but it might leak out onto the clutch.
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Thanks Peter,
I certainly don't want to contaminate the clutch!
Checked again this morning and looked at all sides of the gearbox housing with all wheel arch liners, splash guards and other obstructions removed. There definitely isn't a level plug on mine. All the bolts are retaining bolts except for the drain plug.
I've drained the box now and 2 litres of (filthy) oil came out so I guess it was a little overfilled. I'm going to refill with the correct capacity (1.9 litres according to Haynes) of new oil now and hope for the best. Only thing is I don't know for sure if 1.9 litres is the correct capacity for the ML5T - just have to put my trust in Mr Haynes...
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My '04 doesn't either, there is, however, a very large breather on the top of the 'box - take the air filter box off and there it is. Haynes says 1.9 litre fill, 1.8 litre refill, I had the front of mine up as far as my stands would go to drain as much as possible, then stuck 1.9 litres in through the breather.
Incidently, my '98 2.1 td also has an ML5T but no breather, it does however have the reverse switch on top of the 'box. Guess how I refilled that one... (saves hours fiddling about with stands trying to get it level)
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This post rang a bell, a big bell!
There is a post on another forum (which I am going to chase and re-read) which cautions on this particular issue.
The thrust as I recall is that it is possible to incorrectly identify the hex-head level plug and the result is a remove and re-assemble for the gearbox --- due apparently, to an internal part unseating and causing grief.
I'll be back!!!
Cheers,
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 24/03/2009 at 10:16
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Relax, the problem was in relation to a BE3 box.
Here is a copy of part of the post by a well respected chap (Alan S.) in relation to a similar query, there was a line drawing view of the transmission in question:
"If it is a BE3, here are the fill/level hole and drain hole.
Remember, the drain HAS to be one pointing towards the rear of the car and NOT straight down. If it's a 16 or 19mm pointing downwards, that's the bolt that locks the reverse idler into position. Remove it and if you hear a dull thunk inside the box, it's not a case of what you're in, but rather the depth that is to be ascertained."
Understatement was exported to the colonies as shown by Alan's post.
Cheers,
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Thanks for that - I'll keep it in mind when messing around with gearboxes in future.
I did remove one bolt that I thought could be the level plug but it was just a securing bolt (and no dull thunk thankfully) After that I gave up and just drained and refilled with the right amount of fluid. Seems to be OK...
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