Gearbox oil change process

[five50]

Does anyone have detailed / service manual instructions for this?

I assumed it would be a straightforward oil in and out job - however apparently some twin clutch boxes have more specific requirements including getting oil up to temp etc.

Any thoughts appreciated.

[Liam22]

I don't remember where I copied this from (not my notes).

---

Gearbox oil is DW5 or FFL-7 (same thing, different codes). Buy 4 litres

Draining:

• Get the gearbox oil up to 40C+
• Remove the under tray (diffuser can stay on)
• Undo the drain plug on the gearbox with an 8mm hex socket
• Approx 3.5 litres of oil will drain out
• Re-fit the drain plug

To re-fill, you will need a length of clean hose pipe and a funnel

• The filler plug is a plastic wing nut thing about 10cm above the drain plug. Remove it
• Feed the hose down from the top and insert one end of the hose into the filler hole and fit a funnel to the other end
• Pour the oil in
• It will take about 3.5 litres (mine was a touch more) before it starts to come out of the fill hole
• Remove the hose and re-fit the plug

[five50]

Thank you - much appreciated. For avoidance of doubt, did you do this and was it ok? Or notes for a possible future job?

Have asked a specialist garage if they can do it whilst the undertray is off for a different job - but they are wary in case they get it wrong given the possible consequences.

So trying to maximise certainty.

[Miserablegit]

Also - point of order :
Always remove a fill plug first in case of problems then you can still use the vehicle before you empty the oil.

I had this problem when I drained the oil on my Defender TD5 transmission many years ago only to find I didn’t have the required torx fitting required at the time.

[worldwidewebs]

five50 said:

Thank you - much appreciated. For avoidance of doubt, did you do this and was it ok? Or notes for a possible future job?

Have asked a specialist garage if they can do it whilst the undertray is off for a different job - but they are wary in case they get it wrong given the possible consequences.

So trying to maximise certainty.

I've done it too and it's really simple, as Liam says above. Miserable's advice about removing the fill plug first is great advice too

[Debbiesd]

worldwidewebs said:

I've done it too and it's really simple, as Liam says above. Miserable's advice about removing the fill plug first is great advice too

Exactly this, we have done a few , including my own much simpler than made out.

[five50]

Thank you for the response here. As above the independent specialist that I am planning to use does some work on Alpine's but has not done a gearbox oil change before and is wary.
It seems like Porsche twin clutch boxes have a very specific procedure, for example.
Can I ask as you say 'we have done a few' - do you do the changes on behalf of other people and any issues? Have you seen official service notes from Alpine?
Any thoughts much appreciated.

[tony993]

Miserablegit said:

Also - point of order :
Always remove a fill plug first in case of problems then you can still use the vehicle before you empty the oil.

I had this problem when I drained the oil on my Defender TD5 transmission many years ago only to find I didn’t have the required torx fitting required at the time.

Good tip. Thanks. I'll try to remember that one.

[Debbiesd]

five50 said:

Thank you for the response here. As above the independent specialist that I am planning to use does some work on Alpine's but has not done a gearbox oil change before and is wary.
It seems like Porsche twin clutch boxes have a very specific procedure, for example.
Can I ask as you say 'we have done a few' - do you do the changes on behalf of other people and any issues? Have you seen official service notes from Alpine?
Any thoughts much appreciated.

Hi,
I run an independent sports and performance workshop in Worcs, mainly Porsche based but not exclusively Porsche, We have done 3 Alpine trans oil changes for customers, and did my own car earlier this week. All following official Procedure
It is much simpler than Porsche, for which you need PIWIS to carry out the procedure, the A110 is just like changing a manual gearbox, the on ly reason you get it to 40 degrees before draining is so the oil drains out more freely.

[five50]

Many thanks - much appreciated.
Would ask about a booking but unfort am in London.

[ab54666]

Debbiesd said:

Hi,
I run an independent sports and performance workshop in Worcs, mainly Porsche based but not exclusively Porsche, We have done 3 Alpine trans oil changes for customers, and did my own car earlier this week. All following official Procedure
It is much simpler than Porsche, for which you need PIWIS to carry out the procedure, the A110 is just like changing a manual gearbox, the on ly reason you get it to 40 degrees before draining is so the oil drains out more freely.

SVP Motorsport? Once Specialist Vehicle Preparation Ltd?

[Yuri75]

Hoping to find some time over the next few weeks to do some maintenance, including gear box oil. Seems straightforward enough; just an oil change, no filters or other things to think about. Has anyone already found out if the 'box is fussy about specific brands of oil? My go to for oil is typically Castrol, so I'm probably ordering up some Transmax Dual Multivehicle as it ticks all the specification boxes.

[matt5964]

We use the Mutol height torque stuff

https://www.mp-rezeau.fr/produit/huile-motul-dctf-...

https://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-294962-motul-high-tor...

[PHusername]

I use Motul hi-torque, but I'm told the standard Motul fluid is perfectly fine. Perhaps the standard Motul doesn't perform as well under track driving conditions, so that's worth considering.

When changing the fluid I back my car up onto ramps so it isn't level. I don't know if it will refill too little or be overfilled when using the refill plug & stopping when it over flows. So I remove the airbox & undo a sensor on top of the gearbox to refill. Each litre of fluid I pour in, I put a litre of the drained fluid into the empty container. I stop adding fluid when I've replaced exactly the amount that came out.

[L1OFF]

Same as the Mini then.

[Yuri75]

Thanks for that; some Motul as specified above is on order.

[Yuri75]

Last Friday, I had time to change the gear box oil. Took me about an hour, using a four post lift and taking my sweet time. For those that worry about doing the job themselves: it may seem daunting because the gearbox is an expensive and potentially vulnerable piece of kit, but it's a very straightforward job, well within the capabilities of anyone who has ever changed their own engine oil.

The filling plug is in the left hand side of the transmission casing (nearside for a right-hooker), facing the left-hand chassis structure; it's the white plastic 'wingnut' in the image below.



There's not a whole lot of clearance between it and the chassis, so I decided to fill through the hole covered by the sensor as indicated by PHusername above; at least, the funnel then has a nice place to sit while the quite viscous oil drains in. Also, I was going to change the air filter as well, so I was already halfway there, anyway. I only used the fill plug to see if any oil would come out before I started the oil change (it didn't), then to try and peek in to see the oil level using a mirror and a torch (nigh-on impossible) and finally to stick my pinky finger in as a makeshift oil gauge (the oil level was near as makes no difference right up to the filling hole). Satisfied with that, I put the fill plug back in, drained the old oil, measured the amount I had drained (3.47 liters), put the drain plug back in and added 3.5 liters of Motul High Torque DCTF. Just to be sure, I then used the pinky finger oil gauge again before bolting everything back up.

So far, the gear box has not blown up, so I must have gotten it right(ish).

I doubt anyone would struggle to find the drain plug, but for what it's worth, it goes in the hole the oil is draining from:

Edited by Yuri75 on Wednesday 30th September 16:54

[PHusername]

Nice work Yuri75. Having a lift is ideal (one day I hope). I checked my "half full" container of Motul & it has nearly 700ml left, so I must only be draining ~3.3L by using my ramps. I'm not concerned at all given how often I swap it out.