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laydown gearbox

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Could some kind person tell me which is the drain plug and level plug on my laydown gearbox [photo is of my spare] also what oil,

and is there an exploded drawing anywhere of the laydown

many thanks

p.s. fired it up yesterday, all sounding good

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just a thought John ,if yours is the same as mine when you have removed the oil level plug the oil way may give the impression its blocked up its because the drilling goes vertical to the oil level from where the plug is situated.

Barry

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Previously Barry Carson wrote:

just a thought John ,if yours is the same as mine when you have removed the oil level plug the oil way may give the impression its blocked up its because the drilling goes vertical to the oil level from where the plug is situated.

Barry

many thanks

just removed the level plug, oil just dribbled out, looks clear and viscous so replaced plug [I even had the right square socket!]

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I'm sure this has been discussed before, but EP oils are not recommended for these boxes. They contain sulphur based compounds that are known to corrode yellow metal bushes. I am aware that there are EP grades (GL4?) that are less corrosive but why take the chance when they are not necessary for this application? Morris (and doubtless others) supply non-EP gearbox oils. The Norton maintenance guides specify engine oil for the gearbox.

Ian McD

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that sounded short and sharp .what i meant was i cant fault the operation of my gearbox it selects gears perfectly i can pull the clutch in with my little finger so didn't want to upset what i have. as Ian says it recommends engine oil in the gearbox. mind you its keeping it in there . smiley

Barry

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just as an aside, the level plug seems very low on the gearbox. it must not hold a lot of oil, having just done work on a navigator that took 1 3/4 pints!

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half a pint .

trouble is when i top mine to the level plug then place it on the side stand you loose about half of it.

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No worries, just trying to make sure the potential issues are known so that people can make informed choices. I have the same difficulty keeping the oil inside the box. Until recently I was using 140 grade (non-EP) gear oil but a fairly knowledgeable friend insists that the same high viscosity that slows down the leaks also makes it difficult for the oil to get into the bushes on the main shaft gears and convinced me to switch to engine oil. Back to marking territory! There has to be a compromise so maybe 90 grade gear oil, just not EP.

Cheers

Ian McD

PS not convinced that you can link the light clutch action to the choice of gearbox oil.

 


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