Manual Transmission Drain & Fill

surfdog4 · 07-23-2006, 04:21 PM

Question for someone who has changed the oil in a manual transmission: Is there a reliable amount of oil that goes into the manual transmission if the car is not level? I was going to drain & fill, but realized that the transmission is supposed to be level when you fill it..i don't have a lift, so my only option is to drive up on ramps or jack up the car, so the car would not be level unless I jacked up all 4 wheels, which I would rather not do. If i drain it, can I get the same amount back in?

AA_Ezra · 07-23-2006, 08:57 PM

First Put alot of PB blaster or some other kind of penetraiting oil. PB Blaster found at the local wallmart realy does work awsome. There are 2 17mm( IIRC) Allen caps on the tranny Take the bottom one out to drain it. And use a squeeze bottle to fill it back up using the hole on the upper 17mm cap on the tranny and stop when the level of oil hits the upper 17mm cap before it pours out. Parking the car on a flat surface shold be level enuff and i didn't have to jack up the car at all there was enuff clearence.

Bill Lucas · Bill Lucas's Garage

Be sure to take the top plug out before the bottom one. 8-)

onZedge · 07-24-2006, 06:58 AM

I used Mobil 1 which has a graduated sight glass on the side of the bottle to measure quantity fairly accurately (as do most other lube containers). My fill device is a hand pump thingy that screws to the top of the bottle with a flexible tube attached to the end. Works like a champ except that you can't pump out all the fluid from the bottle. Just empty the remainder into the next bottle when it gets low enough and do some math. By the way you will need 2000 ml and as a US quart is 946 ml, you will need at least two bottles. Like Bill said, always remove the fill plug first. I had to use a three foot convincing attachment to my 1/2" rachet to get it out. Also, AZ carries a set of 15, 17 & 19mm 1/2" hex drive sockets for $9.99 and is a normally stocked item.

Techno Duck · Techno Duck's Garage

Make sure you remove the top before the bottom. The plugs are known to be troublesome on removal.

Seriously, just fill the tranny completley, there is enough clearance to squeeze under there, atleast for me with the car on level ground. Maybe not so much anymore since ive lowered it. I wouldnt even worry about the level you fill it to..its supposed to be something like 2-3mm from the top drain hole. I just fill the thing till it overflows. Fill till you spill. Dont quote me on that though.

surfdog4 · 07-24-2006, 08:35 AM

I guess my first wrong assumption was that i could fit under the car with my somewhat (ahem) "beefy" frame..sounds like you can get under there without lifting the car..excellent.

Thanks for the heads up on the penetrating oil..I've done a similar operation on the rear differential of my CR-V and ended up using a "persuader" to get the drain bolt loose

Techno Duck · Techno Duck's Garage

I should also note i am 5'11' and 155 lbs.. squeezing under wasnt much of an issue.

Another thing i thought of is that you will should bend the muffler heat shield out of the way. It will help immensely trying to get the fill bottle into the filler hole. Otherwise use a vac pump. Now that i think about it a turkey baster would work.. but would also take forever.

VINMAN · 07-24-2006, 10:22 AM

To fill mine, I run a hose from the fill hole up through the wheel well over the tire, to the container of lube.
Just like an I.V. setup. Gets all the lube out of the container.

liljon's924S · 07-24-2006, 11:42 AM

My car took 2.5 quarts of Mobil 1 synthetic gear oil. Puts less strain on the gears so your car shifts smoother with less gear noise- even though I couldn't really tell. My car needs a new clutch so I have MUCH chatter from the gearbox.

surfdog4 · 07-25-2006, 10:25 AM

onZedge,
by "AZ" you mean Autozone? I have had no luck finding the 17mm hex at other auto parts stores around here (haven't been to sears yet)

Bill Lucas · Bill Lucas's Garage

You're not going to find that part at a local store. Try Pelican Parts. If they don't have it I know that 944online.com does. Good luck.

VINMAN · 07-25-2006, 11:34 AM

Get a bolt with a 17mm head on it. Put the head of the bolt in the drain plug, you can use a set of channel locks to loosen it, or thread a couple of nuts onto it, bind them together and turn the bolt with a wrench.

Zero10 · 07-25-2006, 02:10 PM

Go to a local VW shop or store, and ask them about it.
Most shops will tell you where they got theirs. Around here there are 3 or 4 VW shops, and VW uses the 17mm allen plug on most of their gear boxes for cars from the 80's and 90's.

I have changed the gear oil a few different ways. In my old back yard, there was a bit of a dip in one area. It was ~2", and when I backed up to the edge of it that gave me enough room to fit under the car.
I used the method of running a hose out around the driver's side rear wheel and filling from beside the car. Get a friend to pour the fluid into the hose with a funnel, and stay underneath and watch for it to begin to drip out.
There are 2 schools of thought on how full to fill it.
One says until it starts to drip out, the other says fill to 6mm below the bottom edge of the fill hole.

The difference is ~0.25L. It is up to you which level to use. I've always used the 6mm method and never had a problem. I got it from the FSM's, so I trust it the most.

As for other ways to change it.....
I drove my 86 up on a curb, then backed to the edge of it so that I could fit under it the first time.
The second time I changed it on a lift, MUCH easier....
The third time I just jacked up the passenger side to help the old oil drain, then jacked up the driver's side just enough to squeeze under it, and guessed that I should fill to ~8-10mm below the fill plug to compensate.

Techno Duck · Techno Duck's Garage

I got the 17mm allen key at Sears. It was less than $10 i think.

AA_Ezra · 07-25-2006, 03:57 PM

Same Hear, it's cheap and it's hard to lose.

onZedge · 07-25-2006, 04:31 PM

AZ = Autozone

3-Piece 1/2" Drive Metric Hex Bit Set
12mm, 14mm, 17mm
P/N - 25417
$9.99
Normal Store Stock

You need the 17mm for the transaxle fill/drain plugs

944 boy · 07-25-2006, 04:49 PM

The problem is some stores have it some don't. It should be normal stock across all but I have been to many Auto Parts stores and the same chain is a diffrent area has more or less stock. My Sears (in Rochester) diddn't have a socket but had the allen, the local parts stores diddnt have anything........ Here in CA they do in some places. Go Figure

surfdog4 · 07-25-2006, 05:48 PM

I'm finding several single sockets and many sets with several different sizes...not having worked a ton on this car yet, is there any benefit to buying sizes other than the 17mm? Do you use them someplace else??

onZedge · 07-25-2006, 06:01 PM

You can never have too many tools.

Schumi · 07-25-2006, 06:32 PM

I think I used a 19mm open ended wrench for something once and I remember it being something important. I think the fuel damper to fuel rail hose is headed with 19mm ends. And the fuel supply and return hoses are held on to their respective damper/regulator with 19mm I think. And the damper is held on with a very large and skinny nut, something like 24mm.

I suggest having a good set of open/closed end metric wrenches (all the way up to the large sizes, you will need them eventually) and at least the neccesary allen/cheesehead wrenches.

I am blessed with various "inherited" sets of metric tools.
You can never have enough metric tools IMO...