Midlands Lotus Owners Club (MLOC): Gearbox Oil Change - Midlands Lotus Owners Club (MLOC)

Since about 1000 miles, I have been hearing rather strange grinding noises from the gearbox, when I lift off. This seemed to get louder once the car really warms up. So, I decided to change the gearbox oil and go for something a little different.

Preparation

1. I removed the rear near-side wheel and left the car up on jacks.



2. I removed the diffuser and loosen up the centre undertray. This provided adequate access to the bolts required to drain the oil.



Draining

1. I removed the lower bolt as shown on the photo. Note that you will have to use a ratchet handle to remove this bolt.



When you do this, don't forget to place a catch tray under the car

2. In ensuring that gearbox is fully drained, I had to lower the car on the jacks to level. I left the car to drain for about ten minutes.

3. Once completely drained, I replaced the bolt.

TIP: Replace all washers in ensuring that you don't get leaks at a later date. These can be bought from Honda parts department.

Refilling

1. I then removed the top bolt. Doing this will do two things. Firstly, the outlet will act as a 'level' when re-filling the gearbox. Once oil comes out of this hole during re-filling process, then you have reached the correct amount. Note that the car must be level to ensure that you have required amount of oil in the gearbox. Secondly, it will act as a breather hole to allow oil to flow.



(note the square holed drain plug - bolted back in place)

2. Now I now that some folks use this hole to refill the gearbox, however I decided to use the inlet hole at the top of the casing (by the gear linkage). I used a pipe and a funnel that worked a treat.





3. Just over 2L later, the oil dripped out of the top hole. I replaced the bolt, the undertray and the wheel and removed the jack.

4. I went for the Amsoil transmission synthetic oil. As you can see, two bottles and a bit was good enough to fill the gearbox.



Drive

I went for a quick drive and once the car was warm, the gear changes were beautiful and smooth. The grinding noise was reduced dramatically, but I will have to drive a bit more to be sure by how much. But for now, I am happy and I can consider this job done!