Hi all
Is it possible to change the oil in ford focus gearbox (1.8TDi). When the cars cold gear changing is abit of a challenge but when the engines up to temperture gear changing is how it should be.
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Forgot to mention what oil do people recommend? I'm personally thinking of put mobil gear oil in it if i can drain the oil thats in there
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The AA at my local halfords have quote me £35 for changing the oil but where do you drain it from so i could do it myself?
Railman
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Its amazing how many people are having gearbox shift problems these days, especially in cold weather.
The Ford 'box specs a 75W-90; I would strongly recommend Castrol SMX-S - this is a fully synthetic 75W-85 which will make your box perform better. Its about £11 a litre.
I can source you some superb stuff from the US (a fully synthetic with very good cold shift characteristics) but its about £50 a gallon and takes up to 8 weeks to arrive.
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Cheers Aprilia but where do you drain the oil from on the box? Theres a ex ford mechanic at work but i will not see him until i'm on nights Thursday and i'm hoping to do it before then.
Am i best buying the oil and paying the labour for the AA to do it. I'm sure the stuff they will use will be 'cheap'?? halfords gear oil
Railman
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My Fiesta handbook (same gearbox?) says Allen keyed socket furthest from engine..Not the blanking plug near the bellhousing..
madf
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a but where do you drain the oil from on the box?
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Haynes says IB5 box has no drain plug so remove one or two drive shafts
MTX 75 - the plug is in the base of the diff.
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'MTX 75 - the plug is in the base of the diff.'
Can you easily get to the plug???
Railman
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If it's the same gearbox as in Mondeos then i think you will find there is no drain. Ford say "sealed for life", which i think translates into "Knackered by 100k and so expensive that people might just throw the car away".
If you can change it, my personal recommendation is Torco RTF (Racing Transmission Fluid). i use it in my Rover PG1 box (which has to handle 200PS despite never being designed for this power output) and have found it to be excellent. Nevertheless I still change it every 30k. Around £13 a litre - I get it from Hewitt Motorsport.
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Hmm. Torco RTF is a 75W-90 *GL-6* rated oil. It is a little thick for this application - it has close on double the kinematic viscosity c.f. the Ford spec fluid. It would be good in racing applications because of the thick film and ability to absorb shock loads. However I would be wary of running a GL-6 in a 'box that calls for a GL-4....
Going back to SMX-S - that would be right spec for the Focus.
Draw the old oil out by using an oil syringe (under £10 off ebay - or from Machine Mart for about £12).
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The focus diesel uses the mtx 75 transaxle which is a stronger box than the ib5.There is a drain plug for this box.it's located ate back of the box near the rear torque restrictor.I can't remember the oil spec but it is different to IB5 oil.Hope this helps.
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If its the MTX75 'box then you need a very thin oil otherwise you will get terrible shift quality, especially in cold weather. You can buy Ford 'MT75' oil, or use an aftermarket alternative (e.g. Morris Lubricants Lodexol MT, suitable for these gearboxes - see the Morris Lubricants website).
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