Does gearbox oil ever need changing in the normal life of a car?
On another forum, I mentioned that my gearbox can seem a tad stiff when cold, and is always hard to get back into 1st when rolling along in a traffic jam.
I had a responce saying that the gearbox oil never needs changing. " Once it's in, it's in" and many other people agreed with this comment.
What do you guys suggest?
TIA Ady...
|
I've replaced mine - it is on the service schedule. My car is known for sometimes being clunky going into 1st when cold and synthetic is recommended to fix this - and it does. Expensive, but it will be in there a good few years.
|
My Ford Transit (a hard working beast) does not have gearbox oil changes specified at all. The gearbox is a clean enviroment and without contamination the oil should last.
Changing the oil will not do any harm and by removing swarf, may increase the working life of the box, but if the manufacturer says don't bother, then don't bother unless changing it makes you feel good.
|
|
Defintely change it. The oil does shear down with time and it is noticably thinner when you drain it than when you put it in. You also flush out all the swarf and synchro particles that are floating about in there and wear the bearings and gears. Drain out a VAG box with 100k on it and the oil comes out bronze coloured - shimmers beautifully in the sunlight!
|
My car is an ST200 Mondeo. It has the MTX gearbox.
I have been advised not to change the oil, although, no evidence of the reason why has been offered.
Does anyone know of the apparent horror stories associated with changing the oil in an MTX gearbox?
|
|
Its just a normal gearbox IMHO. No reason why it shoudn't be changed and no horror stories.
|
With this sort of thing when a manufacturer says something is fit for the lifetime of the car, "lifetime" can just mean "until its out of warranty" although they are not usually that bad, most lifetime components/oils will last 10 years.
Saying that they last 10 years isn't the same as saying they are good for 10 years though.
But with respect to gearbox oil, ideally it should be changed after the car has been run in then this second lot of oil should last years.
|
I think its the danger of getting contaminants in the gearbox, grit on the level and drain plugs, there had been failures due to this.
I reading this somewhere years ago as to why changes were no longer recommended on some boxes with gear, rather than engine oil.
( can`t remember where though)
We once had a polo in the family and the gearbox oil was 16 yrs old at the end and still no problems.
|
|
|
