I've been meaning to do this since buying the van and as it was a sunny morning, time to 'get out and get under' as the song says.

Trolley jack and axle stands later, the 21mm plug is out and the oil exits dead centre into the catch pan.

Measure out a litre of Comma GL4 80w90 whilst it drains out and tray and apply the socket to the level/filler plug....

Nope not a hope as the battery support is in the way - so go in search of a ring spanner, 16-17, 18-19, 20-22, what no 21? dammit.

Search through the entire garage, every set of spanners is missing the 21mm.

Of course by now all the oil has drained and there's no way to drive the Van.

Sudden thought, check through the bag of Whitworth spanners reserved for the Enfield, sure enough one is a perfect fit - phew.

Replace the drain bolt and drop the car back on the ground.

Now to get the oil in requires a piece of pipe, a funnel and an old ATF oil bottle with the bottom cut off, pour in 8--cc's and have a cuppa whilst the oil goes in. It takes 2 mugs of Tetleys finest and several digestives but eventually all the oil goes in.

It's not weeping out of the level plug yet so I throw in the remaining 20 cc's and return to the garage and tidy/sort out the accumulated crap filling the place.

Return to the car to find a puddle of oil that somehow looks like a lot more than 20cc's sitting on the driveway, Bollox.

Still, that's another job ticked off the list but somehow I seem to be adding more jobs onto it than crossing them off.

Odometer clicked over 29,900 km today too.

gearbox oil is often forgotten on cars, im not sure why as its just as important as engine oil and often easier to change!!

its been ages since i changed mine (but not done that many miles maybe 4k on the current oil, ) i seem to remember I ordered the oil from Viking as i was getting some other stuff from him at the time, and he supplied it in a nice easy to fill can (anywhere where these are obtained in the uk...?

PS you say about measuring a litre out, IIRC and not to nit pick its 0.9l is it not?

anyway i love ticking jobs like this off the list!!

i changed a drive shaft on the 106 on Friday which involved dropping the gear box oil etc, i placed the can underneath the plug and it shot past the can and on the floor!!

yes its important to maintain good oil in the gearbox and im not advocating not doing it - but its not necessary to change it with your underpants.

Gear box oil does not have to endure the same conditions as engine oil, it doesn't get as hot, it doesn't get full of soot and acidic by products of combustion which are the main reasons engine oil needs changing more frequently.

I am not sure why you need jack stands for a gearbox oil change. I find i can stretch far enough to reach the drain nut without having to jack the car up. Have I missed something?

Ian

Ah but you know exactly where the drain plug is.... try doing it for the first time.

Dave, thats a fair point. i remember the first time i took me ages. Now i have a little hand pump which i use for filling the gearbox in a more convient manner. Regardless, i can never refill it without a few oil drips. So, i start by putting a rag under the filler hole to catch the drips.

I lift the car on the right side, measure 0.9 L feed it through a garden hose, funnel on top side and small bush gear box side. No drip especially on the exhaust box.

Nothing against Viking, but there's really no reason to import oil. Opie Oils do it online, absolutely everywhere (even your local petrol station) will do it over the counter. And the 1 litre bottles have always included the flexible spout thingy whenever I've seen 'em.

It's always worth keeping an old one handy - with the bottom chopped off, it makes a great funnel for next time.

One of these ...
http://www.tooled-up.com/Product.asp?PI ... tAodXWQAhQ
... plus one of these ...
http://www.smithandallan.com/prodpage.aspx?id=1893
... is both cheaper and easier than buying oil in piddling little quantities and messing about with a bit of hose and a funnel!

Yer i know adrain but i was ordering from viking anyway!!