R32: Changing Gearbox Oil

[Genesis®]

just did my gearbox oil change today and heck, might as well take a couple of pictures in case some of you guys are wondering how its being done.

before i continue, you have to bear in mind that ANY oil change can be a VERY dirty, messy and tiring job but think of the satisfaction and money saved. THat's what motivated me in the first place. I also felt that it would help me understand my car better :sly:

anyway... here goes... my FIRST gearbox oil change in my R32

I needed to get the car high up from the ground so that I will have plenty of room to move around. I thought of car jacks and found these steel ramps at cash converter for only $20!! Each of them holds a maximum weight of 850kg. It holds the car pretty high up off the ground and its great for future use in engine, diff oil change and brake flushing/bleeding as well as some underbody works.

PLEASE do remember to (1) handbrake, (2) get the car in gear and (3) chock the rear wheels of the car.

Recommended equipment:

Get a LONG wrench for that ALL-SO-IMPORTANT leverage(size 1/2 inch)

Get a pump and your new gearbox oil ready.

tools, torchlight, degreaser, rags, hose, vacuum cleaner

and NOW, the fun part begins....

when you are done with your warmups and body flexings... get under the car to the gearbox. There is a drain plug on the bottom centre of the gearbox, there is no way you can miss it.

It is IMPERATIVE that you undo the filler plug FIRST before the drain plug!! If you undo the drain plug first and got all the oil out and then realized that the filler plug is stuck... you can start building a display cabinet for your car :tool:

The drain plug is usually the harder of the 2 to undo... i had a bitch of a time trying to get it out... broke 1 wrench and decided to get the STRONGEST and THICKEST 1/2inch wrench i can find in Repco... the longer the leverage, the easier it is to undo the plug. Another recommendation i had was to undo both plugs just after a drive so that all compartments are still hot... but the downside of this is that you will have to be EXTREMELY careful of the cat, exhaust piping and the gearbox itself becos it will get freaking hot.

make sure you have at least a 5litres and above oil tray for the old oil once the plugs are undone.

when the old oil is draining from the gearbox, get to work on the 2 plugs.

[Genesis®]

Clean them both, esp the drain plug. You might noticed some metal shavings from the magnetic part of the plug, get them off... its normal wear-and-tear from the gearbox. Run a single layer of plumbing tape around the threaded end of the plug (not necessarily but i did it anyway...

once all the old oil is drained, put the drain plug back. How tight you want it is ALL dependable on yourself... gearbox oil can last for a pretty long time and its usually recommended that you get it changed once every 2 years (dun quote me on that). If you screw it tightly with a vengence, then you will probably end up cursing yourself more then... anyway, i tighten it with a vengence...

the rest of the work is pretty straightforward... pump in the new oil (filler hole) till it starts overflowing from the filler hole. once that's done, screw the filler plug back on... again with a vengence.

and wala... you got new gearbox oil...

btw, i recommend that you get your driver seat covered like i did... once any stray oil gets onto the seats, the stain and smell stays on...

next project for me is diff oil change... wanted to do it today as well but going to read up more on the redline oil specs first...

hope this helps

cheers

glenn

[Sumo]

the diff is easy, but if you have a 3 inch exhaust it gets mighty hard to work around it.

I used Shell fully synth LSD oil, great stuff... but exxy

Sumo

[Genesis®]

i have a 2 1/2 inch

and yeah... the Shell fully synth is 1 of the options on my list as well ... but still considering the redline diff oil ...

[trbo32]

I noticed on my R32 there are two bolts side by side of the passenger side of the gearbox. Which one is the filler plug??

What’s the name of the Redline oil everyone recommends here for gearbox oil?? Where can you get it in Melbourne?

Thanks

[Genesis®]

if you are sliding under the car with your head towards the back of the car.. the filler plug will be on the left side of the gear. If you can find the drain plug, run your left hand (careful when hot) along the gearbox and you will find the squarish filler plug. It sticks out like a sore thumb and there's no way you can miss it.

ask for the redlineoil .. chk out www.redlineoil.com.au for the nearest retail outlet near you.

run a search thru this forum and you will find more info on it.

[trbo32]

thanks

[steven]

Great job GenesisR32 mate!! Just wonder is it the same process as Auto? And do u know how to change the filter as well?

cheers mate

steven

[Genesis®]

it should be pretty much the same for an auto... it would be best to get under the car and have a looksee.

which filter are you talking about? oil, petrol or air ??

[Guest RedLineGTR]

thanks for the guide..

[steven]

Isn't it have a transmission filter??? i heard someone say so, but i never had change it b4!! Please advice!

[Genesis®]

tranmission filter? that i am not so sure and dun wanna give you bogus advice. run a search and see what you can find. there's no filter on a manual, only a tiny magnet on the drain plug to attract all the stray metal shavings.

[carlo]

This is a top guide, and is exactly the same when doing gearbox on a r33.. I have moved it to the FAQ section so that all can find it.

[gtrGhosTDoGG11]

Hi,

If you wondering what oil to use,

here are some pics.

Lightweight for gearbox

Heavyweight for diff

[eSKiMo]

i prefer to use the Motul range of oils...

they just released their LSD oil in 1L containers!! (instead of 10L drums)

Also can anybody confirm this:

gearbox in rb20 takes 2L, diff takes 1L??

engine - 300V Chrono (10w40 100% synthetic ester)

gearbox - Gear 300 (75w90 100% synthetic)

diff - Gear FF Competition

brakes - RBF600 (DOT4/600, 312 degree boiling point!)

[MerlinTheHapyPig]

yeah, im doing this tomorrow. Does it take 2 litres? I need to know how much oil to buy, i can either get 2 x 1 litre bottles or 1 x 4 litre bottles. Don't want to get not enough

[lukew105]

Just letting you guys know i did it yesterday and it takes about two and a half litres...

And just a word of warning if you want to do it the easy way invest in a Sludge Pump... worth every cent of the 20 bucks it will cost ya

[R32Dreamer]

Just for anyone that wants to know, i changed my gearbox and diff oil yesterday and refilled both with Redline Shockproof Lightweight Oil and it appears to have done the job perfectly for gearbox and diff. hope this helps

[groucho]

Frozen filler plugs seem to be common - my mechanic tried welding a bolt head onto the one on my gearbox to get better purchase and still couldn't get it free so he ended up filling the box via the reversing light switch (which he removed and then used that hole).

[RB25HR31]

i just done a oil change in a 34 box. i put in exactly 4L before it started flowing over the top plug.