Gearbox oil refill plug.

[Rambo]

Hi Tony, just dug it out from the garage, how quick do you need it, I can stick it in the post tomorrow morning so could be with you Monday or Tuesday, PM the address for posting if that works. If you need it for the weekend, we could drive it over on Saturday. Let us know. - I have replaced the D plug with a normal drain plug so don't want it back, you can be the custodian

The true spirit of LEC. That's what it's all about

[lotustonybassplayer]

Hi Tony, just dug it out from the garage, how quick do you need it, I can stick it in the post tomorrow morning so could be with you Monday or Tuesday, PM the address for posting if that works. If you need it for the weekend, we could drive it over on Saturday. Let us know. - I have replaced the D plug with a normal drain plug so don't want it back, you can be the custodian

Hi Ken just pm'd i think with my details, there is no rush as car sorned for the winter. I have planned maintenance on my daily to do first .Tony

[lotustonybassplayer]

Hi Tony, just dug it out from the garage, how quick do you need it, I can stick it in the post tomorrow morning so could be with you Monday or Tuesday, PM the address for posting if that works. If you need it for the weekend, we could drive it over on Saturday. Let us know. - I have replaced the D plug with a normal drain plug so don't want it back, you can be the custodian

Hi Ken just pm'd i think with my details, there is no rush as car sorned for the winter. I have planned maintenance on my daily to do first .Tony

Have resent the pm, I put the info in the wrong place and mailed you so hopefully you will get the info this time

[KenS]

All good, the socket is on its way, should arrive Monday/Tuesday. Goodluck and hope for no project creep !

[lotustonybassplayer]

All good, the socket is on its way, should arrive Monday/Tuesday. Goodluck and hope for no project creep !

The tool arrived safely this morning, thanks Ken

[KenS]

Great, a surprisingly quick delivery by Royal Mail. We will keep an eye out for the Elan and Matra at Minis Bay in the Spring

[lotustonybassplayer]

Just to follow up on this, Ken's tool fitted perfectly on the D plug. I replaced it with a M20 1.5mm drain plug. I got round to actually do the oil change today. Almost 1.9 litres of oil came out. I refilled with castrol synthetic. It makes the oil change straight forward. So as the custodian of the tool if anyone finds they have D plug on their car and wants to change it to a drain plug I can forward on the tool.

[RonR]

Hi Tony,

I'm about to change my clutch as part of the project creep from my Head Gasket job. It's the ideal time to replace the D plug with a proper filler plug.
Will send a PM shortly.....

[RonR]

Update.....

Thanks to Tony I'm now in possession of the tool, please PM me if you want to be the next to use it.

Cheers,
Ron

[Neil D.]

Dear all,
Just completed a full oil change on my gearbox using the "D" filler plug
Capacities are between 2.5 and 3 litres of oi l!!!
This is much more than specified by the service parts notes manual.
Has anybody compared "D" fill level to speedo cable level ?

Thank you
Neil

[chrism]

Hi Neil D.

I've limbered up - and psych'd up - on the tranny fluid change (suspecting mine's original after just wrangling the p/steering fluid...)

Done the h'work, downloaded Ken S's fab pic + found out where the dreaded 'D plug' is. Any chance of completing the KenS solution and borrowing his D plug removal tool please?

It'd be rude not to take advantage of it, bearing in mind he's such a worthy LEC problem-solver*

*I have him to thank, with RonR, for dragging my dinosaur 9239 promid ecu into this century's 1499 iteration by using Ron's fab dual chip conversion board and fitting an O2 sensor following his (and other's) wiring advice (and his help with ElanScan probs).

[chrism]

Well I've managed to find the D-plug tool but I thought I'd test the waters on the speedo-cable method since that D-plug blank is reminding me very much of the turbo-plug removal that I'm still having treatment for ...

Tbh both methods seem to be a bit of a 'faff', but do-able, so I thought I'd try this one first.

So far I've managed to move the exp tank remove the large inlet hose and...undo the collar bolt (shown in the following pics with the tool that got to it) but I can't see how to remove the speedo drive. I've tried pulling it upwards but...

DSCF0359a.jpg

DSCF0360a.jpg

Does anyone know if it pulls upwards and outward of the tranny as 'wiki' seems to imply - or does the large bolt have to be removed first? I'm sure it'll all be clear when it comes out but I've got to get it out first... aaarrgghh!!!

Then I can fill with 1.8litres of 75w/80 GL4 synth through the speedo-drive hole from above with a length of garden hose and a funnel(?) That is, after I've put it all back together to go for a run to heat up the tranny oil.

Hope someone who's already done it can help please?...(Phew, why are our Elan's such a pain to work on?)

ps do I really need to warm up the tranny oil before replacing it?

[dapinky]

The speedo drive "simply lifts out" once you undo the clamp plate...... it's that simple (but it isn't, even though it is!).....

..... as another thought, you can refill the box by removing the gear selector box...... but there is no method to tell you how full it is by doing it that way, so I'd only advise it if you have a known level already to check against, or a completely dry system.

The 'correct' method is via the speedo hole, but I did it the hybrid method last time - poured it into the selector box aperture (it's easier to get to, and a bigger hole to aim at), and checked the level at the speedo drive...... then once it was full, i fabricated a 'dipstick' to use in the selector bit so I can get away without removing the speedo drive next time.

[chrism]

I was just about to smugly edit that if you pull it around a bit it "simply lifts out" but dapinky beat me to it...(thanks for the quick reply)

Happy bunny now...

[dapinky]

To avoid having to keep refitting and "simply lifting" it out to get the oil level right, make yourself a dipstick from a bit of metal, wood or cardboard and use the markings from the speedo drive to set it up.... far easier.

[TorqueHorse]

To get the speedo plug "simply lifted" out, I used a 7/8" or 15/16" wrench (whatever fits around the cylindrical part, but smaller than the hex collar) and then you can use the bell housing as a lever point. It might come up a bit at an angle, but once it starts to move you can alternate racking and pulling with your hand while going back to the wrench lever.

[chrism]

Great suggestions, thanks folks...

[dapinky]

I know this thread is old, but there are some "recent" bits which I am interested in ascertaining that my information is correct - or if not, definitively establishing that it isn't.... does that make sense?

Anyway, I drained my tranny this afternoon, and the stuff that come out wasn't too grotty, but I have no idea how old it is, so decided that a change makes sense at this point.

Anyway, I fabbed up my version of "the tool" for the 'D' plug, which consisted of about an inch of scaffold pipe with about 8mm cut out of it so I could beat it round to a smaller diameter which just slipped over the plug...... then welded it up and added some weld to the inner edge for a small bit of it, then ground it down to make the 'flat' bit. After a few trial fits, and a bit more grinding I ended up with a nice fit and looked around for something to drive it with. I settled on an old front hub nut as it is the right diameter so was easy to weld onto the end of the tube. I had no idea how tight the bolt was going to be, so it was over-engineered in the welding department!!!!

Anyway, it went on and a selection of extension 'wobble' bars meant I could get a handle on it, and it came undone really easily, so either I was lucky, or my engineering is excellent (I'm tending towards the former).

So, with the whole lot drained I set up a length of pipe from the engine bay (down by the header tank) and into the fill hole, and jammed a funnel in it.

Now, this is where my quandy comes in - I had the car on level ground and added 1.5 L of oil, then did smaller amounts, expecting it to overflow at some point soon......

.... anyway, I have added just over 2L and it ain't dripping out yet - so - did anyone ever establish if the 'filler plug' is actually a filler plug set at the right level, or is it just used at the factory to fill a completely dry unit with a measured quantity for first use (which is why it is an awkward bugger to get out)????

I think I know the answer, and will be removing the speedo drive tomorrow to set it the "proper" way.

If I feel magnanimous, I will then fill the box until it does drip out, then see how much needs draining to get to the right level as per the speedo drive, so we will have an idea of how accurate the 'fill plug' is (or not) and if it is worth using it!

[KenS]

Hi Dave, when I used the D plug method I measured what drained out as about 1.6L, knowing the wet fill capacity is 1.8L, I blindly refilled with about 1.7L, giving no overflow from the D plug. So was not reliant on the D plug as an overflow. From your findings and others it does seem clear that the D plug is not a level for the M100.

[dapinky]

Thanks for the reply, Ken - I think you're right, that the plug is a 'fill thing', not a 'check-level' thing.

Unfortunately, i had no idea if the oil level was correct before I started, so measuring the quantity that came out wouldn't have helped if it had been low when I started.

I think the only sensible thing to do now is to remove the speedo bit and check the level there, then drop the bottom plug again to get some oil out (or I might just drop a litre out first and start again.)