Changing oil in diff and gearbox

[BANKS]

I want to change the oil in my diff and gearbox, I was looking at castrol SAF-XA for the diff and castrol TQ DIII for the gearbox BUT i had noticed the castrol Transmax Z when i was having a look at the other 2, is that any good? its still a dexron III fluid but fully sythetic.

What i want to know is where is the sump plug for the gear box and how do i drain/fill the oil out of the diff?

For the diff do i remove the lowest bolt on the back housing and let it drain out?

A step by step guide would be helpful as i have only done this once before on a ford.

Cheers

[Morton]

Lowest bolt on the diff should drain it, then you can refill through a stiff rubber plug somewhere around the mid-high area of the diff plate.

Is your trans auto? If so, you'll have to unbolt the trans pan and drain it that way, then refill through the dipstick. If it's manual, then there'll be a drain plug on the side, with a fill plug not far above it.

If you have any idea what's in the gearbox at the moment, it's a good idea to fill it with something similar. Never a great idea to mix fluids

[BANKS]

Lowest bolt on the diff should drain it, then you can refill through a stiff rubber plug somewhere around the mid-high area of the diff plate.

Is your trans auto? If so, you'll have to unbolt the trans pan and drain it that way, then refill through the dipstick. If it's manual, then there'll be a drain plug on the side, with a fill plug not far above it.

If you have any idea what's in the gearbox at the moment, it's a good idea to fill it with something similar. Never a great idea to mix fluids

champion

Yeah its an auto, i had a feeling i may have had to remove the whole pan. Are the bolts torqued on? or just hand tightened? Does it spill all over the place when removing the pan? a new seal required?

Had a feeling that it was the lower bolt on the diff too lol, couldnt see a refill plug tho, might have to have a better look.

I wouldnt have a clue whats in it atm. Anyway i can flush it out? then fully refill with that transmax Z?

[GMMAD]

take a look at this
How to Flush your Motor, Gearbox and Diff when changing Oil. - Australian LS1 and Holden Forums
while you are changing the A4 fluid get a new filter for it
tranzmax Z is the go for your A4

[BANKS]

take a look at this
How to Flush your Motor, Gearbox and Diff when changing Oil. - Australian LS1 and Holden Forums
while you are changing the A4 fluid get a new filter for it
tranzmax Z is the go for your A4

flushing machines ay, might get the mech to do it when it goes for a service tomorrow lol Tell him to put tranzmax Z in.

where do i get flushing oil from? never heard of it b4

[GMMAD]

flushing machines ay, might get the mech to do it when it goes for a service tomorrow lol Tell him to put tranzmax Z in.

where do i get flushing oil from? never heard of it b4

you dont have to use flush oil just run some cheap ATF through it
same for the dif get some cheap diff oil
thats what I did

[BANKS]

you dont have to use flush oil just run some cheap ATF through it
same for the dif get some cheap diff oil
thats what I did

Oh true, ^^^ morton said not to mix brands thou? It'll be easier for now just to get the mach to do it tomorrow, then when i flush it again, transmax Z will already be in it

Did you follow that guys advice on LS1 for the diff?

[Morton]

From what I understand, you're doing a complete flush of the transmission? All 16 (or however many) litres? If you're flushing out absolutely everything, then perhaps it's not so bad to mix up oil types, as you'll be flushing most of the stuff out.

I assumed you were only draining the sump pan, and only around 4 litres ever falls there, leaving another 11 litres of another type of oil still in the valve bodies and the torque converter. That wouldn't be so fantastic

But if you have a way of doing a full flush, I can't see the harm in running a cheap ATF through there for a while, then completely purging the whole system of that stuff, and refilling with 16 litres (or thereabouts) of a high quality synthetic oil

[GMMAD]

^^^ A4 only take 5L
if you plan on putting tranzmaxZ in there you will me mixing oils anyway so why not flush all the old stuff out
yes I did the diff flush the way he said and the M6

[Morton]

Ahh well there you go I stand corrected (and ignorant) ^_^

[GMMAD]

Ahh well there you go I stand corrected (and ignorant) ^_^

I always thought they took more till recently when I did a box change
as I have always had manual car

[WAGON MAN]

According to my Haynes manual it states:

Automatic Transmission

Fluid and filter removal
V6........4.8 Litres
V8........5.0 Litres

Total refill capacity from dry (including torque converter)
V6........7.6 Litres
V8........10.6 Litres

Last time my A4 transmission was flushed, the Auto transmission specialist used 16 litres for a total flush and refill.

[Morton]

Ahhh I thought that may have been the case

Cheers Wagon Man, I thought 5L total sounded a bit shallow.