Gearbox oil
- Thread starter rtdc
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I don't know but you should consider Redline. Comma isn't the greatest. Pennywise I can not give you advice but I can help you with choosing oils. If you consider changing gear oil, is this diy?
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Thank you. I looked up Redline and to costly for my DIY job. Maybe thats why Comma £21 for 5lts on Amazon, though its twice that and quite expensive in Halfords. I could get Duckhams as stated in the Haynes manual for less than Reline, I might go for that option. Not something wanna mess up the gearbox
I suppose there is no hurry replacing your gearbox oil? From what I know Comma is a sub brand. Can you give me a link to this product? Since this oil will last a very long time, a bit more money for better quality might be better. But hey I'm biased towards Comma since I saw it displayed at car parts stores as the sub sub line, it came after top off the line, their premium and then the cheaper one. For motor oil I can tell you for sure you shouldn't. But there are some figures on that bottle that might tell us more.
Comma is not a bad brand, in some cases some manufacturers use comma as their own rebranded.
The oils must meet certain standards, stated on the label. And for most standard cars, the oils will be just fine if it meets the standards.
In reality any new oil will be better than the 17 year old oil currently in the gearbox.
The oils must meet certain standards, stated on the label. And for most standard cars, the oils will be just fine if it meets the standards.
In reality any new oil will be better than the 17 year old oil currently in the gearbox.
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This is amazon and comma https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003BPN...olid=1LNE8HMMQO7B6&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
this is duckhams https://www.duckhams.com/product/duckhams-classic-hypoid-80w-90-api-gl-4/
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This is true, I don't if it ever had a gear oil change probably never and if the box is even full, It may have leaked in the past who knows. I figure change it and see if wining eases, if not and still changing gear ok at least know it got a full box of fresh oil.
If you have the experience with Comma gearbox I won't say otherwise. I do believe if motor oil wears fast and I can tell it can no longer take high pressures and my fuel consumption rises it isn't the greatest oil to protect the engine. That said, it is indeed no gearbox oil.
I've looked at Comma on Amazon and I noticed there is a two liter surplus (based on a CG13DE), which I wonder you probably have no need for? I read this oil is 'Semi-synthetic Gear Oil' which is no surprise but the label says Mineral. I don't believe that was missed by the Comma aftersales division. I only can guess how that is possible but it is a 'look somewhere else' signal for me.
For the Duckhams, I'm not thrilled but I also have totally no experience with their oil. But if I needed to make a choice I would spend the extra and take three bottles of Duckhams where I personally wouldn't know what to do with two liters spare gearbox oil.
I guestimate since ebay shows different numbers for my location you look at 65 for 3 us quarts of Redline. I understand you are not looking for racing quality oil but I can tell you that this oil is that good, you can hear it when you misshift. Also, my gearbox made more nice whirring sounds in a good way. If you drive at high rpm often, a better oil will have a good effect on the fuel consumption, especially when your current oil is quite bad which can be hard to tell beforehand.
I would recommend spending twelve to fifteen a liter. I would like to let you know about Liqui Moly 1404 - Axle Drive Oil Hypoid (GL5) SAE 85W-90. It is 6 per halve litre but I found it with fiteen shipping. I have put this oil in my second car and it really was noticeable but again, I had no clue about the state of the former gearbox oil, I bought the car, planned a long ownership and put the cost to the idea it would take very long to wear out and possibly never.
Personally I wouldn't look much in to classic oil or oil for gearboxes with higher mileage then usual. I did my research for both Redline and Liqui Moly. Liqui Moly was a good guess from me. Redline has the fame for quality easy found on the internet.
The reason I take some time to answer about gearbox oil is because I lack hard facts about it and switching and experimenting with motor oil is a lot easier because of more intervals. So I try to learn something here.
When I take a look at autodoc.co.uk, scanning from low to higher price the only brand I'm sure you can't go wrong is Castrol. For example Castrol 154F63 for ten per liter.
This said you can't really go wrong and indeed most oils are better then an old oil and I hope you can appreciate I showed you some options. It is so I'm after the extra quality, peace of mind, price wise and long duration. Please consider finding an oil that wil have a positive effect on the fuel consumption of you car.
I've looked at Comma on Amazon and I noticed there is a two liter surplus (based on a CG13DE), which I wonder you probably have no need for? I read this oil is 'Semi-synthetic Gear Oil' which is no surprise but the label says Mineral. I don't believe that was missed by the Comma aftersales division. I only can guess how that is possible but it is a 'look somewhere else' signal for me.
For the Duckhams, I'm not thrilled but I also have totally no experience with their oil. But if I needed to make a choice I would spend the extra and take three bottles of Duckhams where I personally wouldn't know what to do with two liters spare gearbox oil.
I guestimate since ebay shows different numbers for my location you look at 65 for 3 us quarts of Redline. I understand you are not looking for racing quality oil but I can tell you that this oil is that good, you can hear it when you misshift. Also, my gearbox made more nice whirring sounds in a good way. If you drive at high rpm often, a better oil will have a good effect on the fuel consumption, especially when your current oil is quite bad which can be hard to tell beforehand.
I would recommend spending twelve to fifteen a liter. I would like to let you know about Liqui Moly 1404 - Axle Drive Oil Hypoid (GL5) SAE 85W-90. It is 6 per halve litre but I found it with fiteen shipping. I have put this oil in my second car and it really was noticeable but again, I had no clue about the state of the former gearbox oil, I bought the car, planned a long ownership and put the cost to the idea it would take very long to wear out and possibly never.
Personally I wouldn't look much in to classic oil or oil for gearboxes with higher mileage then usual. I did my research for both Redline and Liqui Moly. Liqui Moly was a good guess from me. Redline has the fame for quality easy found on the internet.
The reason I take some time to answer about gearbox oil is because I lack hard facts about it and switching and experimenting with motor oil is a lot easier because of more intervals. So I try to learn something here.
When I take a look at autodoc.co.uk, scanning from low to higher price the only brand I'm sure you can't go wrong is Castrol. For example Castrol 154F63 for ten per liter.
This said you can't really go wrong and indeed most oils are better then an old oil and I hope you can appreciate I showed you some options. It is so I'm after the extra quality, peace of mind, price wise and long duration. Please consider finding an oil that wil have a positive effect on the fuel consumption of you car.
Yes, the required lifetime is indeed a factor to take into consideration. I have a planned lifetime up to fourty years and see where it is getting hard or unatractive. This is something I did not have on my mind while writing my answer. It just didn't occur to me a car can be considered being replacable or obsolete by invention.
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Thank you for your replies. I can see that Redline is a high quality oil but as vexorg said mine is a low powered old Micra, if it has two years left I'll be surprised. Age is hitting its components and soon it will reach a time where a simple job is too much because everything else around the part required to fix will also need changing, for example if i need a damper thats it for the car as everything around them rusted up as indeed are all the exposed parts. Its a good old Micra with a solid rust free body but aged a bit like me really lol.
I am undecided between the Comma and Duckhams, comma is cheap but if poor quality may make the box worse. In answer to your query richardwbb why 5 ltrs, its just that its cheaper to but 5 then 3 one ltr bottles of comma off Amazon. The Duckhams costs more but is the exact spec named as recommended in the manual for the car. I think its gonna be Duckhams
I'll post how it turns out, cheers
I am undecided between the Comma and Duckhams, comma is cheap but if poor quality may make the box worse. In answer to your query richardwbb why 5 ltrs, its just that its cheaper to but 5 then 3 one ltr bottles of comma off Amazon. The Duckhams costs more but is the exact spec named as recommended in the manual for the car. I think its gonna be Duckhams
I'll post how it turns out, cheers
What mileage do you have? Are you serious that you expect to buy another Micra after two years from now? Is the car welded somewhere to get it trough annual inspection? Are your fuel consumption figures close or better to what Nissan says? You will replace the gearbox oil yourself?
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Its only at 67000 miles, there is no body welding on it, a rare solid body for the UK. Alas rust is bad all over her other components, trying to get any nuts off is difficult. I had this with my last one and in doing one job other parts were broken, though a rotten body did for that one. So yes I would say Micra No5 could be on its way in a couple of years and this one be a good body donor or rebuilt as the ultimate Micra for me
. MPG seems good still and yes I will change the gear oil but first my exhaust went yesterday so that takes priority.I would suggest an change interval of 93000 miles, that might just be 100000 miles, it is so that 150000 kilometers happens to be 93 thousand miles. I've gotten this from a book about a car with a same design gearbox but I don't remember where and what exactly. A lot of manufacturers stop offering maintenance figures after 100k or 120k.
67000 miles seems not enough to me to worry about gearbox oil quality, but you should check the level by removing the filler cap and feel with your finger if it is on level, a gearbox should be filled up to the maximum level with the filler cap removed. So that is why you can use your finger. Then if possible, feel the oil between your fingers and smell it. This is only really helpful if you have a bit of new gearbox oil, same spec, to notice a difference. But I suppose this is easier with motor oil. Compared to new gearbox oil it's odor should still be where you can tell it is gearbox oil. The feel should be somewhere to new gearbox oil the least.
If you have trouble loosening nuts, I take twenty minutes to loosen one bolt with repeated loosening and fastening with wd40. It is a cumbersome job but I treat every car as a old timer and every repair or change as a restauration.
If you don't expect hitting 100k soon and you check your gearbox oil in the way I suggested, you might get to the conclusion, your money is spent better somewhere else or kept in your pocket for something that might occur in the close future.
If you have never felt and smelled used oils before, feel some brake fluid and some motoroil and you will see what I'm trying to tell you. Gearbox oil is also different, those w numbers explain to us what exactly.
67000 miles seems not enough to me to worry about gearbox oil quality, but you should check the level by removing the filler cap and feel with your finger if it is on level, a gearbox should be filled up to the maximum level with the filler cap removed. So that is why you can use your finger. Then if possible, feel the oil between your fingers and smell it. This is only really helpful if you have a bit of new gearbox oil, same spec, to notice a difference. But I suppose this is easier with motor oil. Compared to new gearbox oil it's odor should still be where you can tell it is gearbox oil. The feel should be somewhere to new gearbox oil the least.
If you have trouble loosening nuts, I take twenty minutes to loosen one bolt with repeated loosening and fastening with wd40. It is a cumbersome job but I treat every car as a old timer and every repair or change as a restauration.
If you don't expect hitting 100k soon and you check your gearbox oil in the way I suggested, you might get to the conclusion, your money is spent better somewhere else or kept in your pocket for something that might occur in the close future.
If you have never felt and smelled used oils before, feel some brake fluid and some motoroil and you will see what I'm trying to tell you. Gearbox oil is also different, those w numbers explain to us what exactly.
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That was my original intention to check the gear oil level and quality with the feel and smell test but the filler nut will not budge, not an uncommon problem i read. By the look of the nut I am not the first to try and fail, I have read about filling through the speedo drive instead which looks like it will come out. The box was wining when I got the car and maybe why its original owner of 16 yrs got rid of it, after lot of miles in a short time and a lot of hill driving the wining is getting louder. Its a case of change the oil and cross it off the check list, if helps great if not then I know the box has good oil and the correct amount.
There is no indication of drive shaft wear and I do not think it would make the same noise, wheel bearings all check out, no sign of leaks either. I know these base model Micras are noisy things but this one can really make a din. If it is gearbox wear it is probably already damaged, I have read of the gearbox being a problem on a few Micras though none of my previous ones ever had any issues. I can change gear without problem so that indications the box isn't too bad so change its oil and see what happens, I do not know the cars history so maybe it has been incorrectly changed in the past. I do know the former owner (from paperwork) spend a lot on servicing work some of which was not needed, so if she had been told change it she may have and perhaps it was not done right. So I figure £30-40 spend is worth it to see and if still wining at least fresh good oil in it.
In regards to the rusty nut, yes in most case good old WD40 does it but for some not. Alas until recently I did not have a place to work on a car so it would go to the garage and it was they who buggered my last Micra. I am more patient and can wait a few days while nuts soak
There is no indication of drive shaft wear and I do not think it would make the same noise, wheel bearings all check out, no sign of leaks either. I know these base model Micras are noisy things but this one can really make a din. If it is gearbox wear it is probably already damaged, I have read of the gearbox being a problem on a few Micras though none of my previous ones ever had any issues. I can change gear without problem so that indications the box isn't too bad so change its oil and see what happens, I do not know the cars history so maybe it has been incorrectly changed in the past. I do know the former owner (from paperwork) spend a lot on servicing work some of which was not needed, so if she had been told change it she may have and perhaps it was not done right. So I figure £30-40 spend is worth it to see and if still wining at least fresh good oil in it.
In regards to the rusty nut, yes in most case good old WD40 does it but for some not. Alas until recently I did not have a place to work on a car so it would go to the garage and it was they who buggered my last Micra. I am more patient and can wait a few days while nuts soak
Well yes if you have noise from gearbox changing oil isn't a bad idea. Especially if you decide to swap the gearbox I would indeed not use Redline, while it -might- help you quite a bit with noise. But any low priced oil should have a positive effect. The question is, will that be satisfactory in the case it works out? However I have no experience with gearbox noise so I can't tell what is wise. I would like to hear it if you will post some media.
I'm surprised the filler cap won't come loose, I just use a 1/2 inch wrench with a 1/2 to 3/8 reducer. Those are 9.55 millimeter and the filler cap is 10 millimeter. That won't come loose? I have trouble loosening the leak cap, can you loosen it?
For oil degradation, yes it does I can tell and this is for motor oil, my car has driven 10k miles with here and there redlining and somewhere in between sitting still for three years. I drove like 2500 miles a year. That is nine years. Then in a couple of months I added 2000 miles a month. Total was 17 thousand miles. The oil was Elf from Renault. I have had no issues with it but my dip stick popped out which pointed to blow by which points to oil no longer being able to lubricate properly. Still Nissan engines are precision builds and no signs of anything it being not good but I drove the last months, 3000 miles not revving beyond 3000.
If you want to learn yourself some more about oil, https://www.sr20-forum.com/general-sr20/!77564-thinking-about-oil-change-what-grade-can-i-use.html could be a interesting read.
For my mileage, yes I had almost doubled what oil change interval said. And yes, the oil was not being water but showed some waterlike properties. Refilling once in a while does keep your oil in better shape. If there is no oil loss or consumption, things become tighter.
But yes, oil degrades with age, but I say it is a minor issue. For the normal driving (that slow engine became lazy failling emission big time also because of this), that was just because I used my car for home to work full time. Redlining gave more vibrations, not so great engine sound and a point somewhere before redline, where you feel, I better shift now since nothing much happening. I still have to redline it with the recently put in fresh oil, Valvoline from the Action low prices store, but home to work driving isn't a great spot to do so and maybe I'm getting old ?
I'm surprised the filler cap won't come loose, I just use a 1/2 inch wrench with a 1/2 to 3/8 reducer. Those are 9.55 millimeter and the filler cap is 10 millimeter. That won't come loose? I have trouble loosening the leak cap, can you loosen it?
For oil degradation, yes it does I can tell and this is for motor oil, my car has driven 10k miles with here and there redlining and somewhere in between sitting still for three years. I drove like 2500 miles a year. That is nine years. Then in a couple of months I added 2000 miles a month. Total was 17 thousand miles. The oil was Elf from Renault. I have had no issues with it but my dip stick popped out which pointed to blow by which points to oil no longer being able to lubricate properly. Still Nissan engines are precision builds and no signs of anything it being not good but I drove the last months, 3000 miles not revving beyond 3000.
If you want to learn yourself some more about oil, https://www.sr20-forum.com/general-sr20/!77564-thinking-about-oil-change-what-grade-can-i-use.html could be a interesting read.
For my mileage, yes I had almost doubled what oil change interval said. And yes, the oil was not being water but showed some waterlike properties. Refilling once in a while does keep your oil in better shape. If there is no oil loss or consumption, things become tighter.
But yes, oil degrades with age, but I say it is a minor issue. For the normal driving (that slow engine became lazy failling emission big time also because of this), that was just because I used my car for home to work full time. Redlining gave more vibrations, not so great engine sound and a point somewhere before redline, where you feel, I better shift now since nothing much happening. I still have to redline it with the recently put in fresh oil, Valvoline from the Action low prices store, but home to work driving isn't a great spot to do so and maybe I'm getting old ?
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I have not ordered my oil yet, I had to change my exhaust yesterday. I can't complain its the first big expense on this car since I bought it 20 months ago.
The filler plug refuses to move, I tried everything, 10 mm was too big 9mm too small. I managed find something fit it snug and no way was it turning it broke the tool i was using instead! Soaked it in WD40 for days and no joy. In the end it won and I gave up lol. So now will go in via the speedo drive.
Thank you for the link on oils, I'll take a look.
I am not a high mileage driver and certainly not a hard one on the car, this little Micra was bought for shopping in only but has done 1000s of miles in many long trips and its taken it. I had bought an approved used Merc from the main agent but it was the worse car I have ever owned (I have owned a lot lol) and in the end I got Merc Uk make the dealer take it back. This was bought the next day from one of those dodgy used car lots and turned out to be I think the best car I have ever had! One owner from new before me, full service history, no rot, just a bit tired in places. I always had good Micras
The filler plug refuses to move, I tried everything, 10 mm was too big 9mm too small. I managed find something fit it snug and no way was it turning it broke the tool i was using instead! Soaked it in WD40 for days and no joy. In the end it won and I gave up lol. So now will go in via the speedo drive.
Thank you for the link on oils, I'll take a look.
I am not a high mileage driver and certainly not a hard one on the car, this little Micra was bought for shopping in only but has done 1000s of miles in many long trips and its taken it. I had bought an approved used Merc from the main agent but it was the worse car I have ever owned (I have owned a lot lol) and in the end I got Merc Uk make the dealer take it back. This was bought the next day from one of those dodgy used car lots and turned out to be I think the best car I have ever had! One owner from new before me, full service history, no rot, just a bit tired in places. I always had good Micras
Good to hear you are positive about Micras. I believe I can not be any longer of assistance on the specifics of your subject but I understand the link I posted is a good read for everyone if you read it from a to z, but being it non Micra related I enjoy reading a - z such a long page but I bet most people casually surf it, so here is the ultimate oil link hidden inside it and if someone missed that, https://540ratblog.wordpress.com/ Then use the search web page function and search for 'bottom line' repeatedly. After that, search for, 'The Wear Protection reference categories are'. Then, might you still be interested, take a beverage of your liking or think about getting one and make sure your current browser tab is pointed at https://540ratblog.wordpress.com/ and press your home key.
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Thank you for all your advice richardwbb, its been valuable. I tried again yesterday to shift my gearbox filler plug and no way was it moving even with a half metre extension bar. The drain plug does move easy though. I will tackle the job next week as its going to be a wet week so a good time to be tucked up in my garage
All the best
All the best
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I changed my gearbox oil today. I went with the Comma oil in the end.
Know I know that you can fill the gearbox from the speedo drive its actually an easy job and something anyone could do.
- I needed remove the battery first
- Then remove the air ducts which was easy, one 10 mm bolt and a good tug on the part under expansion tank to get it free. On mine there was no clip retaining the air duct to the air cleaner body and it just pulled off, I am not sure if there is meant to be one.
- With that removed I was able to easily reach down to the speedo drive unit, my oil filler nut is seized solid on my gearbox and no way will it budge so that is the only way to fill the gearbox for me.
- My unit has an electrical plug on it so I unclipped that by pressing the release clip on the right hand side of it. Its the brownish colour plug that comes out.
- The 10mm nut on the speedo drive came undone very easy and I was able to unscrew by hand after loosening it.
- It took a bit or wriggling and with the unit turned to the left so I could use the bolt holes as a grip, the drive unit pulled out. I was surprised to see that the speedo drive is made of plastic, including the drive cog.
- There was a little oil spill but nothing much but I had placed a rag around the area so no harm done. With the drive out there is a big hole about an inch in diameter and you can see the gearbox oil clearly.
- I then went underneath the car to access the drive plug. I did not jack the car up as it can be reached easily from the front just laying on the floor. I have read that the plug takes a standard ½ drive but mine does not, I have a set of hex sockets and the biggest fitted just about but not a great fit. Lucky the nut came loose easily and could then be undone by hand.
- I had no filings stuck to the nut so that’s good.
- After having a cuppa and letting the oil drain I put the drain lug back in with some copper grease on it and tightened to 30NM as the book says.
- I had taken out 3.2 ltrs of oil and decided to put 3.3 ltrs back in.
- I started off by filling the box through a tube but that was far too slow, so I put a funnel in the hole and then placed another funnel higher up. I then slowly filled the box in .5 ltr amounts from a jug and it worked out well. I took it slow as to give it time to get through the lower funnel and reduce the risk of spillage.
- After 3.3 ltrs I took everything away and there I could see nice new honey coloured oil in the box.
- I had replaced the O ring on the speedo drive unit with one from a box of assorted ones from Halfords. The largest in the box was a good bit smaller than the one on the drive unit but it went on OK.
- I put the drive back in and it popped in straight away with a satisfying thud, and the nut just screwed in easily. On with electric plug, refit the air duct and battery and all done.
Know I know that you can fill the gearbox from the speedo drive its actually an easy job and something anyone could do.
How to refill a gearbox when the filler cap won't come loose. How-to material. +1 for 'as the book says' and +2 for 'not rushing'.
