Type 9 Gearbox

[capri_gear_boy]

hi everyone ,  please can you tell me how do I change the oil in my Type 9 gearbox?

thanks

[Blatman]

You don't need to, unless you put the wrong oil in in the first place...........

If you want to though, you'll need either a pump of some sort to get the old oil out through the filler, or tip the gearbox on it's end, and let it run out of the tail shaft.............If the 'box is on the floor of the garages, whip the top cover off, and turn the 'box upside down..........

[capri_gear_boy]

Ok, thanks.

But how do I check if the level is right? If it's not right, how do I fill it up? will the oil quality never deteriorate then?

[Blatman]

To top up the gearbox, remove the filler plug, and pour in oil until it pours out. Get the plug back in quick as you can. Job done. Tip. Warm the new oil in a microwave (take the foil seal off first! ). It'll flow much easier.............

EP90 shouldn't really ever break down. I don't know of any manufacturer, and certainly no bog standard Ford gearbox, that has a drain plug for gearbox oil changes. Why? Because they never envisaged having to drain the oil to change it. The manufacturers spend billions on R&D, and millions on gearbox, and gearbox oil performance. I tend to trust their judgement...........

There are those who will say that a gearbox has a harder life in a Westfield than it was ever designed to have. I tend to disagree. Your average type 9, in a Sierra, has to put up with towing caravans, owners with no mechanical sympathy, and women drivers who can't press the clutch properly...........whereas Westfields get ragged, both on track, and on the road. BUT a Westfield weighs less than half what a Sierra weighs, and we tend to take better care of our clutches, and surrounding systems. A broken gearbox is usually the result of trying to force synchros in when they aren't ready, or by miss shifting. It has nothing to do with the oil at all........High RPM will also kill a gearbox, but up to about 7500-8000rpm, you should be OK.

FWIW, I have NEVER changed the gearbox oil on any car I have ever owned. I have never had a gearbox failure as a result of not changing the oil. Currently, my 139,000 mile XR4x4 tow car has the same gearbox and diff (all 3 of 'em) oil it had when it was first registered in 1989. They get topped up periodically, but that's it...........

[Bob Green]

Hi Blatman

Just a query really but I was under the impression that the correct type oil for a Type 9 gearbox should be ATF (the oil used in automatic gearboxes).  This is to ensure maximum lubrication to 5th gear as it sits in the tailshaft, not in the "main" box.  I could be wrong though.

[Blatman]

5th gear sit's in the main gear case, smack bang in the middle of the input shaft, if I understand the exploded diagram I have in front of me properly, so no worries there.

According the Haynes Manual for my XR4x4 (which includes type 9's) type 9's are lubricated by SAE 80 EP oil, to Ford specification SQM 2C 9008A,.........

I KNOW from other information supplied to me by Phil Stewart of Road and Race Transmissions, that EP80 can come in GL4 and GL5 specs. GL5 spec is too slippery to enable the synchro's to work properly, and will cause problems. So when reaching for a bottle of EP80, read on a bit down to the small sprint, to the rest of the specs. "GL" will appear somewhere, so make sure it's GL4. If you're lucky, it'll also list the relevant Ford spec too.........

FWIW, MT75's, according to the manual, should be run on "Semi synthetic gear oil, to Ford spec ESD-M2C-186-A (Duckhams Unimatic)".

ATF is specified for all automatic transmissions, as well as the transfer box on 4x4's, and it is also listed as being called Duckhams Unimatic, so that may be where the confusion comes from, although the ATF Unimatic has a different Ford spec number; "SQM-2C90108-A (Duckhams Unimatic or  D-matic)".

FYI, my workshop manual is for

"Ford Sierra" 2.3, 2.8, & 2.9 V6 models, inc 4 wheel drive, 1982-1991".

[Blatman]

As I suspected, I found some chatter about this here, and some other opinions over on Blatchat.

Castrol TAF-X or SMX seem to be the current favourites...

[Bob Green]

Hi Blatman

Thanks for the links as they are very interesting.  I did have EP80 in the gearbox but was told this was incorrect as it should be ATF.  When the gearbox was next taken out, I replaced the oil with ATF.  I guess that was some 400 miles ago and I haven't noticed any problems, having said that, I don't race my car, just for warm weather runs to to a pub somewhere for lunch!

I think it will be OK to leave in for the time being as I plan a total car strip and rebuild at the end of next year and during that time I will only cover no more than 1,000 miles.  At that point I will revert to EP80.

[Blatman]

If you've got the dosh, I would (and will, when I lift my hillclimb car engine and 'box out) fill it with the Red Line stuff that the Fluke boys sell. It seems to get a thumbs up from everyone, and I've yet to see a posting anywhere which doesn't reccommend it's use. Quality doesn't come cheap, but it's cheaper than a new gearbox...........

[JulianS]

I think that Ford recommend 1.2 litres for a type nine - sticks in my mind as when I re-filled mine I bought Ford oil and they only sell it in 1 L bottles - so had to buy two!!

I also heard about ATF but just went for the Ford stuff.

For what it's worth, I have a remote filler (welded tube to make access from engine bay easier) and a hole cut in the passenger side tunnel to get access to the drain plug.

Julian

[will maskell]

there was a thread a while back about type nine oils.westfield tech dept told me to use atf

I will be changing to blatters recomended gear oil when engine & box go back in

but while i used this oil for over a year & 4000 miles inc nurburgring trip i've not heard a dickie bird from the box!!

[Turbo Tommo]

5th gear sit's in the main gear case, smack bang in the middle of the input shaft, if I understand the exploded diagram I have in front of me properly, so no worries there.

Might have a chance to draw level here Blats. 5th gear sits in the tailshaft as Bob says. The only thing that sits in the middle of your input shaft is your clutch plate. Regarding the lubrication of 5th gear, considering that the oil will run out of your tailshaft if you lift the engine out vertically, that would suggest that oil does live in this area and will find its own level relative to the main case. FWIW Phil @ R&R gave me Red Line 70W80 for my Pro Box.

(Retires smugly) FWIW, yer not very often wrong, but it's fun when you are!!!!!!

Tommo

[peterg]

Phil at RRT told me to use Redline MTL in the Quaife box after he rebuilt it...looks like raspberry jam  

[Turbo Tommo]

Thats the stuff.........crap on toast though!

Can't believe Blats hasn't replied yet. Probobly still in bed if the time of his last post is anything to go by>  

[Blatman]

Tommo.

Would you like me to scan and e-mail the diagram (From a Ford workshop manual) I was looking at? 5th seems to me to be pretty central in the 'box, mounted on the shaft that starts at the rear of the box, and ends with the spilnes on to which the clutch sits.........Input shaft may have been a poor description, bit it's all the same piece of metal.........

I'm 100% positive that, as far as I can  tell from the exploded diagram, that there are no gears in the tailshaft of the 'box.....

Oh, and I've been recommending Red Line MTL for months.............