Making Gearbox Refilling Easier
Thursday, March 26th, 2009
Topping up the gearbox was made far easier and far less messy by retro-fitting the SII top-fill cover a while ago, but there was still the complication of needing to remove the filler plug from the side of the box to check the level.
Since the transfer box oil level on SII and SIII Land Rovers only ever seems to rise as the main gear box throws oil aft (even with new seals), it seemed sensible to relocate the Rocky Mountain transfer box dipstick assembly to the main box, and fit the plain filler plug on the transfer box (in time I may get another dipstick assembly and refit it to the transfer box).
I can now check the gear box oil level through the circular hole in the left of the transmission tunnel cover (normally covered with a bicg rubber grommet) and refill it from the top without using any tools and without having to go underneath the vehicle at all, which given how quickly Series LRs lose gear box oil, must be a good thing.
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October 29th, 2009 at 21:45
Hi, this is a good idea but i wonder if you drilled this top hole out? i would have thought this would interfere with the push down lock for the high range 4×4
October 30th, 2009 at 13:37
Hi Roger,
I used the tunnel cover from the same vehicle the filler cap and retaining spring and 1st/2nd gear detent plug came from. You could cut the hole in a standard transmission tunnel cover – it is the same diameter as the hole in the side, and would normally use the same type rubber grommet. It doesn’t interfere with the gear levers in any way.
December 12th, 2009 at 19:39
Nick, if you get a series 2 or X-MOD gearbox tunnel section they have a sideways hinged access panel for accessing the top filler.
December 13th, 2009 at 10:50
Thanks, Phil.
The tunnel cover I’m using came from the same late MoD SIII 109 as the filler cap and clip (or part of it is – I use the top of that one with the bottom flanges cut off, and the bottoms of the original tunnel cover with the top cut away – this means that the floor panels are properly supported, but I can access the top of the gear box by removing the tunnel cover without removing the floors, a bit like on a Defender). Since I have the Wright OFF Road matting, the grommets are omitted from the cover, making it very easy to access the cap. I cut the matting where the tunnel meets the floors to make it easier to remove the tunnel area of the mat or to just peel back the corner for topping up. The mat is normally one piece from door to door, but careful cutting with a sharp knife results in an easier fit with no gaps.
Nick.
May 20th, 2010 at 10:26
Hi, Nick.
That’s a great solution. Do you have more detailed pics of the filler? What models have it?
The dipstick assembly is from Rocky Mountain? How does it attach to the gearbox? Do you know if it’s sold separately?
Thanks!
May 20th, 2010 at 12:06
The “filler” is just the cap and retaining spring as seen through the tunnel cover hole in the top photo – the circular steel disk is removed from the top of the gear box and replaced by that cap to allow you to pour oil directly into the gear box. The dipsticks are sold separately by RM, and simply screw into the filler/level plug holes in place of the square headed plugs.