After draining the gear oil is it best to flush with parts cleaner before replacing with fresh oil?
You must be someone who also believes in cleasing yourself every 2 years? For me, I don't believe in cleansing my tranxale or myself.
Ditto what Michell said. Clean up the magnetic drain plug thoroughly, re-secure, then re-fill from the top. That's it.
19, but definitely not 18.) It makes a big difference (extra 400-500ml out) to drain it when it's hot too, but it takes 30 minutes of driving to do this, so it's not always practical. You can also try this if you're moving to new oil..... Drain the old oil, and put the plug back in finger tight. Fill the gearbox with parts washer, or even petrol, about 3-4 litres, then turn the road wheels off the ground by hand for as long as you can be bothered, then drain that all away too. THEN, put in your new oil. This way, you get immediate feel on the difference the oil made, not a contaminated batch. And just a tiny point, a little pet habit I've grown fond of... Use an ally washer instead of copper. It reduces electrolysis around the plug, which protects the threads from seizing and stripping.[/QUOTE]
I don't recall the transaxle drain plug washer being either copper or alloy. My recollection is that it is fiber. Daniel at Ricambi might be able to confirm. Part #144810. As for stripping threads, look at the hex size difference on the drain plug versus the fill plug. The drain plug hex is intentionally smaller for a reason.
This was a post I found thats why the question I found no following post to dispute this recommendation.
OK, but there are enough of us on this forum who own the cars and take care of our own annual service items. If you are worried about junk stuck to the bottom of the case that won't drain out with the old oil, I'm not sure parts cleaner through the case is going to dislodge it. In fact, I'd be worried about parts cleaner residual now contaminating the oil supply. Replace the old magnetic plug with a brand new one if you are paranoid. That's what I did. Daniel at Ricambi is your friend on this one. He stocks the plug and the washer and will usually ship it same day.
No not paranoid just trying to get it right. Understand I thank all for the responces regarding this subject!!
