360 Gearbox Oil Change / Filter Removal

Hi All, could anyone point me in the direction of a thread dealing with this issue? I've found a few but none that detail the entire process start to finish with instructions and photos as are available for a multitude of jobs like exhaust valves, alarm siren etc.

In particular I'm interested in whether or not rear bumper removal is necessary for access to the gearbox oil filter. I've seen it suggested that it's not necessary but for the life of me I can't figure how on earth to get it out without removal!

Also how best to access the banjo connections on the hose from the gearbox oil feed to the heat exchanger for the purpose of flushing out with compressed air?

Thanks in anticipation!

 

Thanks.

Many, many hours of work to get rear bumper off and back on. Extracted oil mesh filter and it was clean as a whistle! What a waste of time. What poor design too that one has to go to all that trouble to inspect a filter - crazy stuff! Not sure I'll bother with this filter next time I'm doing this job.

Could not access the banjo bolt for the oil feed to the heat exchanger so I wasn't able to blow out the gear oil accumulated therein either.

I wonder do they really carry out these two additional functions at an F-Workshop as part of a tranny oil change. Somehow I doubt it.

Anyway job done.

 

Hi Allen, no, sorry I didn't document or photograph but I can give you a few tips and pointers alright.

First up here's a couple of links to threads involving the removal of the bumper for exhaust installation.....

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=57983

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18805

It is also necessary to remove the central undertray. This is a bit tricky because when you jack up the car you put the jack through a hole in the undertray which then prevents removal! What you have to do is jack up the car, release all the bolts (about 18 or so) and then let the car down off the jacks in order to release the jacks from the holes in the tray. In the workshop manual (WSM) they suggest putting a block under the rear wheels which increases the clearance. Once you've cleared the jacks away from the holes in the undertray you should be able to slide the whole assembly out from under the car with relative ease.

Next up you might want to check your existing gearbox oil level. If you have a low level it might indicate a leak that you'll also want to identify and fix before you proceed. The WSM says to idle the engine for about two minutes and then let it rest for five before you check the level. I'd recommend loosening off the filler cap first as it's going to get pretty hot down there within a that couple of minutes! Incidentally I found the easiest access point for the filler cap to be from the side of the car (with the gravel guard removed).

Having determined your existing oil level your next job is to drain. The WSM suggests running "the engine propulsion system" until such time as the oil temperature comes up to normal operating temperature. I took this to mean run the engine and drivetrain. I had the car on axle stands at this point and the rear wheels off. I ran the engine at idle for maybe twenty minutes in forth gear. During this process both the ABS and ASR warnings came on. I have a suspicion that had I disabled ASR prior to running that it might not have thrown that error. There was a certain amount of chatter from the gearbox/diff during this process but once the ASR error was thrown up the chatter died away so I'd recommend disabling that in the first place. Regardless, once I took the car for a quick spin after the error lights all went out so it doesn't seem to have been a big issue.

Once up to temperature you're now going to drain the oil. You'll have about 3.5 litres of pretty hot oil so make sure you have your catch can at the ready with sufficient capacity to catch all. I left it a good hour to drain while I nipped down to the local motor factors to pick up a couple of new crush washers for the filler cap and drain plug.

The WSM recommends disconnecting the oil feed from the top of the diff to the heat exchanger and blowing out with compressed air. Even after taking off the bumper I found I couldn't access the bolt so decided to skip this procedure. Ultimately my box took 3.5 litres to re-fill (as against 3.7 from recollection in the WSM) so there was only about 200ml of oil that didn't drain out.

Having removed the bumper as detailed in the posts above the mesh filter is reasonably easy to remove. Just go carefully and tease it out applying a little pressure on one side, then the other etc. Inspect mesh for damage - some have encountered small tears in the mesh. Assuming all well clean with a degreasing agent and reinstall.

Remember to reinstall your drain plug before you attempt to re-fill the gear box. I believe the torque setting given the in WSM is not correct and that the threads on the brass plug can strip if you attempt to tighten it to the specified torque. My own plug took a 12 inch power bar to remove so I gave it a good old haul on the same bar when re-tightening. Not very scientific I know but if you've done work like this before you get a feel for what's right.

In order to refill the gear box you'll need a funnel with maybe 20 inches of garden hose attached. Thankfully the aperture on the filler neck is pretty wide and a regular hose fits in nicely. Given that my catch can has a graduation for capacity on it and I knew my level was OK before I drained I knew pretty well how much oil I needed to add. I poured in all but about half a litre and waited five minutes for it to settle before I started the engine. I let it idle for two minutes as previously and then waited five before checking the level. I then added the last half litre and tested level again (cat getting very hot at this stage and the access is a bit tight to use gloves so watch you don't burn yourself!) Be sure to tighten up the filler cap after you take your last level check.

After that it's just a case of reversing your dis-assembly procedures.

Bumper went pack on pretty easily. I thought I might have issues getting the clearances right but no, it just lined up pretty easily for me and I just set everything loose and checked regularly as I went about tightening everything back up.

The centre undertray is a bit difficult to re-install. I used a trolley jack to offer it up close and take most of the weight then just got one bolt started and worked my way from there.

I used the heavily recommended Redline 75/90NS gear oil and didn't bother with the friction modifier. I've always experienced a little chatter from the diff when reversing out of the garage but I think I'll wait a wee while to see how I fare with this new oil before I make a decision whether or not to add.

I didn't replace the drain plug mostly because the WSM didn't suggest it needed to be replaced so I hadn't ordered a replacement. I don't think I'd bother with the mesh filter again for maybe three years (unless i had cause to remove the bumper again for some other reason) as I reckon that if it was clear now (after 44k miles) it's not likely to accumulate much over the coming 12 months.

I hope all this is of some use to you. It took me about eight hours start to finish including a trip to the motor factors and a break for lunch.

The only special tools required (not that special really) were 12 and 14mm allen keys (hex head).

Good luck!