Right then, lets move on to the rear axle oil.
First, a picture of the drain plug, which is the largest hex bolt on the lower edge of the diff cover (15mm - or 19/32AF will do). Here it's almost unscrewed and you can see blue sealing compound around the hole. There was also a trace of red sealer in the threads and I'm guessing that some, if not all of this was gasket goo, applied when the rear cover was fitted to the diff housing. It made the bolt tight for the first few turns on the way out. I cleaned the threads with a stanley knife. The residue was dry & brittle, and more or less popped out.
It took a while to drain...........................
Here is the level plug, showing the white 'nylon' sealing washer on the left and the cleaned up drain plug on the right.
This is the 'measure' of the level plug, showing in mm. In truth it's an inch & a quarter AF. This is a big socket and access is impossible due to the fuel tank, so use either an open ender, flattish ring spanner, or an adjustable spanner.
This is the old oil. If you compare with what came out of the gearbox, this is significantly more. It was also much darker than the gearbox oil, but not as dark as it looks here.
This is the semi-synth 80W/140 obtained from Morris lubricants, along with the friction modifier (Roadster only) from Demon Tweeks.
To refill- first I smeared a light dab of blue sealer on the drain plug & replaced. Then I mixed the new oil and friction modifier in a clean ice cream container which was my two litre measure. 70ml friction modifier is recommended. It's supplied in 118ml bottles (4 US fluid ounces).
I was refused permission to use MrsW's measuring jug. So I measured 70ml water in the jug, then transferred that to a small plastic container. I marked the level with a strip of masking tape, then tipped the water out and dried the container. Then I refilled the container with the friction modifier, and poured this and the oil into my dispensing ice cream container, and then into the funnel with tube attachment............
And that's basically all there is to it. But draining is slow, and refilling is slow, and it's much easier from above, so the tool tray has to come out.
So this gave me another chance to re-photo the Mark1 tray.....
Here it is naked......from above.....
From below.......
To be continued in next post............
