Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Morgan Plus 4 - Drive train noise

Moggo: Thanks for your contribution, much appreciated.

After much discussion the case for additives was dismissed...and the wrinkles remain!

My handbook does not mention the Morris oil you quoted, indeed the recommendation of gear oil specification in my Morgan handbook appears to have been overtaken by time and replaced with another Ford alternative spec - and that, at my request, is what has just been put in the gearbox by the dealer. Even comparing detailed specification from the technical details sheet, as a layman I am unable to tell if the Morris oil is better or worse than what is now in there (or why it would be better or worse). I need to learn more about this subject.

Your point about a magnetic drain plug is well made, at present I have no idea if one is available for my gearbox but if it is then I would think that it would be worth installing. Right now all I want to do is stop the oil leak....and get back on the road!

The 5 litres of gear oil issue has been pointed out to the dealer, but as it was supplied and billed to the previous owner I will leave it with the dealer to do 'the right thing' and reimburse him for the oversight.

At present I am unable to say if the new oil has made a lot of difference to the drive train noise as I have not driven the car much because of the oil leak. I will monitor the situation once the car is back on the road and let the forum know the outcome.

The specialist of Ford gearbox is FORD. They have the right oil and plug on the shelf. Their hourly rate is surely cheaper. No problem of waranty, they are the reference and if a waranty has to be applied they are the prime.

Changing the gearbox oil is not very expensive and you vill be sure to get the right product.

5 liters is for the motor, for a gearbox it is close to 2 liters.

Go to an official Ford garage, in France they use to take care of Morgan motor and gearbox, ask for a price. Particularly for the motor they have the dedicated test bench for the electronic which generaly is not available by Morgan dealer.

Update on progress:

Car was been with the dealer for the past two weeks. The oil leak was a result of an aluminium washer failing on the gearbox drain plug; a new Copper washer has now been fitted and I am assured by the dealer that this has fixed the problem.

So I can now confirm that there is a washer on the flush fitting allen key head drainplug on the MT75 gearbox.

Car came back to me an hour or so ago in dreadful rain...well and truly soaked.

I will monitor the situation but hopefully this is the end of the matter.

My sincere thanks to all those who offered advice via this forum.

2 weeks to change a gearbox washer must be somthing of a record.

In theory gearbox drain plug washers, whether aluminium or copper, should be changed every time the oil is drained. They work by crushing and would harden after use. Even though you may get away with re-using them it is not recommended. Using silicon gasket cement or somesuch is something that should not be necessary but perhaps is justified if no replacement washer is available.

Probably no longer a practice but copper washers could be annealed and re-used (heated to red and allowed to cool) this softened them up again. Often done on copper motor cycle gaskets... another old fashioned practice that saved a penny or two before we arrived in our throw away society along with re-winding motors, re-lining brake shoes and laundered shirt collars,!

actually I remember now.. it was heat it to red hot and then quench in cold water..

Yup, that's what I always do with mine, it seems such a waste to chuck away a perfectly good copper washer for want of annealing.

yes just don't try it with an aluminium one!

It's perfectly possible to anneal aluminium, Steve. The trick is to rub soap all over it and heat it until the soap turns black.

I dislike aluminium washers though, and always swap them for copper if I find them.

I agree that the washer should have been replaced at the time of the oil change....why it wasn't is a mystery.....probably best answered by bean counters....

Now if it had been a copper washer to start with then perhaps annealing would have been appropriate....though whether there is anyone who knows how to do this, or even has the time to do this at my dealer's is anyone's guess.

I suspect that from a business point of view it is a lesson learned - a total of 240 miles (there and back twice) on a trailer to drop the oil, install a washer that could've been replaced during the oil change and then refill the gearbox and monitor for further leaks - and maybe in future the washer will be replaced as a matter of routine (in spite of what the bean counters say!).