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MG MGB GT V8 Factory Originals Technical - are you experienced?? tr-8 tranny??

Hello, another dumb question,, local fabricator & i are doing a disk brake conversion on the blue meanie next week,,sooo i thought good time to change the rear oil its a dana 44 out of a "85" post office jeep [limited slip..]what kinda oil do you guys reccomend?? & how much?? also thought good time to change tranny oil,, its a tr/8 trans. there is [i assume it is] a drain bolt on the bottom,,then a level??? bolt on the as i remember drivers side[its been over a month since it was up on his lift,,& my short term memory is crap,,,]this level bolt appears to be awful LOW??? is this a level plug / fill plug?? if not where is the fill /level plug?? & what kinda oil should be used?? P.O.told me atf???dont sound right to me but what i know,,,i checked the triumph archives, one person asked basically the same question & got no responses,,,dosent seem to be much interest on that board [not like this one]again thanks for all your responses in advance,,BLUE MEANIE will be able to go fast at townsend & now stop to,, lookin forward to meetin everyone who has helped....
D.R.D. Denny Doyle

Denny,

ATF has been recommended for use in the TR8/Rover 5 speed box for a long time and I have used it without problem for years.
About 5 years ago, I switched to a GM product wich I like better and highly recommend: GM Synchromesh Transmission Fluid part #10953465 (used to be #12345349)
This easily purchased from any GM dealer.
If you would like to add a bit extra into the box, you could jack up the car on an angle! I have never had a problem with any of my Rover boxes behind my MGBV8s when filling them to the factory level, however, Glenn Towerey advised me to do this a few years back .....your decision.

Martyn
Martyn Harvey

Thanks Mr. Harvey,,,why do you perfer the G.M. fluid?? is it synthetic?? how often do you check level?? how often do you change oil???[I've never changed tranny oil in any vehicle I've owned with a manual trans.] [but then I didnt run any of those cars/trucks like the BLUE MEANIE,,,in otherwords[like an IDIOT!!!][cant help it...]the level/fill plug I mentioned[on drivers side??]its,, as I recall,, not even 1/2 way up the side of the tranny?? am I correct that its the level/fill bolt??[why so low??] & what is the reccomended capacity?? I assume jacking at an angle & adding more fluid does no harm???[you've done this???]and on a final note it seems I " sometimes" have trouble catching 2nd gear,,is this something I should be concerned about??? or as I suspect is this usually what happens after dumpin the clutch & knocking your head off the roll bar????
denny 1

Denny,

I believe I get slightly smoother changes using the GM product over the ATF. I think most people use ATF and it was recommended by Rover Triumph.
The capacity noted in my TR8 Workshop Manual is 1.5 litres or 3.3 US pints. The gearbox has an oil pump that picks up the oil from low down in the box via a pick up tube.

Martyn
Martyn Harvey

Martyn do you flush out the old fluid to install the new and is there a drain plug on the bottom of the trans. The other Denny
dbw

There's a drain plug on the right-hand side of the gearbox. It's located on the cast iron part of the gearbox not the aluminum casing. The filler plug is on the left-hand side in the aluminum casing.
You can't really miss it. I just drained the ATF and then added the new oil.
I hope to meet you in Tennesee!!
Martyn Harvey

Hello again,, dug thru the reciepts i had from previous owner & found he was using synthic atf in the trans. and synthic 75/90 gear oil in the rear,, have heard guys say never to mix [change] back & forth from conventional oil to synthic,,then i've heard others say doesent matter??? anyway i've always been a believer in stayin with the oil thats always been used in the car,or m/c by the previous owner [when known] so i bought the exact same stuff that he used,,,havent done the trans. yet but rear oil looked ok,, the disk conversion is going fair,,the brackets from [scarebird] needed some modifing to work on the post office jeep [dana44] rear but if you have welder/cutting torch i think you'd be better off making your own mounting plate,,on the other hand then theres the e/brake issue,,anyway thats a whole other thread & work isnt done yet on BLUE MEANIE... when it is i'll report in,,,curious to know how many people out there are using the p.o. jeep rear????
denny 1

disk conversion done "I HAVE REAR BRAKES!!!" but when changing the trans. oil [remember its a tr/8 tranny] lots & i mean LOTS of shavings on magnetic drain bolt so we took this magnet about the size of a pencil & about 1" long on a swivel joint & swept it around up inside,, more shavings,,it didnt look good now im worried about that 2nd gear that dosent seem quite right...
denny 1

Denny,
I had similar findings in my Rover box years ago. Rebuilt it two times and spent lots and still never great. Maybe drive it with new fluid for a bit and see. Then if still problems consider a T5 from GM or Ford, new are about $1100 but then you need bellhousing etc. I know others will say the Rover box is OK but why cant you even find one rebuildable any more in the UK? The new one thats avail is $$$$. I am using a Ford SVO T5 and its great, shifts nice and can easily handle the 4.6 Rover motor I have.
Regards,
Mike

Mike

I was NEVER happy with the stock small amout of oil & what I do is JACK up the drivers side of the car & put in 3, YES 3 Qt. of dextron 3 a.t.f. fluid & I change it every 25,000 miles & there is fileings on the mag. drain plug, this is why you change it! I do not have enough money for the synthic oil, so I change it every 25K. The G.M. oil I might try, but I have the dextron a.t.f. sitting on the shelf. I like the Rover sd1 gearbox & have used them for 25 years. The stock syn. rings are junk & I have changed to the newer ones (frc????A)& I have not had a problem with them. I have a trans that I rebuilt & it has 400,000 miles on it & works fine.
Glenn Towery

Thanks Martyn. I changed to GM Syncromesh Transmission Fluid yesterday. Greatly improved the shifting of my Rover gearbox. Took slightly over two litres.

Dave B.
BR Dave

hello again , well the new synthic atf didnt help 2nd gear at all, driving mostly as a normal person : [sorry but acting like a teenager is just TO DAMN EASY !!! in the blue meanie ] 2nd gear ,,well sometimes its pretty smooth,, other times its definetly notchy,, & when i do the serious right foot to the floor you gotta yank 2nd hard to make sure you get it. the other gears are good with the exception of 5th but i'm pretty sure thats me,, i just dont like where that shifter goes for 5th,,its not as close as the others..cant see draining out new atf but i'll try jacking it up & adding more,,next spring i'll try the G M syncromesh stuff,, that is assuming the inerds of the tranny dont end up blown all over a road somewhere...[hopefully NOT IN TENN.!!!] really i think the meanie, like most MG's has had the piss run out of it most of it's life.. i think the tranny's on its way out.. i know when the P.O. took me for a ride before i bought it the 1st thing i thought was christ i hope he didnt drive it like this all the time,,I'VE cursed him for stupid stuff[riggens..]but cant hardly blame him for for drivin the thing like an idiot,, more than guilty of it myself,, to much fun & thats the whole point of these cars,,, if your not gettin glares & tickets from cops,,breakin things,,fixen things,,modifing things,, spending money,,YOUR NOT HAVIN FUN!!! thanks again NOW go have some fun...
denny 1

This thread was discussed between 26/03/2006 and 14/04/2006

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