GEARBOX OIL COLOUR!!

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lrjohn

Active Member
Posts
104
Location
Suffolk
Checking the oils in my 2002 Discovery 2 TD5 today, manual gearbox, and I got some oil to flow out of the filler plug on the gearbox and it is to my view a very strange colour – see the picture below, ignore the gritty bits on the scraper, that was from cleaning around the filler plug. It's a beige grey colour and looks nothing like oil, though I assume it originally was!. Is this normal or has somebody perhaps added gearbox oil additive?
As with my Defender I had previously I can't shift the drain plug on the gearbox, I have tried extensions to a large ring spanner, various techniques and even jacking the ring spanner with a trolley jack but to no avail. I'm going to try heat carefully but any other fixes would be of interest – thanks
upload_2022-9-25_11-11-37.jpeg

upload_2022-9-25_11-11-37.jpeg
 
lrjohn said:
Checking the oils in my 2002 Discovery 2 TD5 today, manual gearbox, and I got some oil to flow out of the filler plug on the gearbox and it is to my view a very strange colour – see the picture below, ignore the gritty bits on the scraper, that was from cleaning around the filler plug. It's a beige grey colour and looks nothing like oil, though I assume it originally was!. Is this normal or has somebody perhaps added gearbox oil additive?
As with my Defender I had previously I can't shift the drain plug on the gearbox, I have tried extensions to a large ring spanner, various techniques and even jacking the ring spanner with a trolley jack but to no avail. I'm going to try heat carefully but any other fixes would be of interest – thanksView attachment 274771
View attachment 274771
Click to expand...
Is there room to swing on an impact driver?
I'd spray it with some kind of freeing off agent first then wait quite a while. Then give it a good old bang on the end with a hammer, if it is a sticky outy bolt. Or put and extension in it and hit on the end of that.
I have an auto so don't know what drain plug you have.
Autos have a sump so you could take that off but I doubt you have one.
Best of luck mate.
The sump plug on my TD5 engine is stuck well in so I change the oil by sucking it out via the dipstick tube.:rolleyes:
So I really do understand how frustrated you feel!;)
 
Stanleysteamer said:
Is there room to swing on an impact driver?
I'd spray it with some kind of freeing off agent first then wait quite a while. Then give it a good old bang on the end with a hammer, if it is a sticky outy bolt. Or put and extension in it and hit on the end of that.
I have an auto so don't know what drain plug you have.
Autos have a sump so you could take that off but I doubt you have one.
Best of luck mate.
The sump plug on my TD5 engine is stuck well in so I change the oil by sucking it out via the dipstick tube.:rolleyes:
So I really do understand how frustrated you feel!;)
Click to expand...
 
Its 32mm head plug - but you cant get a good socket or impact driver on it due to proximity of prop drive flange.
However!! I did try heat carefully with a blowtorch , gently heating the surrounding casing, then a 32mm ring spanner on the nut and a wack with a copper head hammer and it shifted!!
Now time to get that crazy colour fluid out!!
 
lrjohn said:
I think you are right, looks like emulsified oil doesn't it!
Click to expand...
Looks like gone off milk! Wondering how much oil is in the mix. Someone's been wading and maybe the breather came adrift! or he waded too deep!
Not saying it was the present owner mind!
Maybe you can get a tube in the filler hole and syphon it out.
EDIT. Seen you've shifted it now.
 
Last edited:
lrjohn said:
Its 32mm head plug - but you cant get a good socket or impact driver on it due to proximity of prop drive flange.
However!! I did try heat carefully with a blowtorch , gently heating the surrounding casing, then a 32mm ring spanner on the nut and a wack with a copper head hammer and it shifted!!
Now time to get that crazy colour fluid out!!
Click to expand...
Well done!
 
Stanleysteamer said:
Looks like gone off milk! Wondering how much oil is in the mix. Someone's been wading and maybe the breather came adrift! or he waded too deep!
Not saying it was the present owner mind!
Maybe you can get a tube in the filler hole and syphon it out.
EDIT. Seen you've shifted it now.
Click to expand...
 
I have drained it off now into an oil drain pan which I previously drained the transfer box oil into, the fluid from the gearbox has gone straight to the bottom, in other words the transfer box oil is floating on it – so definitely water the gearbox. The vehicle is new to me so the previous owner must’ve done something to allow this to happen and as Stanleysteamer says might be something to do with the breather or simply wading too deep and too long. I can only hope it hasn't done too much damage to the gearbox but who knows???!

Where should I look for the breather to check that out?

Is there any other way water could get in the gearbox?
 
lrjohn said:
I have drained it off now into an oil drain pan which I previously drained the transfer box oil into, the fluid from the gearbox has gone straight to the bottom, in other words the transfer box oil is floating on it – so definitely water the gearbox. The vehicle is new to me so the previous owner must’ve done something to allow this to happen and as Stanleysteamer says might be something to do with the breather or simply wading too deep and too long. I can only hope it hasn't done too much damage to the gearbox but who knows???!

Where should I look for the breather to check that out?

Is there any other way water could get in the gearbox?
Click to expand...
Some people say that water gets into the oil through condensation, which may well be true, but whatever it is I'd refill with gearbox oil, run it for a while, then do it again to see if you can get the rest of the water out. I'd also do this on a regular basis.
As to the breather, having an auto I don't know where it is but I'd imagine it would be high up on the box, either a side or maybe even the top, you'd have to have a good search around on the net, or with a torch and a mirror!
 
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