Gearbox oil

[F0CUE]

Hi I went and bought just 2 litres of transmission oil and found it takes 2.3 to be full for my ib5 version will a lack of 300ml cause any issues or is it safer to wait on more?

[dezwez]

should be but I would fill it as soon as

[F0CUE]

Thanks it's just cos I got specific oil and I need this done due to leaks in the selector which I'm going to replace and would mean waiting on more. I'm worried about mixing different brands as have been reading it's not the best idea.

[dezwez]

stick with the same brand and spec ☺️

[JW1982]

Be aware that this type of IB5 gearbox does not have a drain plug because these gearboxes are filled for live and there is no oil change interval. The drain plug on the later type of IB5 gearbox was introduced on the Focus MK3. To drain the older IB5 gearboxes completely you have to take a driveshaft out of the gearbox. 

The correct oil level of the IB5 gearbox is as follows:

* IB5 manual transmission (5-10 mm below lower edge of check hole)

 

[F0CUE]

2 hours ago, JW1982 said:

Be aware that this type of IB5 gearbox does not have a drain plug because these gearboxes are filled for live and there is no oil change interval. The drain plug on the later type of IB5 gearbox was introduced on the Focus MK3. To drain the older IB5 gearboxes completely you have to take a driveshaft out of the gearbox. 

The correct oil level of the IB5 gearbox is as follows:

* IB5 manual transmission (5-10 mm below lower edge of check hole)

 

Thanks so I may be having to pull the drive shaft then because I don't want to mix oils. I imagined pulling the old selector seal would just empty it out. It's weird cos I seen a video of somebody taking a bolt out further down from the filler and it all drained out. The bolt on the bottom of this pic.

[JW1982]

That is not just a bolt but the locking bolt of the selector shaft. I have seen before that people who used this bolt to drain the gearbox ended up disassembling the gearbox because they could not get the bolt back in because parts of the selector mechanism came loose inside the gearbox.

Personally I would not use this locking bolt to drain the gearbox. Ford does not prescribe any method to drain the gearbox because it is considered to be filled for life. However my personal experience is that the easiest way to drain the IB5 box without any risk is by removing a driveshaft. It is good practise to also replace the particular driveshaft seal because there is a huge chance that the seal will start leaking after disassembly/assembly of the driveshaft.

 

 

[F0CUE]

23 minutes ago, JW1982 said:

That is not just a bolt but the locking bolt of the selector shaft. I have seen before that people who used this bolt to drain the gearbox ended up disassembling the gearbox because they could not get the bolt back in because parts of the selector mechanism came loose inside the gearbox.

Personally I would not use this locking bolt to drain the gearbox. Ford does not prescribe any method to drain the gearbox because it is considered to be filled for life. However my personal experience is that the easiest way to drain the IB5 box without any risk is by removing a driveshaft. It is good practise to also replace the particular driveshaft seal because there is a huge chance that the seal will start leaking after disassembly/assembly of the driveshaft.

 

 

Well thank God you said that or I would if went ahead and done it that way. I might just try a Syphon tube.

[F0CUE]

Done the selector seal and drained and filled up today was some learning curve. Now I have shifts like butter and no crunch in reverse and no whine slowing down so pleased with myself 😁

[FordFocus3]

Hey guys! I have the ib5/B5A gearbox with my 1.6 Ti-VCT Sigma engine. Does this version have a drain plug or is it the drain/fill plug that needs to be filled to 5mm under the plug hole? 

Cheers!

[FordFocus3]

Car is a Mk3 2014 Focus :)

[Theitking]

I just drained the oil using the selector shaft locking bolt. Refitted the bolt with no problems. Refilled with oil when the car was level and box only took 2 litres of oil. Tightened everything up, dropped the car down and drove it for about 2 miles. Car drives fine and gear changes are smoother than before. Why could I only put 2 litres of oil back in? 

[rd457]

2 hours ago, Theitking said:

I just drained the oil using the selector shaft locking bolt. Refitted the bolt with no problems. Refilled with oil when the car was level and box only took 2 litres of oil. Tightened everything up, dropped the car down and drove it for about 2 miles. Car drives fine and gear changes are smoother than before. Why could I only put 2 litres of oil back in? 

Why do you assume it should take more? For that matter why do you assume 2 litres is not too much?

The person who created this thread has a 2014 Focus according to their profile, which would be a Mk3. Let's presuming that's the same vehicle they had when they created this thread in 2019. You, according to your profile, have a Mk2 Focus. As noted above there are slight differences between the two. Given there are some differences why would you assume the amount of fluid it takes is the same. Maybe it isn't.

Furthermore since the gearbox you have doesn't have a proper drain plug, you're not necessarily going to have gotten out all of the old fluid.

What you should have done is captured the old fluid, measured how much you took out, and put back in an identical amount.

[unofix]

Gearbox maximum oil capacity from being totally empty is 2.3 Litre but it is unlikely that you could fully drain the box due to the lack of drain plug and the internal casting of the housing.

[Botus]

comma site

2.3ltr

MVMTF Plus 75W-90
Fully Synthetic
Recommended by Comma for applications requiring any of the following:
Recommended by Comma for certain Ford, Vauxhall, Mazda, Volvo & VAG Group applications and generally where a 75W-90, API GL-4 oil is specified.
Suitable for use where the following specifications are called for:,
API GL-4 (75W-85), API GL-4 synthetic (75W-85 & 75W-90),
BMW MTF LT-4,
Fiat 9.55550-MZ1,
Ford WSD-M2C200-B, Ford WSD-M2C200-C,
GM 1940182, GM 1940764, GM 1940768,
Nissan MT-XZ Sports & Off-Road Vehicles,
Volkswagen G 50,
Volvo 97309,
Product Features:
● Fully synthetic manual transmission fluid with excellent bearing and
gear protection and proven synchroniser performance
● Good low temperature performance
● Excellent cleanliness
● Robust corrosion protection

[F0CUE]

On 5/25/2024 at 4:03 PM, rd457 said:

Why do you assume it should take more? For that matter why do you assume 2 litres is not too much?

The person who created this thread has a 2014 Focus according to their profile, which would be a Mk3. Let's presuming that's the same vehicle they had when they created this thread in 2019. You, according to your profile, have a Mk2 Focus. As noted above there are slight differences between the two. Given there are some differences why would you assume the amount of fluid it takes is the same. Maybe it isn't.

Furthermore since the gearbox you have doesn't have a proper drain plug, you're not necessarily going to have gotten out all of the old fluid.

What you should have done is captured the old fluid, measured how much you took out, and put back in an identical amount.

It was my MK2 when I posted that.