Gearbox oil change - Mk4 Focus

[northern_nubie]

Is it possible to change the oil in the gearbox on a Mk4? I've been told by the dealer that it cannot be changed, only topped up, if that was ever necessary.

But surely if a gearbox is ever dismantled to fix a problem, it is drained first. So I'm not sure why it can't be drained and then filled.

I was hoping to have the oil changed to try to help muffle the sound of a quite clunky and slightly rattly gear change. At lower speeds, when changing from second to third, and third to fourth it always makes a slight clunk when releasing the clutch pedal. The noise is from the gearbox. And before releasing the pedal there's often a faint rattle when moving the gear stick between gears. But none of this ever happens when changing down gears. And never when changing up from fourth to fifth, and fifth to sixth gear.

Love the car, but the clunk and rattle has been a bit frustrating. Ford UK and the dealer keep saying this is normal. But it's not normal in any other car I've driven. Is this common in Mk4 Focus vehicles?

(I should add that I've had the car a year and it has made these noises since I bought it.)

[TomsFocus]

They don't fit drain plugs any more, so you can't fully drain the oil.

[northern_nubie]

1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

They don't fit drain plugs any more, so you can't fully drain the oil.

Thanks, Tom.

If anyone has any views on what I said about the clunk and rattle, I'd be very interested.

[Jimpster]

I think the only option is to remove the whole sump pan.

 

[Wino]

1 hour ago, northern_nubie said:

Thanks, Tom.

If anyone has any views on what I said about the clunk and rattle, I'd be very interested.

Yes they do clunk and rattle.

Ours has done going from 1st to 2and and sometimes but not very often 2and to 3rd.

It could be my driving style though as I often change around 1750rpm and if I push it over 2000rpm it's pretty much silent.

In cold weather there is a squeak when changing gear mainly 4th to 3rd but never the other way around. 

Almost forgot to add that on tick over it rattles like a tractor.

Edited July 28, 2022 by Wino
Additional information

[unofix]

9 minutes ago, Wino said:

Almost forgot to add that on tick over it rattles like a tractor.

Ah! that must be a 1.5 thing

My 2.0 ecoblue sounds like a racing dumper truck on tick over 🤣

[northern_nubie]

1 hour ago, Wino said:

Yes they do clunk and rattle.

Ours has done going from 1st to 2and and sometimes but not very often 2and to 3rd.

It could be my driving style though as I often change around 1750rpm and if I push it over 2000rpm it's pretty much silent.

In cold weather there is a squeak when changing gear mainly 4th to 3rd but never the other way around. 

Almost forgot to add that on tick over it rattles like a tractor.

I'm sort of pleased to hear that. My Titanium does it every time, when warm, between 2 and 3, and very clearly between 3 and 4, but not when revs are higher. As you may have gathered from my original post, I have little knowledge on this subject, but it seems likely that it is - for some reason - inadvertently part of the design. A flaw, of sorts. Maybe some Focuses are worse than others. Ford UK and dealers will not of course admit this, and cling to saying it's normal. The dealer is very good in general, and if it was a fault, they'd have looked into it further. In fact, they did dismantle the gearbox last year, under the warranty, and found nothing.

It's all a bit of a shame, as I like the car and in general it drives very well. It's my first 3 cylinder modern engine and I'm very impressed.