Xantia gearboxes work better with oil in!

[mirafioriman]

Been planning to change the gearbox oil for some time but never quite got round to it despite having bought the oil.

Today I finally set about the task and after removing the filler/level plug no oil came out

It gets worse put nearly one litre of new oil in and still nothing

So I've put it back together and went for a drive. It goes into gear much easier and is much quieter particularly in reverse

I have for some time had some oil leaks so I'm now pretty sure that it's mostly from the gearbox. I'm guessing the driveshaft seals are the likely culprits.

So the plan is to top it up correctly and run it for a little while, change the leaky seals and then drain and refill the transmission with new oil.

One question. Is there a breather for the gearbox and if so where is it?

[citrov6]

bit more robust than the autos then!
would of thought the breather was somewhere obvious like on top of the reservoir, strange

[CitroJim]

They are incredibly robust and will run with little or no oil under light loads for years. It's only when you subject them to a very heavy load, like towing, they complain bitterly.

As a friend with a 306 once found out...

It's a good ideas to determine why the box was empty. Most likely due to failed driveshaft seals...

[Chris570]

It usually is the driveshaft seals. That ruined gearbox was totally f*cked, clutch wasnt all that clever either

[citrov6]

Was going to say exploding clutches aren't much fun either, and first gear always got knackered in my audi until I put a diesel gearbox in there

[CitroJim]

clutch wasnt all that clever either

Indeed, the gearbox in question was a little kippered in places...

The clutch was well cooked on account of the fact the 'box stuck in third gear (or rather that was the only gear available at the end) and the clutch was slipped magnificently to ensure continued forward motion of sorts with a Rover 75 on the back.

[VertVega]

... One question. Is there a breather for the gearbox and if so where is it?

If you also have manual BE3 gearbox, it's capacity is 1.8 l.
After draining I use the breather for filling and simply pour down 2 liters
Breather has a plastic cap and the plastic nut can be unscrewed for a faster filling.

[mirafioriman]

Thanks. I doubt the breather is blocked so will need to get some new seals. I managed to add oil to the box through the filler/level plug pretty easily.

[mirafioriman]

Lovely sunny day here

Checked the oil level again today. Took another 0.25 litres or so and now it's at the right level.

So now to source some driveshaft seals and replace them.

As a slight aside I checked the oil (for the first time in quite a while) and it was still on the max mark on the dipstick. The oil leak must be coming from the gearbox and not the engine.

[CitroJim]

The oil leak must be coming from the gearbox and not the engine.

You can tell easily by getting some on your finger and smelling it. Gearbox oil smells very sickly sweet...