Simon's new Xantia V6 and Leaf blog

[mickthemaverick]

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I'm liking the look of this one even better, and I think it has a hole (with removable bolt) in the lifting point that would attach to a transmission cradle ?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/164405903837

The handle is removable too, not the case on all jacks of this size I've looked at.

Yes I'd say you are right there Simon but worth asking the seller just to be sure!

[Gibbo2286]

I know Mick discounted Draper but I have this which is a very useful add on.

[mickthemaverick]

Just to clarify, I don't have a problem with Draper in general, I just found their hydraulic seals unreliable so I stay away from any of their hydraulic stuff. I have numerous other tools from them like ball joiont splitters and spring compressors etc. all of which are fine. Sorry if I painted the wrong picture there!!

[Mandrake]

Well I've just gone on a £300 spending spree to get most of the heavy tools that I think I'll need and which will hopefully let me get this job done without too much difficulty and give me a few options to approach it.

A low profile high lift jack that is far superior than either of the crap £30 jacks I have now:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/164405903837

I've wanted a jack like this for a while now as I really struggle with the small jacks I have, I guess now I have an excuse to get it and it will be well used in the future.

A small scissor style transmission lift:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00NVKHS88

This could either do the actual lifting up and down of the gearbox and has a strap that can go over the top of the gearbox as soon as there is a gap between the gearbox and motor, or it could be used as the prop to hold the motor stack. I'll probably see if I can use this to do the actual lowering down of the gearbox and just use a standard axle stand to support the motor stack. With nearly 400mm of travel and a minimum height of 200mm I think it will have just enough travel to drop the gearbox right out and clear the front of the car if I get the car set up at the right height above ground.

Finally as a catch all if I need some extra manoeuvring options from the top for example if I want to lift the gearbox off the transmission lift via the lifting eye and lower it directly to the ground (once clear of the onboard charger etc) I grabbed the ratchet chain lift, because for £42 why not give myself those extra options?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154319612866

If I do need to use it I'll quickly throw together a wooden frame that sits over the car for it to hang from, I have plenty of wood in the garage and nail plates etc... I can see uses for this in the garage in the future as I have a beam running most of the length of the garage. Also got a short length of chain and some shackles so I can easily hang it form a horizontal wood beam.

I have some driveshaft output seals on order from autodoc - unfortunately they were very slow with their last order so who knows when those will arrive! In the worst case scenario those could actually be replaced on the car with the driveshafts pulled out I suppose so it doesn't necessarily have to delay the bulk of the work.

All I'm really lacking now is some ATF for the gearbox, nylock nuts and moly grease.

£300 sounds like a lot but its less than even one way transport to Cleevely and it's all useful stuff that I'll use in the future which will help round out my tool collection. At least that's how I'm justifying it to myself...

I guess I'm committed to having a go at this now!

As much as driving the Xantia is a change of pace, I'm really missing the creature comforts of the Leaf!

[NewcastleFalcon]

At least its summer Simon, gives you a fighting chance, and you have acquired a fair arsenal of assets to get the job done. Following the story with interest.

Regards Neil

[mickthemaverick]

A good spend up there Simon and all useful kit for the future, so the actual comparison between that type of a spend and transport costs is not really valid. You have done far better than that difference would show because who knows how much future costs you will now avoid!! Good luck with it, I too shall be following it with interest!!

[Mandrake]

At least its summer Simon, gives you a fighting chance, and you have acquired a fair arsenal of assets to get the job done. Following the story with interest.

Regards Neil

It's actually TOO hot to work on the car almost. About 24C today.

[Mandrake]

Does anyone know what kind of grease should be used on the driveshaft splines where they go into the gearbox ? For the splines on the CV joint going into the hub Nissan say to use Molykote M77:

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2017/ ... 2-9999.pdf

However this seems quite expensive! What do people use ? I'm conscious of the fact that any surplus grease on the splines on the inner joint will find its way into the gearbox so you don't want a grease that is abrasive in any way...

[RichardW]

Assuming the connection into the box is 'wet' i.e. the shafts run in the gear oil, then nothing - just shove the shaft in. Usually the bearing surface diameter is much bigger than the spline diameter, so as long you guide them in they don't snag the lip seal.

[Mandrake]

Assuming the connection into the box is 'wet' i.e. the shafts run in the gear oil, then nothing - just shove the shaft in. Usually the bearing surface diameter is much bigger than the spline diameter, so as long you guide them in they don't snag the lip seal.

Well I can look in one driveshaft entry hole and out the other side with part of the differential in view in between so I guess that makes it wet ?!

[Mandrake]

This will make life easier than the old jacks

Goes lower, goes much higher, much more reach under the car, much longer jack handle (which is still removable) so easy to use, deflation integrated into turning the handle, and it's VERY heavy and wide so should be quite stable. I think it's around 35Kg.

The chain lift has also arrived and looks suitably strong - although the chain lift is there as a backup and I'm hoping to not need it when I have both a jack, axle stands and transmission scissor lift.

[Mandrake]

Gave the jack a dry run on the Leaf. The Leaf is a lot more difficult to jack up than the Xantia because you can’t raise the suspension and the ground clearance is lower than even normal ride height on the Xantia. (About 19cm)

Also the optimal jacking points under the subframe are a lot further towards the middle than the Xantia.

So I couldn’t get my older jacks under the car with a block between them and the chassis, and they also couldn’t reach the best jacking point until I'd already jacked it via a sub optimal location with a 2nd jack...

The new jack slides under with room to spare even with a 2x4 block and can lift both front wheels off the ground from a single jacking point without having to juggle axle stands and jack positions. Brilliant! Wish I’d got a bigger jack years ago…it would have made a lot of previous car jobs a lot easier and safer!

[mickthemaverick]

Looks excellent Simon, you can't beat a really tough Jack (or so Vera Duckworth used to say ). Looks like the job is getting easier with every post!

[Mandrake]

I'm trying to source some oil for the gearbox for the Leaf but I'm struggling to identify what the 3rd party equivalents are for "NISSAN Matic S ATF", which is ridiculously expensive even though I only need 1.4 litres. I'm sure its just some kind of Dexron type ATF oil but I'd like to be more confident of an exact specification, as replacing a faulty gearbox and using the wrong oil seems like a bad idea and asking for trouble...

Does anyone know a good third party lookup site that will give me actual specs of the oil so I can find the right stuff ?

Also in regards to grease for driveshaft outer joint splines - Nissan specify Molykote M77 which is also ridiculously expensive and not easy to source - but as far as I can tell its just a molybdenum disulphide Lithium grease - does anyone know an equivalent to this?

The service manual also appears to be saying to grease the motor input shaft spine in the gearbox generously, but does not as far as I can find so far state what kind of grease to use - whether to use general purpose Lithium grease or Molykote:

[Mandrake]

Castrol Transmax ATF Z ?

https://www.castrol.com/en_gb/united-ki ... smax-atf-z

Suitable for use where the following are called for: JASO 1A LV????; Toyota T, T II, T III, T IV, WS; Nissan Matic D, J, S; Mitsubishi SP II, IIM, III, PA, J3, SP IV; Mazda ATF M-III, M-V, JWS 3317, FZ; Subaru F6, Red 1; Daihatsu AMMIX ATF D-III Multi, D3-SP; Suzuki AT Oil 5D06, 2384K; JWS 3314, 3317; Hyundai/Kia SP III, SP IV; Aisin Transmissions requiring JWS 3309; Honda/Acura DW 1/Z1; Isuzu (where Toyota T-IV is required); BMW, VW, Audi and Jaguar 5 speed automatic transmission and MB 4 and 5 speed automatic transmissions; BMW Oil No. 8322.9407807; Citroen Oil No. Z 000169756; Jaguar Oil No. JLM 20238, LA 2634, LT 71141; Mercedes Benz Oil No. 0019892203, MB 236.1, 236.6, 236.7, 236.9, 236.10; Peugeot Oil No. Z 000169756; Porsche Oil No. 999.917.547.00; VW / Audi TL 52162 (G 052 162); ZF Lifeguardfluid 5