Capacities?

[wormwheel]

Hello everyone, This is my first post on this forum. I have just bought a 12/4 engined special to go sprinting with the VSCC. It has a '9' chassis and rear axle (Merlin) and a crash gearbox. I've hunted the web but can find no info relating to how much oil is meant to be in the diff and gearbox. The diff doesn't appear to have an oil level plug or dipstick. I haven't managed to have a good look to see it the gearbox has either, as yet. I think it's a standard 4 & reverse, (It's not a pre-selector). The engine has a modified sump, but I can fill it to the mark on the dip-stick, so that one's sorted. It's all a bit new to me at the moment, and haven't had a chance to join the relevant club/s, hence this plea for help. I tried to attach a photo, but it was too big a file!
Any help gratefully received as I want to change all oils while I'm off during the Christmas /new years break
Thanks in advance, Glenn

[falconriley]

All the diff covers I have seen/owned use either the filler plug with its dipstick if it is a top filling cover or the threads in the filler neck if the cover has in on the rear. Recently filled my Nine so the left over in the container would give its capacity.
The silent third uses the same idea, fill to the thread on the filler neck on the side of the gearbox, which is a bit more advanced than the Armstong pre-elector which fills till oil runs out a hole from a removable bung. From memory the all helical box has a filler on the gearchange top which also has a dipstick.
Matthew

[wormwheel]

Matthew, Thanks for your reply. It would appear, as the filler is on the top rear, that the dipstick is missing, so unless I know how much it's meant to hold, I'm sill in the dark.  I poked a rod down in the diff and there didn't seem to be much in there, but I know diffs can be tricky sometimes. I can't remember what car it was, but I had one, years ago where one had to jack up both sides, to let the oil run down along each drive-shaft, otherwise one couldn't get the stated amount in!

I'll have the panelling off from around the gear box the see what lies beneath, hopefully it'll have a fill/level plug.

[falconriley]

Looking at the oil container I judge I used about 1.75 litres in my Nine diff so far but the car is still supported by stands under the chassis. It will probably take more when on wheels. One handbook gives 3.5 pints.
Matthew

[wormwheel]

Matthew, that's great. 1.75 litres comes to 3.1 pints, so i'll drain it and see what's in there and put about 3-3.25 pints in.
Many thanks for the useful info
Glenn

[handicap25]

Dec 29, 2016 19:42:01 GMT wormwheel said:

Hello everyone, This is my first post on this forum. I have just bought a 12/4 engined special to go sprinting with the VSCC. It has a '9' chassis and rear axle (Merlin) and a crash gearbox. I've hunted the web but can find no info relating to how much oil is meant to be in the diff and gearbox. The diff doesn't appear to have an oil level plug or dipstick. I haven't managed to have a good look to see it the gearbox has either, as yet. I think it's a standard 4 & reverse, (It's not a pre-selector). The engine has a modified sump, but I can fill it to the mark on the dip-stick, so that one's sorted. It's all a bit new to me at the moment, and haven't had a chance to join the relevant club/s, hence this plea for help. I tried to attach a photo, but it was too big a file!
Any help gratefully received as I want to change all oils while I'm off during the Christmas /new years break
Thanks in advance, Glenn

Hi, don't know whether your problems have been solved, but on the preselector box, there is a nut plug you remove which when the gear box is topped up, the oil runs out of the resulting hole left by this removal. As far as I am aware , all 12/4 diff housings sported a dipstick and the capacity is 2.75 pints. If your car diff housing does not have adip stick, I would think it is not from a 12/4 Riley.
handicap25