Hi.I’d like to change my gearbox oil as the previous owner added some at some point so now I don’t know if it’s got too much in it. How much oil should I add after draining the gearbox? I imagine that it’s less than tha amount for a totally dry gearbox but I can’t find any oil amount specified in the official workshop manual.
Thanks
Tony
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Thanks Mackers. I had seen those figures in the manual but was confused by the use of ‘cubic centimetres’ to describe the required amount of oil. I take it that the ‘500cm cubed’ is the same as 500cc - is that correct?
Regards
Tony
Hi. Is that 500cc the amount for filling a completely dry gearbox or is it for a ‘refill’ amount after an oil drain? I imagine that the gearbox retains some oil even after the oil has drained out of the drain hole. Is it ok to add the full 500cc following a drain down or should I put in less. I’m just wondering if the problems I have getting into 2nd gear when the engine is cool/cold are caused by an overfilled gearbox.
Thanks
Tony
I’ve done 3 gearbox drains and refills now, to drain unscrew the big plug, pull out the white nylon gauze filter, clean it, put it back, screw the drain plug back on (requires 24mm spanner BTW), refill with half a litre, job done. No issues. The only niggle I have is it’s impossible to check the level. There’s no level plug and shoving a long cable tie down the filler hole doesn’t work either. Mainly because there seems to be an awful lot of stuff in the way between the filler hole and the bottom - gears I suppose!
On the final drive OTOH the filler hole is also the level hole, so impossible to overfill and level can be checked. Capacity 180 cc (aka, ml)
Re: V7 850 Special 2021.
Your difficulty with gear changing I would say is merely that it needs more miles to break in, at least that’s how it was with mine. Was impossible to change up when still new and cold, especially in November - December! OK by the time of first 900 miles service.
HTH
Thanks for your reply Mike. Re the difficulty of changing up into 2nd gear when the engine is cool/cold, my bike has now done 2600 miles and hasn’t improved since new. Hopefully I don’t have an issue with the gearbox. Once the engine is warm, all gear changes are lovely and smooth.
I was breaking my toe with the shift to second for the first 7000 miles. The distance to easy shifting did come down but the first shift of the day in winter can still be a swine even after more than 10000 miles.
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Hi Ramsaye. Thanks for that info. Still bad after 7000 - wow, I wonder why the V7 gearboxes are so bad? Probably something too technical for me to understand! Maybe a tolerance that’s too tight or gearbox oil that’s ‘stiff’ when cold so pinions don’t spin or slide on the shafts so easily? I’d love to know the real reason.
Regards
Tony
take the linkage apart and regrease it, the gearboxes on V85s feel a bit tight when new but can also get sticky from dried out bushing on the gear lever
Thanks Sid. I’ll try taking the linkage apart as suggested and do a re-grease.
Once the engine is good and warm there’s no problem with first to second shifting. It’s only when things are cold that everything seems to lock up. Very odd.
Regards
Tony
Just changed mine this week and as has been said, it takes 500ml or half a litre if you prefer. Gear change is a little smoother and the old was black with a light silvery sheen to it, presumably from fine running-in swarf. Glad I changed it early at 6k mikes rather than 18k!
Yes, I appreciate that OEM oil may have moly additives that make it a dark colour but the new Millers oil was normal clear/golden colour, it was the silver sheen that worried me more, though the gearbox filter was clean.
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DON’T put 180ml back in after draining it, there’s 20ml that won’t drain and the factory manual warns not to refill with more than 160ml max for this reason. Blown oil seals from over filling are fairly common it seems.
Hi Samurai. Thanks for that info. It’s a bit worrying/confusing that now we seem to have three different options for the amount of gearbox oil to use after a gearbox draindown: 160ml, 180ml and 200ml. Have you managed to find an official Moto Guzzi statement specifying 160ml/180ml? I’m just a bit concerned about underfilling as much as overfilling. I find the Moto Guzzi owners and workshop manuals generally very light in giving us specific and important info.
Regards
Tony
Hi Samurai. Just found this on page 54 of the manual - I must have missed it when I read through it last time:
“ • Fill with new oil via the inlet hole.
• Quantity 160 cc MAX (9.76 cu in) (filling
amount after emptying; - 20 cc (1.22 cu in) compared to the nominal amount of 180 cc (10.98 cu in), to compensate for the oil residue remaining in the gear- case).”
so I think that I need to drain 40ml out of my gearbox. Thanks for pointing out the 160ml info.
Regards
Tony
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mechanic at guzzi dealer told me 160ml for bevel box is correct for changes, 180ml was causing issues and guzzi issued a correction. service manual i have says 180ml but it’s wrong (this is for V85TT i should add, sorry just noticed youre asking about v7)
Thanks Sid. Looks like it’s the same for the V7. Manual says 160cc (page 54).
Regards
Tony
It’s all in the service manual which is freely downloadable from the files section of the UK V7 Facebook group or by digging around in Google. Here’s screenshot of the relevant page and warning:
Thanks Samurai. All sorted now.
Regards
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Still don’t understand how you can put too much into the FD when the level/filler hole won’t allow it - so there’s 20cc still left in there, OK, but try to put in 180cc, the last bit will just dribble out the bottom edge of the level hole. If you measured what you put in, it probably is 160cc. (20cc is actually quite small.)
Hi Mike. Thanks for your reply. All sorted ok now - just put it down to a newby error. First Guzzi so I’m still learning!
Regards
Tony
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