(no subject)
Sep. 9th, 2019 03:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
psipsyA few months ago, I had attempted to change the gearbox fluid in Ai, but was thwarted by a very stubborn fill plug. Either I couldn't get a large enough tool on it, or the tool I could get on it would start to bend, or I couldn't get the impact wrench on it from a good angle. I opted to declare a retreat at the time. What I needed was something called a striking wrench, which is designed to fit on the fastener on one end, and get hit with a hammer on the other. It uses the same principles as an impact wrench, just in a much simpler and slower (and thus more controlled) manner. With that, I was able to pop it off in a matter of seconds. Were I to try this with a standard wrench, it would not end well.
Now with the old gearbox fluid having been drained out, my garage smells like a roller coaster, and honestly, if I could find air fresheners scented in gear oil, I would buy them.
I did take note that the fluid I used had been in my posession for quite a few years; I honestly don't know how long ago I got them. Nevertheless, it didn't look weird. Also, Ai's gearbox has seen a variety of fluids over time. For example, the owner's manual calls for 10W-30 engine oil as an acceptable fluid and that's probably what was put in at the factory, various places have put in whatever they had in bulk, and the weirdest one had to be when someone put in fluid for automatics, which is inherently a different fluid than what's for manuals. I say weird because when I'd start her up and take off the parking brake, if it was cold enough, she'd start rolling forward, even in neutral and on a level surface. That cleared up when it was changed out with proper manual transmission fluid. Possible ill effects? Prevailing wisdom is that any of those are always better than no fluid at all, and she's got over half a million miles on the original gearbox, so there's that.
Now with the old gearbox fluid having been drained out, my garage smells like a roller coaster, and honestly, if I could find air fresheners scented in gear oil, I would buy them.
I did take note that the fluid I used had been in my posession for quite a few years; I honestly don't know how long ago I got them. Nevertheless, it didn't look weird. Also, Ai's gearbox has seen a variety of fluids over time. For example, the owner's manual calls for 10W-30 engine oil as an acceptable fluid and that's probably what was put in at the factory, various places have put in whatever they had in bulk, and the weirdest one had to be when someone put in fluid for automatics, which is inherently a different fluid than what's for manuals. I say weird because when I'd start her up and take off the parking brake, if it was cold enough, she'd start rolling forward, even in neutral and on a level surface. That cleared up when it was changed out with proper manual transmission fluid. Possible ill effects? Prevailing wisdom is that any of those are always better than no fluid at all, and she's got over half a million miles on the original gearbox, so there's that.
