ZF5 over fill question

[old_red]

I switched to a my DMF to a SMF and have over filled my trans with Redline MTL to prevent roll over noise. My question is how do you guys check your oil level with out pulling the plug and dumping your extra oil? I was thinking about getting a high temp sight glass from Mc Master so I could just glance at it and see if its still full.

Also I was hopping somebody knew that the size and type the thread is on the fill plug for a ZF5?

 

[Maverick1701]

how do you overfill your trans? I also ahve a SMF from the po and wouldnt mind adding a little extra fluid into mah ZF5

all I see on my ZF is a drain and fill plug

 

[Devon Harley]

How do you over fill its I'm SMF cause I put a tad over 3 qt and it spills out so do you park it side ways on a hill to fill it?

 

[riotwarrior]

make sure it's full to fill plug. Replace plug, then take the shifter boot off the trans tunnel, remove the shifter top four allen or torx head bolts IIRC lift it out of trans...careful there are two plastic bushings that can come loose very easily and be aware of their orientation as well, add 1 Qt or Litre of fluid through the shifter hole now that the sifter is out. clean thoroghly both shifter and the trans mount area, reseal with new gasket or RTV and return shifter to trans, torque down bolts accordingly..I DON"T KNOW THE torque value. re install foam and shifter boot yer done!

 

[Agnem]

You can fill from the top as suggested. You can also pump the fluid in. I use a hand pump from the marine trade used for filling lower units on outboards. The only trick is taking the rubber stopper out of the fill hole and putting the metal threaded plug back in. Quick hands are required....

How do you like the Redline compared to streight 30wt? That's $100 worth of oil your putting in, but if it really quiets it down, it would be worth it.

 

[old_red]

Yeah I over filled it from the shifter boot. Mine was ripped so I had to put a new one on anyway. guess I never used straight 30 wt but it is quieter then with atf. It was 64 bucks shipped from ebay for 4 quarts so its not really that over filled but I'd like to put one more quart in there.

 

[riotwarrior]

One precaution I neglected to mention....and I do this for all sake.

Ensure that your vent tube is clear and unobstructed so that any heat or increase in volume etc has room to expand instead of being FORCED out the seals as is often the case!

A plugged / obstructed/kinked vent/breather tube is a sure way to blow a seal!

Consider yerselves told!

 

[RLDSL]

Overfilling is a real good way to end up with oil on your clutch. Most tranny manufacturers warn heavily against it for just that reason. If you want to quiet things down and do it in a manner that keeps the lube grades within the approved grade level for teh box, try switching to a 30 or 50 wt synthetic ATF. In the grand scheme of things these will cross on the major lubricant scales to an equivilant wt of a gear oil that was an approved lube for the box but made the things shift like a pig. I used to run an Amsoil 30 wt synthetic ATF and now run Amsoil 50 wt Synthetic ATF and it's quiet as can be and shifts smooth as can be. 30 and 50 wt ( mostly 50 ) synthetic atf is now the standard for spicer and other heavy road tractor manual trannys so it can be found in many brands just about anywhere.