Easy to make oil fill jug....

takza · Post by **takza** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 10:33 am

I took a windshield washer fluid 1 gallon jug and made it into an oil fill jug...suitable for filling the T4WD trans....a major PITA if not approached carefully. This holds the full 4.1 quarts needed to refill.

Took the top part of the cap apart from the rest of it...due to the childproof design.

Drilled two undersized holes in the cap...one for the tire valve and one for a tube that runs down into the bottom of the jug.

These need to be undersized by about 1/16" or maybe a little more to be sure you have LESS air leakage. They also need to miss the top part of the jug that the cap goes on...there is not a lot of room.

I used bearing grease to put the tire valve in...using a valve tool to pull it thru. And put some oil or grease on the tube before inserting.

The exit hose is clear vinyl...and the gadget on the end is from a manual gear oil pump that quit working....holds the hose in the trans.

Tested this using some old ATF...works pretty well...but the flow will be fairly slow.

Be sure and watch that the pressure in the jug doesn't get too high...or guess what...stinky gear oil all over the place. The fittings will continually lose some air, but you should see enough pressure to push the oil out. Just keep on top of it because if you DON'T have air leaks...the jug sure won't handle 100 PSI.

You do need a 12V air compressor...but I already carry one anyway...they don't cost a lot and last a long time...IF you don't try and run them in the rain.

You could also use a portable air tank.

Final note: I used this jug to fill a trans with 90W140 gear oil...and the processs was S L O W. The jug handled the pressure OK though.

Have now replaced the center tube with some 3/8" OD soft copper tubing which has about 4Xs the cross-section of the original tube.

Also am using only the large clear vinyl tubing...not the end piece...allows more flow and the tubing will still stay in the opening if it is wedged in there some.

Found that it still took 12 mins or so to get 1 gallon into the tranny....80W90. Allows some time to think about the meaning of life.

I use a small 12V air pump that has a switch on it in order to regulate the air flow. Due to the inevitable leakage around the tube and so forth...you will loose some pressure...but I keep an eye on the jug and if it looks to be expanding a bit too much I shut it down for a while.

DO NOT just throw a lot of high pressure air at the jug...you might not like the result?[/b]

Just refilled transaxle and rear diff with full 75W90 synth...and found that this refill jug still works very well. I had doubts about getting the 1 oz per qt of Tufoil additive in....but though it was thick...it went in real well when put IN the jug with the gear oil.. You can see the oil inside the jug pretty well...and the bottom of the NEW copper pickup tube (larger diameter) can be raised or lowered so that when you are near the end of what you are putting in...you can lower the pickup tube right down onto a "corner" of the bottom of the jug and get it all out except for a few tablespoons. This works IF you have a couple of small Vs cut in the end of the pickup tube so it doesn't get blocked by the bottom of the jug.

* Still using the same jug after 3-4 uses....looks a bit "expanded"...but no splits and it doesn't leak

* right click to see pics?

Where to CHECK...DRAIN...FILL!

Drain using ALL 3 drain plugs...CLEAN them....reinstall and tighten them...except for the rear one which needs to be left out 7-8 turns. I refill using the front diff plug and with the front of the car on ramps...goes in quicker. Put in the 4.1 quarts... or until it runs out of the hole (overfull)...install the diff fill plug...tighten up the rear drain plug. You're done.

DON'T get your finger stuck in the dike? This means that if you try to use your finger to check the oil level IT CAN GET STUCK....then you will be in dire straights...stuck under your car with your finger swelling...and the rescue guys trying to figure out how to get you loose.

NOTE: Still using this and the TOTAL DRAIN and REFILL METHOD. If in doubt...drain it and add 4.1 quarts. Takes 20 mins...costs are negligible if you use regular gear oil...you get rid of particulates. Clean the drain plugs of fines.

FURTHER NOTE: All proceeds from licensing fees from the TAKZA GEAR OIL REFILLING DEVICE are being donated to a foundation whose sole purpose is to discover the underlying genetic basis for conservatism. Save the chilluns.

Typrus · Post by **Typrus** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 4:55 pm

Broken links......
So a pressure bottle? Risky and high maintainance? Might go KERBLOMP all over you, and would require a shot of air every now and a gain as running the air pump constantly might not be smart.

But you know what? BEATS THE HELL OUT OF A SIPHON SYSTEM

Post by **ARCHINSTL** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 3:36 am

Well, I guess I'm missing something - but here goes...
When you talk "siphon", do you mean a literal siphon system, with the original container held above the fill hole and the oil entering via only the siphoning process?
Or do you refer to a (hand) pump system, whether one of those gear oil hand pumps that are filled and then capped, or one of the dual-hose hand pumps which auto stores sell which can pump or siphon - sold universally in a red/orange color? I have one of the latter, and it has worked well for water/gasoline, and I was going to use it for the gear oil which I want to do F&R this week (also thought I'd warm the oil for easier transfer).
And then I read takza's note about a pressure system, which is doable, as I have a good compressor as well as a portable tank. Speed is not that important, but messiness is.
Thanks,
Tom M.

takza · Post by **takza** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 5:48 am

You could use a 2 L pop bottle...they make water rockets out of these...among other high pressure apps....so they hold some serious pressure.

They make these bottles so if dropped...they don't leak.

Flow was good enough to put 2 quarts or so of ATF thru in maybe 2 mins or so.

If you have a tank with a good pressure gauge...maybe fill it to 10 PSI and use that? Probably how I'll use it. Don't really know how much pressure I had in it.

I had a cheap hand pump...but it eventually quit working. When it worked...it took a lot of pumping.

You CAN get the oil in there by using the pointy tipped bottles.

I fill mine with the front up on ramps and use the filler hole near the axle.

As far as the pics...I guess they changed the rules on me...might try the urls in another browser window?

waynehoc · Post by **waynehoc** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 7:26 am

As far as the pics...I guess they changed the rules on me...might try the urls in another browser window?

In Opera, a right click on the (missing) pic and then a left click on 'open image', and, voila, there's the pic(s)! Should be some similar process in other browsers?

Post by **ARCHINSTL** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 5:38 pm

Amazing -
I right-clicked on the missing photos, left-clicked on "Properties" and then copied the URLs, pasted them (one at a time) in the "address area" of the AOL tool board (don't laugh-I don't know what these blanks are called).
Then both of the pix popped up in the regular Forum thread - and stayed there! Is this a procedure to be followed whenever the little "Xs" appear?
So - I have used Photobucket in the past for this Forum - any probs with it?

The oil filling jug is pretty elegant in its simplicity. Good thoughts. I will try it and advise.
Thanks!
Tom M.

GTSSportCoupe · Post by **GTSSportCoupe** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 5:59 pm

Cool idea, I like it! Especially as I have a 12v compressor that I carry in my terc.

Another idea comes to mind too though: Would it be possible to yank a windshield washer fluid motor out with the resevoir, and wire a cigarette lighter plug and a switch to it? And basically use it to pump the oil into the trans? The switch could be wired in near the motor/resevoir, so that it can be controlled under the car, with a long wire going to the cigarette lighter for power. No idea if this would work...just another idea.

Post by **ARCHINSTL** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 7:11 pm

I took my front squirter motor apart to fix it (actually worked, too!). After looking at the tiny gear pump lobes (whole gear size is maybe 3/8"x1/4"), I would have my doubts whether it would work on something as viscous as gear oil (let alone motor oil). Plus, the input/output tubes have a mighty small diameter, as the whole apparatus is designed for a thin fluid and probably also not for continuous use, as in filling a transmission.
Tom M.

takza · Post by **takza** » Tue Apr 04, 2006 2:39 am

I put one together using a new washer pump...took a lot more engineeering...wiring...clips...switch....the pump tended to overheat...was slower than hades. Gear oil is thick.

The greater the ID of the pipe going down to the bottom of the jug...the easier the oil will flow. The tubing I used was pretty small...but I think it will flow OK. Might need to cut the end at an angle to avoid having it blocked by the jug bottom.

xirdneh · Post by **xirdneh** » Tue Apr 04, 2006 8:53 am

[quote="takza"]I put one together using a new washer pump...took a lot more engineeering...wiring...clips...switch....the pump tended to overheat...was slower than hades. Gear oil is thick.

could warm up the oil befor pumping

GTSSportCoupe · Post by **GTSSportCoupe** » Tue Apr 04, 2006 9:55 am

takza wrote:I put one together using a new washer pump...took a lot more engineeering...wiring...clips...switch....the pump tended to overheat...was slower than hades. Gear oil is thick.

The greater the ID of the pipe going down to the bottom of the jug...the easier the oil will flow. The tubing I used was pretty small...but I think it will flow OK. Might need to cut the end at an angle to avoid having it blocked by the jug bottom.

Ah, ok, that does make sense. Air pressure be the way to go!