Pump to fill gearbox and transfer

[steveG]

Having just been out and covered myself in oil whilst attempting to change transfer and diff oils, I'd like some suggestions for a non-messy oil transfer option.
I currently have one of the Toledo transfer syringe thingies - like a grease gun body that you use to suck oil out of the container, drip it all over yourself and the floor and eventually squirt the small amount remaining into the vehicle.
THEY SUCK - but not in the way they are meant to :(

Ideally I reckon something like a small gear pump would be great.
I've also seen the pumps that screw onto the oil container. They look like a hand cleaner dispenser pump - but not sure how they would go for diff oil though.

Steve

[Bushie]

Do yourself a favour and get a decent pump

Macnaught Pty Ltd - oil transfer equipment | Macnaught Pty Ltd (http://www.macnaught.com.au/shop/category/-oil-transfer-equipment)



Martyn

[Ace]

I use 20L drums and just bought a nice drum pump, works a treat. It even works in 4 and 5L bottles if i dont have the cash to buy another 20L drum.

I find buying in 20L drums a cheaper way to go, besides I am anal when it comes to servicing diffs, transfer case and transmission and probably do it alot more often than i should.

But you can also get 5L pumps from auto part stores.

Matt

[101RRS]

Do yourself a favour and get a decent pump
Macnaught Pty Ltd - oil transfer equipment | Macnaught Pty Ltd (http://www.macnaught.com.au/shop/category/-oil-transfer-equipment)
Martyn

Their hand operated suction guns are absolutely horrid and do not work as advertised - they are messy, do not suck up a lot of oil (supposedly 500ml but more like 100ml) and suck in a lot of air but the other models look the goods.

Garry

[POD]

I had one of those useless syringe things- still got it somewhere but it never worked. I made myself a gearbox filler about 10 years ago that I have yet to see improved upon. No camera at present so i'll describe it as best I can-
Take the screw top from one of your 5L gear oil containers, get a tubeless tyre valve and stem from a tyre dealer and about 3 foot of hose- any hose with around 10mm or so i.d. will do, mine has garden hose cos it's what was at hand at the time, never seen a need to replace it. Drill 2 holes in the container lid, one to take the hose- a tight fit is required- and one to take the tyre valve. Check a wheel rim to get the appropriate hole size for the valve stem. The holes have to be close together in the middle of the cap, so it can still screw onto a container. Fit the valve stem to one hole (valve end out), and push the hose through the other hole, far enough so that it reaches to the bottom of a 5l oil container. Job done and it cost you probably $1 if the tyre bloke charged you.
Use an air compressor- or if you don't have a compressor, get a 12v tyre pump and you'll still spend less than you would on a drum pump. I put short bursts of air in, just so the container swells. Never burst one yet. If the container has one of those graduated strips down the side, you can even see how much oil is going into the gearbox.
The POD no-fuss, no-pump, no-mess, gravity-defying gearbox, transfer and diff filler.

[CraigE]

I use a 20 litre drum and hand pump, but recently bought a little 1 litre version. You fill it with desired oil and pump in. Small enough to take under the car with you. Got mine from BP distributor but I also saw them at Repco.

[CraigE]

I had one of those useless syringe things- still got it somewhere but it never worked. I made myself a gearbox filler about 10 years ago that I have yet to see improved upon. No camera at present so i'll describe it as best I can-
Take the screw top from one of your 5L gear oil containers, get a tubeless tyre valve and stem from a tyre dealer and about 3 foot of hose- any hose with around 10mm or so i.d. will do, mine has garden hose cos it's what was at hand at the time, never seen a need to replace it. Drill 2 holes in the container lid, one to take the hose- a tight fit is required- and one to take the tyre valve. Check a wheel rim to get the appropriate hole size for the valve stem. The holes have to be close together in the middle of the cap, so it can still screw onto a container. Fit the valve stem to one hole (valve end out), and push the hose through the other hole, far enough so that it reaches to the bottom of a 5l oil container. Job done and it cost you probably $1 if the tyre bloke charged you.
Use an air compressor- or if you don't have a compressor, get a 12v tyre pump and you'll still spend less than you would on a drum pump. I put short bursts of air in, just so the container swells. Never burst one yet. If the container has one of those graduated strips down the side, you can even see how much oil is going into the gearbox.
The POD no-fuss, no-pump, no-mess, gravity-defying gearbox, transfer and diff filler.
All good until you have a failure either LP or HP and I have seen both and dealt with the injuries. LP oil in eyes. HP oil in eyes, ingested, in skin injection and LAC from drum burst sharp edges. So be ware. It only takes a weak point or seem or a over pressure. Then there is the mess. Someone told me this a few years back, even think it was on this site and I tried it at very low pressure and the 5 litre container burst and I wore some oil and it made a mess, no injury, but I still detest the smell and taste of hypoid oil.;)

[feral]

I use a 20 litre drum and hand pump, but recently bought a little 1 litre version. You fill it with desired oil and pump in. Small enough to take under the car with you. Got mine from BP distributor but I also saw them at Repco.

It's called a Tom Thumb Utility Pump. You can get these at Autobarn, Supercheap and most decent auto stores.

Pro: They work and with very little mess or spillage. About $20.

Con: Thank goodness that the viscosity of oil these days makes it easy to pump. I would hate having to pump 2 - 4 litres of thick treacle whilst on your back.

Linky Tom Thumb Utility Pump - Autobarn - Tools & Equipment - DIY Tools (http://www.autobarn.com.au/products/15/203/235/)

[PhilipA]

I set up an airpump many years ago.
Just get an out of date 4.5 Kg gas cylinder, tap the inlet for a car valve in the top gas fitting and drill a hole in the bottom to take a brass 90 degree hose fitting. Just undo the top brass gas fitting to fill with a funnel.

The stand of the cylinder provides enough room for the fitting to clear the floor and drill a hole in the stand for the hose. The cylinder wall is thick enough for the thread to grab.
I put a tap on the other end of the hose, and put a few PSI in and Bob's your relative.
I chucked it away after I sold the 77 RRC as now its ATF for the transfer and ZF and the 1 litre sqeeze bottles work fine for the diffs.NO more filling LT95s.
Regards Philip A

[350RRC]

I had a 20l drum pump but ditched it in favour of a 5l pump up garden sprayer that cost about $25.

Cut the wand off short and put a bend in so it would hang in the TC / diff filler holes. Has a lock on switch. Just fill with the right oil vol, pump up, hang in filler hole and lock on. Topping up to level is also way easier and less messy than a drum pump

cheers, DL

[slug_burner]

Save your money on the tom thumb pump unless you are using it as last resort out in the bush I would not touch one. I purchased one and it was seriously painful as it is so slow. The bent metal pipe on the end to hook into the filler hole reduces the id so much that makes it so slow that you give up. I ended up driving with an underfilled Sals untill I took it to the mechanic to sort out.

The pneumatic/air pressure pumps (garden sprayer of other more suphisticated versions) sound like the go, otherwise a proper drum pump with a length of hose so it can be left by the car while you are under it.

[Utemad]

Go the Macnaught oil syringe. It is the best thing I've bought for servicing the car. I hated trying to get oil in the diffs/gearbox before that. It is so easy now.
I've also got a 20L drum pump for when I used to get diff/transfer oil that way.

[scarry]

I have tried many pumps over the years & given them all away.They either fell apart,were painfully slow,or were just messy,& i hate getting covered in oil,particularly gear oil.
I use a lenght of 1/2" clear tube,with a funnel jamed hard in one end.I cable tie the funnel end onto the top of the fence which is next to where i service the vehicles.The other end goes into the Diff,T/B,G/B or whatever. I pour the correct amount of oil into a jug & pour it into the funnel,which then runs by gravity into where you want it.It is a bit slow,particularly in winter,but while doing this there is always something else that needs to be done on the vehicle.You won't be under the vehicle getting covered in oil,& you will hardly spill any.

[windsock]

I use some nondescript suction type thing like the MacNaught suction pump as posted earlier. Most of this style of pump has a screw top to open the complete volume. I unscrew this and tip the oil in. EP90 does not suck and it'll only turn the seal inside out in the pump trying to do so.

Use disposable latex gloves whilst filling and any mess is contained.

[Hoges]

I bought one of those simple $15 circular pumps which fits on the end of an electric drill. It's about 3" in diameter. Has flexible vanes which rotate off the central spindle. Inlet and outlet take 3/8" ID plastic hose. It works with gear oil up to 90SAE quite well as well as diesel (NOT PETROL).

I have had it for 20 yrs and used it countless times. Found it works most efficiently with a cordless drill... straight out of the 5L container into the T/F case/diff/AT/engine etc etc e.g to refill the T/f case in the P38 took all of 30 seconds...depending on how fast you run the drill!!

50ml of Dexron 3 is all I use to clean it after use.... AND it packs away easily for long trips...with the cordelss dill...err drill:D

[Bushie]

Their hand operated suction guns are absolutely horrid and do not work as advertised - they are messy, do not suck up a lot of oil (supposedly 500ml but more like 100ml) and suck in a lot of air but the other models look the goods.

Garry

Yeah, I wasn't advocating any of the suction (syringe type) pumps but rather a good quality hand pump. I've been using a Toledo hand pump (from Supercrap) better than some, but could be better.

Something that is air operated would be the ideal, even a garden sprayer based transfer worked reasonably well, but not very durable.



Martyn

[steveG]

Thanks all - some good suggestions in that lot.

Was down at Bunnings this morning getting some other stuff, and a $12 cheapie 4L garden sprayer jumped into my trolley. Will give that a go when I do my front diff shortly. Hose is really a bit small in diameter for diff oil but hopefully still works just a bit slower.

In the longer term, I think I'll keep an eye out for a small out of date gas bottle to modify into a decent refiller.

Steve

[richard4u2]

Thanks all - some good suggestions in that lot.

Was down at Bunnings this morning getting some other stuff, and a $12 cheapie 4L garden sprayer jumped into my trolley. Will give that a go when I do my front diff shortly. Hose is really a bit small in diameter for diff oil but hopefully still works just a bit slower.

In the longer term, I think I'll keep an eye out for a small out of date gas bottle to modify into a decent refiller.

Steve
just put a cup full of oil in it first to see if the oil dont dissolve the plastic

[robbotd5]

Save your money on the tom thumb pump unless you are using it as last resort out in the bush I would not touch one. I purchased one and it was seriously painful as it is so slow. The bent metal pipe on the end to hook into the filler hole reduces the id so much that makes it so slow that you give up. I ended up driving with an underfilled Sals untill I took it to the mechanic to sort out.

The pneumatic/air pressure pumps (garden sprayer of other more suphisticated versions) sound like the go, otherwise a proper drum pump with a length of hose so it can be left by the car while you are under it.
The old tom thumb works fine for me. You can pull the elbow off if you like.