Gearbox Oil - Don't Be Fobbed Off

[johnsimister 10]

A word of warning. My local Peugeot agent has stopped selling the cars but still sells the parts. It has also become a full Vauxhall agent. I recently wanted to buy a couple of litres of the usual 75W/80 gearbox oil to refill my 'box after changing the driveshafts, and the parts man said 'We always use this now, it's the same stuff.'

 

'This' was GM manual transmission oil, no viscosity grade given on the bottles. It was red, like automatic transmission fluid. Anyway I poured it in, and the gearchange was awful - stiff and obstructive and not like the smooth, sweet thing it had been before. Could it be the oil?

 

Off to Halfords, buy two litres of the correct oil, out with the red stuff, in with the new stuff, gearchange brilliant again. Pretty annoyed with the Peugeot agent, but I can hardly take the GM 'oil' back.

 

John

Edited June 14, 2009 by johnsimister

[dcc 855]

id be tempted to flush it out with some cheaper gearbox oil first, then pour in the proper stuff.

[welshpug 1,626]

never seen the right stuff at halfords, find a citroen dealer

[Tom Fenton 1,526]

Halfords cerrtainly used to sell it, damn expensive though.

[pugtop 0]

John , you're a pro , how about going to GSF , ECP or NEAT Autos!!!! They all sell the right stuff , why the hell did you buy from a main stealer???? You're mad!

[The Arch Bishop 0]

John , you're a pro , how about going to GSF , ECP or NEAT Autos!!!! They all sell the right stuff , why the hell did you buy from a main stealer???? You're mad!

Personal coice at the end of the day. Maybe going to the dealer was a much shorter trip and just sometimes, parts can be cheaper at the dealers (though I admit that's rare).

 

The fact remains that you should be able to trust a main dealer to provide the right stuff for your car. It would seem in this case the dealer was pretty clueless.

 

I'd still take the oil back though. In an old lemonade bottle...

Edited June 14, 2009 by The Arch Bishop

[DrSarty 90 1 Cars]

I'd still take the oil back though. In an old lemonade bottle...

 

Totally agree. And it has to be a lemonade bottle.

 

I'm no legal beagle, but goods (and services) have to by law be fit for purpose. You'd be quite within your rights to take it back and politely explain that the oil was unsuitable. To a degree, you'd probably be able to countercharge them for your extra time, work and effort in rectifying what their product's unsuitability had made you do. I'm not suggesting you do, but I'm just saying I think if you did the law would side with you.

 

Just be honest with them and I'm sure they'll give you the money back.

Edited June 15, 2009 by DrSarty

[Tom Fenton 1,526]

John , you're a pro , how about going to GSF , ECP or NEAT Autos!!!! They all sell the right stuff , why the hell did you buy from a main stealer???? You're mad!

 

"Most" main dealers sell the proper total oil for £4 a litre. I buy mine from there, its close by.

[johnsimister 10]

"Most" main dealers sell the proper total oil for £4 a litre. I buy mine from there, its close by.

 

Exactly. That's why I went to the main dealer. The Halfords oil, specifically for PSA gearboxes, is £7.99 a litre but, crucially, you can buy it on Sunday.

 

John

[richsmells 2]

I buy Total gear oil from my main dealer. It makes my tired old box feel smoother.

 

I recently used some GM 10W/40 semi synth in my rattly 8v and it's not bad stuff. Shows better pressure at hot idle than the last stuff I had in there.

[Tom Fenton 1,526]

Exactly. That's why I went to the main dealer. The Halfords oil, specifically for PSA gearboxes, is £7.99 a litre but, crucially, you can buy it on Sunday.

 

There is a lot to be said for Halfords, for getting you out of the sh1t on a sunday afternoon!

 

John, see if you can get hold of a Halfords trade card, I'd have thought in your job they will let you have one, some good savings to be had.

[Rupertfinch 6]

My main dealer presented me with ESSO branded gear oil 75/80 stuff. Used it and was more than happy with the result, if anything, the car seemed to change better than when I drained and refilled with Total BV just 12 months previous. Granted the BV may have acted like a good flushing agent.

[Baz 421]

There is a lot to be said for Halfords, for getting you out of the sh1t on a sunday afternoon!

 

John, see if you can get hold of a Halfords trade card, I'd have thought in your job they will let you have one, some good savings to be had.

 

Yup, It's about £12 for the 2 litres needed on a trade card. not a massive saving but handy as said!

[Matt Holley 11]

There is a lot to be said for Halfords, for getting you out of the sh1t on a sunday afternoon!

 

Very true

 

I got my latest oil from a local factors, under £10 for two litres, I was using halford stuff before that though.

[pug_ham 242 3 Cars]

Last time I swapped my oil I got 5l of Comma 75w80 PSA specific gearoil from my local motor factors for ~£10.

 

Has all the correct grades & specifications listed & works fine.

 

Graham.

[Masekwm 2]

Peugeot in Dunstable wanted £36 today for 4l

[shalmaneser 26]

is there a consensus as to who the best people are to buy this stuff from? stealer @ £4 a bottle doesn't seem bad.

 

does anyone know the specification? Pugtorque's 5l for £10 seems like a bit of a deal...

[KRISKARRERA 2 1 Cars]

Very true

 

I got my latest oil from a local factors, under £10 for two litres, I was using halford stuff before that though.

Where was that then? Somewhere in Chippenham?

[BusEngineer 7]

Always had mine from local dealer, Total BV and its always been £4 per litre

 

What oil was it for £36 for 4l??

[hengti 2]

is there a consensus as to who the best people are to buy this stuff from? stealer @ £4 a bottle doesn't seem bad.

 

does anyone know the specification? Pugtorque's 5l for £10 seems like a bit of a deal...

 

looked at this a little while ago as i've an unopened bottle of 75/80 BV - there's no spec on it though. they might print it on some

 

Renault's TransElf range includes several GL5 spec oils, 'highest' being TRX. it's twice as much as the BV though

[sub205 5]

also a good choice is "castrol taf-x" fully synthetic, works great in winter wenn normal oils tend to make switching gears hard, especially when coldstarting in the morning and trying to get in the first gear!