there is a drain plug already, but no one has ever drilled the case, at least not in the vehicle. i believe there are 2 options, 22 and 23 tooth, I cant remember which is for at/mt. any local parts store can get one.
Manual transmission genius needed
OK now this is kind of strange but,may help me or others. I have a 1995 escort 1.9 5 speed,can't get the speedometer drive our to check or fill the transmission. This seems to be a common problem. Here's where it gets weird,back in the 80s/90s Audi decided their differentials didn't need to be drained or filled(sealed unit) then someone figured out that was a great theory but not a real world good Idea,so they put out a bulletin on where to drill and tap assembled differentials for drain and fill plugs. Does anyone have a case apart to see where we could drill and tap for fill plugs on the escorts? Okay,if not does anyone know how to determine which speedometer drive I need to have on hand for when mine gets destroyed on removal?
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There are no local parts stores where I live. That's why I need to buy what I need in advance.im looking 3 hrs minimum drive time. Seriously thinking of drilling and tapping a fill hole.Just gotta figure out the best spot.I onow somebody's going to be worried about chips,I am absolutely not worried,I've drilled and tapped enough oil galleys on assembled engines to know I can do it and contain the chips
Cant help you with knowing where you could put in a "fill hole", i personally have extracted the VSS from the 5-speed in both of my LXs. I make a point of checking the fluid level once each year, and it is still a slow and uncomfy process. I also buff away any corrosion on the VSS each time, and resmear it with antiseize compound.
It hardly matters whether you get a [replacement] VSS with the 22 tooth or with the 23 teeth gear. Your speedometer has already aged enough that the speedo needle would not point to the correct speed. Anyway, if the VSS came out more or less intact, the gear can be removed from one VSS and swapped with another one.
To get the VSS out of my escorts, since I am an old retired guy, I just hoisted the engine/trans still bolted together; up and out of the car. Having the engine & transmission sitting on my workbench made getting the VSS out a feasible job. (It was still a fight though).
Even though I knew of the difficulty of removing the VSS, and have had the 5-speed out of both of my LX escorts, I never did see a likely spot to put in a fill plug. At least by taking the VSS out, you can ensure you have the proper level of fluid in there. Just having a fill plug still leaves you the mystery of whether it is overfilled.
It hardly matters whether you get a [replacement] VSS with the 22 tooth or with the 23 teeth gear. Your speedometer has already aged enough that the speedo needle would not point to the correct speed. Anyway, if the VSS came out more or less intact, the gear can be removed from one VSS and swapped with another one.
To get the VSS out of my escorts, since I am an old retired guy, I just hoisted the engine/trans still bolted together; up and out of the car. Having the engine & transmission sitting on my workbench made getting the VSS out a feasible job. (It was still a fight though).
Even though I knew of the difficulty of removing the VSS, and have had the 5-speed out of both of my LX escorts, I never did see a likely spot to put in a fill plug. At least by taking the VSS out, you can ensure you have the proper level of fluid in there. Just having a fill plug still leaves you the mystery of whether it is overfilled.
Thank you for the info,didnt know that the only difference was the drive gear. I've worked mostly at VW / Audi or GM dealerships. I've pulled literally 100s of speedometer drives at work never had much of a problem till this one,and I pull them on my VWs and Festivas at every oil change to check level. Wasn't real worried about visual fill level.Would drain and fill with a measured quantity just like some vw transmissions require. Thanks again now that I know I can make either drive work I'll just have a drive on hand,I know I can get it out,just not sure about in 1 piece. I still think it would be sweet if someone could figure out where to drill and tap for fill.
the difference is because the different transaxles have different final drive ratios requiring different tooth counts.
There's a breather on the top of the case, that would be the logical place I would think, to drill and tap for a 1/8 pipe plug for filling. IIRC, it's a 6mm hole. I don't think you can drill much deeper than the case thickness though, so you might need a "stub" tap.
Actually, there is such a thing (although uncommon) as a 1/16 pipe thread, maybe you could tap it to that, without even having to enlarge the 6mm hole.
Or you could make up a little funnel that fit the 6mm hole tightly, and after draining, add the specified amount of fluid through it. It would probably take a long time though, with no air vent, it might have to sit overnight.
Actually, there is such a thing (although uncommon) as a 1/16 pipe thread, maybe you could tap it to that, without even having to enlarge the 6mm hole.
Or you could make up a little funnel that fit the 6mm hole tightly, and after draining, add the specified amount of fluid through it. It would probably take a long time though, with no air vent, it might have to sit overnight.
Thank you everyone especially @Joey_Twowagons it's dark out didn't want to try to find the vent in the dark,so typed in 5 speed transmission vent,which led me to a post where another member pulled the vent used a 80/90 gear oil bottle and pointed Cap to fill his transmission,still going to try to get my speedo drive out tomorrow,but now I have a backup plan. Again thank you everyone.
You're welcome Rick!
Here's an old post that talks a bit about the vent and such. Skip to post #24.
www.feoa.net
Here's an old post that talks a bit about the vent and such. Skip to post #24.
uunidentified fluid under driver side dash
fluid, maybe brake or oil of some kind?. wondering if there is anything I should check, seems alot it's all over the floor/firewall/wiring. thanks
www.feoa.net
the biggest issue your going to come by is the fill level is sort of a critical measurement. too high and it will puke out, also through the cable and drip out of the speedo, too low and,... well you know. if it is really that big of an issue just order both senders and return the one you dont use.
I don't think too low is really a big deal. A few years ago I ran dry of fluid on a highway trip, the only symptom was that it kept forcing itself out of high gear. I drove on in fourth until the next town, got some ATF and filled it.
Within a couple furlongs the car was driving normally.
So although I don't think it's good to run out of fluid, this transmission must have been low for ages (years?).
I think I posted about it a while back, I can search if anyone is interested.
Within a couple furlongs the car was driving normally.
So although I don't think it's good to run out of fluid, this transmission must have been low for ages (years?).
I think I posted about it a while back, I can search if anyone is interested.
Memory serving I ran a stiff wire down the vent and it was winding path... not a straight shot. It also was not clogged by any stretch of the imagination. My lubed feet was merely a result of overfill. I devised a way of reassembling the vent (rubber cap, spring, hood) and never had a problem.
First, order a replacement from RockAuto. when it arrives, remove the retainer from the vss, and grab it as necessary with a vise grips. Make sure to twist as you lift. Once it's out, make sure to count the teeth on both the old and the new gears. If they don't match, swap the gear from the old to the new. Smear a little atf on the sleeve of the new one and install. Problem solved.OK now this is kind of strange but,may help me or others. I have a 1995 escort 1.9 5 speed,can't get the speedometer drive our to check or fill the transmission. This seems to be a common problem. Here's where it gets weird,back in the 80s/90s Audi decided their differentials didn't need to be drained or filled(sealed unit) then someone figured out that was a great theory but not a real world good Idea,so they put out a bulletin on where to drill and tap assembled differentials for drain and fill plugs. Does anyone have a case apart to see where we could drill and tap for fill plugs on the escorts? Okay,if not does anyone know how to determine which speedometer drive I need to have on hand for when mine gets destroyed on removal?
I agree that the transmission oil being low is not a thing to worry about; a long as it isnt empty.... and while checking oil level via the gear of the VSS can tell you it is low, you wont know How Low.
Due to the way the oil is circulated, it will still circulate with less than a quart of oil in it - being flung off the front side of the differential main gear as you drive forward, and then dribbling down across a slanted steel plate with holes in it to let the oil drip onto the gears riding on the transmission in put shaft.
Due to the way the oil is circulated, it will still circulate with less than a quart of oil in it - being flung off the front side of the differential main gear as you drive forward, and then dribbling down across a slanted steel plate with holes in it to let the oil drip onto the gears riding on the transmission in put shaft.
Thank you all,done,all is good. Just to throw this in there I've worked in Automotive for decades,owned a parts store. Worked dealer service and parts,aftermarket service and parts. I will not buy two parts knowing I will return one,I will not buy a part and return it because it didn't fix my problem. It is a pain in the @$$ to the parts dept. and costs the company money.
As a parts guy for 40+ yrs -- THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU .Thank you all,done,all is good. Just to throw this in there I've worked on Automotive for decades,owned a parts store. Worked dealer service and parts,aftermarket service and parts. I will not buy two parts knowing I will return one,I will not a part and return it because it didn't fix my problem. It is a pain in the @$$ to the parts dept. and costs the company money.
Too many people think it is no big deal even after you explain that special orders and electrical items are NOT returnable.
There was only one case where I did this. I visited my local Napa store and explained that I needed to replace the 3/8 belt on the lawnmower at our old "Off-grid" property but wasn't sure of the exact length. So I asked if I could buy three incremental sizes, around 33" I think. Also we'd be away for two to three weeks.
The fellow was agreeable. If I ask for that kind of a favour I explain that if it's not something they want to do I am perfectly fine with that with no hard feelings.
The fellow was agreeable. If I ask for that kind of a favour I explain that if it's not something they want to do I am perfectly fine with that with no hard feelings.
I'm sure he appreciated your honesty. What really chaps my a$$ is when somebody uses the parts store parts for diagnoses. They can't sell the alternator,starter,ignition coil,etc. again that didn't fix your car. They have to get a new one to replace that one. If they sell it again someone will blow them up on the internet I WENT TO X PARTS STORE AND THEY SOLD ME A USED STARTER !!!!etc THATs OBVIOUSLY BEEN INSTALLED ON SOMETHING!!!! Then 900 other jacka$$es are going to come back with all kinds of stupid responses ( you should sue them,parts stores are crooks etc.etc.) so using the parts store as a library costs us all more in the end,and iritates the parts man.
Maybe it's different up here, but parts stores generally have signs, and statements on receipts that say "NO RETURNS ON ELECTRICAL ITEMS".
I don't agree with the too-easy return policy of many other types of retailers. The scammers and abusers are subsidized by the rest of us.
I don't agree with the too-easy return policy of many other types of retailers. The scammers and abusers are subsidized by the rest of us.
Quite a few times I would buy two identical parts for my escort(s) each time I was purchasing in a parts store.
I found the 2nd gen escorts to have a lot of commonality of parts under the hood and generally, and liked the cars themselves well enough that I eventually owned five of them. Two were for my wife and I at our summer home, two of them sat at out winter home, and the fifth one we used for several years for the semiannual migration of 1800 miles between the two residences. So quite a few times I would buy two of each kind of the parts that were eventually needed. And after the first of each kind of failure, I had a better knowledge of the failure mode and how to fix it, and could go looking for imminent failures on the other cars.
I have yet to ever take a part back, (from any car) so now have a couple of shelves with spare escort parts for my remaining three escorts. And some of them are the no-longer-available kind.
I found the 2nd gen escorts to have a lot of commonality of parts under the hood and generally, and liked the cars themselves well enough that I eventually owned five of them. Two were for my wife and I at our summer home, two of them sat at out winter home, and the fifth one we used for several years for the semiannual migration of 1800 miles between the two residences. So quite a few times I would buy two of each kind of the parts that were eventually needed. And after the first of each kind of failure, I had a better knowledge of the failure mode and how to fix it, and could go looking for imminent failures on the other cars.
I have yet to ever take a part back, (from any car) so now have a couple of shelves with spare escort parts for my remaining three escorts. And some of them are the no-longer-available kind.
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