156 manual gearbox oil change...

Bought the new gearbox oil, got underneath the car and removed the
undertray, only to find that I didn't have a suitable allen key to fit the
drain plug......DOH
Seems it has to be very short to fit in drain plug and not get in the way of
some protruding lump of metal opposite! Can anyone suggest where I can
purchase a suitable drain plug key, or is it a case of chopping down a
normal allen key ??
Otherwise I'll have to give in, and take my cans of nice new oil to a garage
for them to do the job..
Cheers!

156 SP3 > wrote:

> Bought the new gearbox oil, got underneath the car and removed the
> undertray, only to find that I didn't have a suitable allen key to fit the
> drain plug......DOH
> Seems it has to be very short to fit in drain plug and not get in the way of
> some protruding lump of metal opposite! Can anyone suggest where I can
> purchase a suitable drain plug key, or is it a case of chopping down a
> normal allen key ??
> Otherwise I'll have to give in, and take my cans of nice new oil to a garage
> for them to do the job..

You need the appropriate sized bit for a torque wrench.

--
Steve H 'You're not a real petrolhead unless you've owned an Alfa Romeo'
http://www.italiancar.co.uk - Honda VFR800 - MZ ETZ300 - Alfa 75 TSpark
Alfa 156 2.0 TSpark Lusso - Passat 1.8 Turbo SE - COSOC KOTL
BoTAFOT #87 - BoTAFOF #18 - MRO # - UKRMSBC #7 - Apostle #2 - YTC #

SteveH wrote:

> 156 SP3 > wrote:
>
>> Bought the new gearbox oil, got underneath the car and removed the
>> undertray, only to find that I didn't have a suitable allen key to fit
>> the drain plug......DOH
>> Seems it has to be very short to fit in drain plug and not get in the way
>> of some protruding lump of metal opposite! Can anyone suggest where I can
>> purchase a suitable drain plug key, or is it a case of chopping down a
>> normal allen key ??
>> Otherwise I'll have to give in, and take my cans of nice new oil to a
>> garage for them to do the job..
>
> You need the appropriate sized bit for a torque wrench.
>
What he said.
--
Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
Alfa 116 Giulietta 3.0l (Really) Sprint 1.7 75 TS 156 TS S2
Triumph Speed Triple: Black with extra black bits
www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk

Ok, thanks guys, I'll get under and take another look.
I just recall seeing a gap of only about 15-20mm between the head of the
inset drain plug and some obstruction (part of gearbox casing), and
wondering what I could use to get in there...and still having enough space
as the plug retracts from the casing..



"Catman" > wrote in message
...
> SteveH wrote:
>
> > 156 SP3 > wrote:
> >
> >> Bought the new gearbox oil, got underneath the car and removed the
> >> undertray, only to find that I didn't have a suitable allen key to fit
> >> the drain plug......DOH
> >> Seems it has to be very short to fit in drain plug and not get in the
way
> >> of some protruding lump of metal opposite! Can anyone suggest where I
can
> >> purchase a suitable drain plug key, or is it a case of chopping down a
> >> normal allen key ??
> >> Otherwise I'll have to give in, and take my cans of nice new oil to a
> >> garage for them to do the job..
> >
> > You need the appropriate sized bit for a torque wrench.
> >
> What he said.
> --
> Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
> Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
> Alfa 116 Giulietta 3.0l (Really) Sprint 1.7 75 TS 156 TS S2
> Triumph Speed Triple: Black with extra black bits
> www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk

I think you will need a 12mm hex key socket ... as long as you can get ...

Gazza

"SteveH" > wrote in message
...
> 156 SP3 > wrote:
>
> > Bought the new gearbox oil, got underneath the car and removed the
> > undertray, only to find that I didn't have a suitable allen key to fit
the
> > drain plug......DOH
> > Seems it has to be very short to fit in drain plug and not get in the
way of
> > some protruding lump of metal opposite! Can anyone suggest where I can
> > purchase a suitable drain plug key, or is it a case of chopping down a
> > normal allen key ??
> > Otherwise I'll have to give in, and take my cans of nice new oil to a
garage
> > for them to do the job..
>
> You need the appropriate sized bit for a torque wrench.
>
> --
> Steve H 'You're not a real petrolhead unless you've owned an Alfa Romeo'
> http://www.italiancar.co.uk - Honda VFR800 - MZ ETZ300 - Alfa 75 TSpark
> Alfa 156 2.0 TSpark Lusso - Passat 1.8 Turbo SE - COSOC KOTL
> BoTAFOT #87 - BoTAFOF #18 - MRO # - UKRMSBC #7 - Apostle #2 - YTC #

"Gazza" > said

>I think you will need a 12mm hex key socket ... as long as you can get ...
>
>Gazza
>
>"SteveH" > wrote in message
k...
>> 156 SP3 > wrote:
>>
>> > Bought the new gearbox oil, got underneath the car and removed the
>> > undertray, only to find that I didn't have a suitable allen key to fit
>the
>> > drain plug......DOH
>> > Seems it has to be very short to fit in drain plug and not get in the
>way of
>> > some protruding lump of metal opposite! Can anyone suggest where I can
>> > purchase a suitable drain plug key, or is it a case of chopping down a
>> > normal allen key ??
>> > Otherwise I'll have to give in, and take my cans of nice new oil to a
>garage
>> > for them to do the job..
>>
>> You need the appropriate sized bit for a torque wrench.
>>
>> --
>> Steve H 'You're not a real petrolhead unless you've owned an Alfa Romeo'
>> http://www.italiancar.co.uk - Honda VFR800 - MZ ETZ300 - Alfa 75 TSpark
>> Alfa 156 2.0 TSpark Lusso - Passat 1.8 Turbo SE - COSOC KOTL
>> BoTAFOT #87 - BoTAFOF #18 - MRO # - UKRMSBC #7 - Apostle #2 - YTC #
>