Tranny & Final Drive Fluid Change Frequencies

[stevemarx]

Hi,

My wife and I are new to her '86 Spree with 1700 miles on it; we bought it from a guy on The Cape 3 months ago and you guys were great in helping us fix a directional issue.

So, 2 new questions: In reality, how often should the trans fluid be changed? How about the final drive fluid? The manual says every 7500 and 2 years, respectively, but what do people do in the real world? To our knowledge, since 1986, neither's been touched.

And, anyone know of any shops in the greater Boston area that can repair my wife's beloved Spree when it needs something fixed?

Thanks very much!

Steve

[LMH]

Hi Steve, on the scooters the transmission does not use any fluid. The final drive which you see at the rear of the engine uses 10w 30 engine oil. I use to use 75 90w gear lube but found out it comes with engine oil. I never had any issues but sticking with stock is a good idea.
Thanks to Trafficjamz for the enlightening details of the proper oil to use.

[LMH]

You can change it after every ride if you desire, I change mine every 3 to 6 months but I am rough on my gear boxes.

[paulpauly7]

i run 20/50 motor oil and a splash of lucas oil stablizer

[bigreed]

Where do yall buy fresh gasket?

[LMH]

Which gasket? I use the local honda dealer for my seals and gaskets.

[Wheelman-111]

Greetings:

A generous slathering of grease prior to installation may allow you to re-use your new gasket the next time. You can purchase one here.Make sure to take great care in cleaning off every last speck of the old, stuck-on gasket or a leak is guaranteed. Just don't gouge the Aluminum or it'll be even harder to fix.

[Johnniespeed]

I use synthetic GL4 gear lube in all my scooters, but I only change it once a year. No fresh gaskets needed, there are sealing washers on the drain/fill plugs, but they can be reused.

[Wheelman-111]

Greetings:

The nooks and crannies in the gear case retain as much as a half-ounce of old oil. That's about a sixth of the total content. The metal sludge generally collects in the low spots. You can tip the scooter all the way over and get most of the old oil out, but if you're fussy, the only way to get it ALL is to pop the cover off and clean all the crannies. Gasket shouldn't be more than ten bucks.

[stevemarx]

I really appreciate all the responses. You guys are entertaining as well as informative.

I did read in the manual that the trans fluid should be changed but you're saying there is none??? OK, so go with 10W30 for the final drive. Am I able to see where to pour the stuff in?

Thanks again!

[curtis966]

The final drive is located behind this cover at the rear of your motor. The large hex head circled is used to refill your fluid. It can also be used to drain the fluid but if you are just doing this for the first time I recommend removing the cover and doing a full clean out before refilling like wheelman said there can be lots of dirt and metal shavings left behind by just doing the quick drain and fill.

[paulpauly7]

Nice pics curtis

[Johnniespeed]

Some people will call the final drive a transmission, hence the confusion. There is only one gear case on your scooter, it does contain gears and bearings, however there is no neutral and no shifting, since it's location is after the variator/cvt the term final drive is appropriate.
The variator, belt and secondary clutch perform the function of a transmission and clutch ,the torque multiplication via ratio change is performed there.
By the way, some scooters have a final drive drain plug in addition to the fill plug. Since it only takes a couple of minutes to change the lube, if you are worried about residue left in the case, just change it a couple times until all is clear.

[Wheelman-111]

Greetings:

As I said "If you're fussy..." you should pop the cover if you'll have trouble sleeping at night. Otherwise, J-Speed's advice is sound. The transmissions in these things don't fail very often, particularly with Stock engine power. A bit of shavings just doesn't seem to be a problem. Use the oil left over in the bottoms of the oil containers from your last car oil change. Flash usually has Mobil 1 in its tranny case!

[stevemarx]

Again, thank you all for this very valuable info. We are really enjoying the scooter - keeping my wife young - and are beginning to appreciate the huge following these scooters have.