V6 Auto Gearbox

[DerekW]

I keep a check on another forum that specialises in French cars and there has been some discussion about the expected life of auto boxes, particularly when fitted to the V6.

One correspondent recommends changing the gearbox transmission fluid at regular (and short) intervals as an aid to long life, so I thought I would at least check the fluid for colour, signs of overheating and so on.

Problem! It may sound daft but I can't find the gearbox dipstick! Can anyone please tell me where they've hidden it? Car is a '99 Series 2 V6 24valve jobby.

Cheers,

Derek

[XM v6 sadist]

Hi Derek

Yep no dipstick. There is just a black cap on the top. The gearbox runs on synthetic oil and is not meant to be topped up / refilled like the old 12V V6 boxes. The gear indicator (mine is not illuminating at the moment) is mean't to flash when the computer has decided that the oil needs changing. Much depending on the sort of driving you do. Refilling involves removing the drain plug and a plug at the back of the gearbox (apparently a devil of a job to do), then refilling until the fluid comes out of the rear hole. A highly technical indicator of how much is in it!

I've been for c5's and xantia v6's with the same box. Some appear to have done ~200K miles so hopefully they will be more reliable than the previous XM v6 boxes.

Tony

[DerekW]

Hi Tony,

Thanks for the info - I thought I was going potty not being able to find it.

Sounds like another job to put alongside plugs and cambelts on the Haynes "degree of difficulty scale", must be worth at least six spanners?

Cheers,

Derek

[XM v6 sadist]

Hi

The main difficulty with the gearbox is that the car has to be level to fill it. So you really need a pit / lift rather than the usual ramps. Hence I'll be letting the garage doing it.

Not too difficult but awkward. Especially the proximity of the rear plug to the exhuast.

I've had the cambelt (plus plugs at the same time) done this year. The rear bank of plugs are a pain.

Also I've just had a quote for the exhuast replacement including fitting. £480 from the cat back (all 3 boxes), custom made in stainless steel. Not too bad. I haven't even bothered to contact citroen.

Tony

[Masterclock]

I have a '98 24V with the auto-adaptive gearbox. It is fitted with a dipstick, just behind the hydrulic accumulator. In fact, the dip stick has to be removed to get a spanner on the accumulator pressure release screw.

[XM v6 sadist]

Hi Masterclock

Definitely no dipstick on my XM gearbox - anywhere!

Cheers

Tony

[Masterclock]

Ah! Just looked up on the parts list, the dip stick was only fited to gearboxes on vehicles up to Orga 8200, i.e cars built up to 22nd April 1999.

[XM v6 sadist]

Hi Masterclock

I wasn't dreaming!

There is a hole where the dipstick probably was previously? I wonder if citroen changed the spec of the gearbox or it just amounted to the dipstick?

No XM ever seems to be completely identical to another!

Tony