Spyder 250 (GK-29) Reverse Gearbox oil?

Posts: 166

I am hoping someone can help me out here. I have a spyder 250 from awesomebuggys. It has an external reverse gearbox assembly. I have included pictures below.

On the bottom of the gearbox there is a nut, with a copper washer, which appears to me to be a drain nut. There is another nut higher on the body of the gearbox which also has a copper washer, which I would logically assume is a fill nut, as it is holding nothing in place.

I was going to change the gear oil in the box, but when I took out the bottom nut, nothing came out. So now I am scared to add oil, if its not supposed to be there.

I can call awesomebuggys on tuesday and find out for sure, but I just thought if someone here knows the answer, do I put gear oil in the reverse gear box, or not? If so, do I put a little in the bottom, or fill it to what appears to be the fill nut 3/4 of the way up the body of the box?

Here is a picture of the gearbox off the web. I can post pictures of the bolts in question, if needed.

Does anyone know for sure?

Thanks!

Posts: 1007

yes that gear box should have some gear oil in it.
so when you pulled the bottom plug no oil came out of it. can you see or put your finger back in the hole to see if that is the wright one.
can you take out the top plug and use your little finger to check oil level like a rear end housing or transfer case on a four wheel drive.
surely they wouldn't have shipped that from the factory with a dry gearbox,thats definitely something that needs looking into.
pud

Posts: 166

Pud,

Thanks for the reply. I have included a couple of pictures of the reverse gearbox as it sits in the buggy. The second picture shows the drain bolt. You can kind of see that it has a copper washer (all the drain /fill bolts on the engine have copper washers)

This is the nut I took off. NOTHING CAME OUT AT ALL. I can take it back off and stick a pipecleaner in there or something to poke around, if needed.

The first pic shows the other bolt with a copper washer, which I assume is the FILL BOLT, since it also doesn't hold anything. My question then is, do I fill this thing all the way to the level of that fill bolt? Or do I put a certain amount in the bottom? I f I fill to the level of the fill bolt, the oil level would be above the tops of the output gearshafts and bearings, and the reverse/forward shifter lever. Can that be right?

So the question then is, how much gear oil do I add? Shocked

Posts: 1007

yep those do look like the drain and fill bolt.
the top one fill bolt, i would fill it until oil starts to run out and then quit and put the bolt back in.
thats the way i have always done rearend housings and transfer cases, its always worked well for me.these buggys don't run as fast as a vehicle Very Happy

pud

Posts: 166

Thanks, Pud. This is what I was thinking too, but I freaked when nothing came out! Shocked

I can't imagine not having any oil at all in there. Fortunately we really haven't had a chance to run the buggy hard or long yet, so hopefully no damage has been done.

I certainly appreciate your input!

Posts: 1007

no problem dfwright i hope everything will be ok.
not trying to start any trouble or anything like that but i think i would get ahold of your dealer and let them know what has happened.maybe if there is any trouble with it down the road they will replace it and look into things like this happening
just my thoughts
pud

Posts: 166

I plan to call awesomebuggys on Tuesday just to verify the details , and I will ask them about it then. It was probably just and oversight from the factory.

I've looked through my "extensive" Rolling Eyes

documentation, and the reverse box is never mentioned at all.

Even if they just add something about checking the levels of gear oil in the CVT and the reverse gearbox, and how to do it, would be a very good idea.