As a newby to RRS ownership I would firstly like to thank all the advice on this forum that I have used to carry out a number of modifications and repairs

Having purchased the pan and oil to undertake the gearbox sump/filter change, I stripped off the shields to find myself with no access to four bolts on the pan, my L shaped T40 is not long enough to reach the heads between the crossmember and the pan and the T40 socket is too big to fit in the space. Does anyone know of a way to gain access to these bolts to remove the pan and also is there enough space between the pan and the crossmembers to remove/reinsert the new pan or should I just replace the oil?

As a side note the ZF8 has a thermostatic valve that needs to be a temp for it to open and be able to drain and replace the fluid.
I don't have the correct temp at hand but you will need someway of measuring the ATF temp whilst your doing the job.

I wouldn't both changing the pan and filter, just have the fluid mega-flushed. That way you change all of the oil not just a percentage of it. 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

Thanks, I knew about the required temp for filling to level but wasn't aware of this requirement for draining, so will research this before starting, I have a Topdon 600s OBD reader which allows access to live data so should be able to use this for both.

I probably should have stated the mileage is around 55k miles, as I know there's lots of debate around when the right time is to carry out the service, also i have no issues with the gearbox, just wanted to do a bit of preventative maintenance.

RRSTDV8 wrote:

I wouldn't both changing the pan and filter, just have the fluid mega-flushed. That way you change all of the oil not just a percentage of it.

55k miles is about spot on for mileage for the fluid change. Get it flushed, not just emptied and refilled. The empty/refill method doesn't change all of the oil even if you do it twice. The flush does.

Some suggest that the empty-refill method is ok because it refreshes the additives in the oil (the important bit), but a flush does that for all of the oil so why not do that instead? My SDV6 has been flushed twice and is now on 143k miles. Will probably get it done again at the next service. 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

ReluctantGardner wrote:

RRSTDV8 wrote:

I wouldn't both changing the pan and filter, just have the fluid mega-flushed. That way you change all of the oil not just a percentage of it.

Is there a way of emptying the torque converter, I seem to remember it involved starting the engine for 20 seconds during the drain down, although I wasn't sure about trying it if the gearbox was going to shriek and grind to a halt!

Again, a flush does this without the risk of killing your gearbox.  2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

Cheers, I'll look up Bodsy, I understand he's the man for this job