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Reply to "ZF Check Oil Level"

Judge, the little ZF dipstick seems to be an early-Pantera-only attachment. One can be made for any ZF from a metric thread 90 degree fitting as I did, with an extension so filling & oil level checks can be conveniently done from above without a mess. Be sure to include a threaded cap, as things expand with heat and we know the ZfFwill get to at least 180-200F in hard 'street' driving. A cap prevents a gusher while driving.

I've also seen a few longer "stock?" dipsticks on early cars that use a drilled fitting in the top right-rear gearbox case, in that curiously flat-rectangular area on the right side. If you do this (or have it done), make extremely sure that any drill chips do NOT drop into the gearbox. They will jam up the shifter. Hole placement is also critical since there's not a lot of extra space inside any ZF. Drilling might better be done on a disassembled gear-case.

As far as the exact amount of lube needed, there are three numbers: the published one(s) are for dry, recently rebuilt ZFs, (early dash-1.5  ZFs hold less lube in their smaller cases than dash-2s). And in draining any ZF from the provided plugs, it is impossible to remove ALL the lube inside. I've had ZFs out of the car, the bottom cover removed and the ZF inverted over a bucket overnight. Still, quite a bit of lube hits the floor when you split the cases. So refills on assemblies always vary,  but a little too much is far preferable to too little!

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