(T) Selespeed gearbox has a dipstick?!

In response to a recent topic about gearbox oil and a helpful post by PNL (of course) to an online source of the ePer, I searched around for where to find the gearbox fill and drain plugs for the Selespeed-gearbox (Abarth). Original handbook of course makes no mention of this, because it seems to give the impression that only the Selespeed oil (hydraulic, see below) has to be topped up.

I found http://www.spangerum.com:7080/navi?C...=3&WINDOW_ID=1

I was really excited to see that there appears to be a dipstick? Like the old Croma and the Lancia Beta long before it. I like the idea of actually being able to check the level easily, before synchros and bearings wear out (or the diff explodes).

Note that this NOT the tank on top that holds basically standard ATF (Dexron-III) 'CS Speed' oil. That oil is for the hydraulic actuation and I've been told never to touch it. Apparently if you get the slightest bit of dirt in there, the pump 'takes a dump', as our American friends would say (if they had Selespeed, of course).

Underneath all the Selespeed glory, there lurks a standard manual gearbox. And so I would like to change the gearbox oil at four-five year intervals, since it is probably an EP oil (most FIATs are since the Tipo) and hence, along with a bad smell, they have that black sludgy residue which forms over time.

If it's like the old-Croma box, it appears that plug 10 and plug 5 both come out to drain the oil (one underneath the box near the middle, one smaller plug behind the diff). The old-Croma box had a fill hole near the bellhousing at the front. Alternatively, a small plastic funnel could be used to fill through the dipstick hole - but this was a bit slow!

It's surprising to see that a design may have been re-cycled from 1987 (when it was, in turn, recycled from the 70's), but if it brings the gearbox dipstick back, that's probably a good thing

If anyone's actually done any of this, please speak up

Cheers,
-Alex