My 1976 Rover P6 3500 developed a whining noise from the BW65 automatic box a few months back and the fluid became very dirty. I bought another box off Ebay and have just fitted it, but there are no forward gears working.
Reading the manuals suggests problems with the front clutch not working. Any suggestions if this can be fixed without removing the box, or if there is something obvious I've missed while putting it back together (eg band adjustments or fluid levels?)
Mike
The box has to be removed. You say no forward gears so I assume reverse works? If so, this confirms the pump is working.
It really is best to strip down the box totally and check/replace all the wearing parts and seals. Also pay attention to the diaphragm springs in the clutches - I'd replace these too as a matter of course. And if the gearbox has failed in any way the torque convertor will need replacing and the fluid cooler and pipes in the rad flushed through.
It does have reverse gear.
I now know that stripping and rebuilding is the best solution (I have perfect
20/20 hindsight!), but I was after a quick/cheap fix. I now have a car that can't get back into the garage and onto the ramps under its own power! Are there any adjustments that could fix it (even temporarily) to allow it to move forwards.The annoying thing is that apart from the whining, the original box worked fine. I've started stripping the original box, haven't found anything obviously wrong yet so hopefully this will go back together and work fine and I can overhaul the second box at my leisure.
Mike
It sounds like you have total failure of the front clutch, and it's not really possible to get the vehicle to start in top gear to allow it to move - after a fashion.
It's very difficult to 'see' things like worn and leaking seals, etc. A failed pump may be obvious as is a broken diagphram spring in a clutch. Worn friction parts are more difficult. That's why reconditioning involves replacement of all the wearing parts, as the labour involved well exceeds the cost of the bits.
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