Does anyone know which bearings are likely to die first in one of these gearboxes? Mine was working fine about two weeks ago but has rapidly gotten worse and makes horrendous noises when being driven. There is also gear oil splashed all over the engine bay (well, one side anyway) and there doesn't seem to be much drive when in reverse - just a lot of shuddering and a burning smell!
Darren
consider finding another box. they're not hard to come by. only problem is. will it be any better.
not the best of boxes are they. i've had 3 rovers now all with that box. all have given me trouble. i just replace the box.
Rob
That was my preferred choice, but scrapyards around me want £150+ for one and won't give anything more than 30 day warranty! I bought one from eBay but although it's the PG1 it is different to those fitted to the 600 series (which had hydraulic clutch instead of cable operated) - unfortunately you can't convert a standard one to this as the casing is physically different.
Darren
unfortunately you
Looks like I was wrong - the release arm is different but that seems to be about it. However the gearbox on my car is the uprated version whereas the new one isn't so I can't swap the shafts, etc. over.
Darren
i've found that putting them in, dong alot of miles (at extra cost of course) is the onyl wa you can really get an idea.
Alot of the time you'll notice problems straight away. and if you do.. its time to take it back. (not like fitting a number plate light tho are they.
Rob
Again I was wrong! The replacement gearbox is also the uprated version (240Nm compared to 216Nm torque rating). You can tell because it has the letter "U" in the serial number.
However I've now removed my original gearbox and opened it up - it's full of swarf where the diff bearing cage collapsed and all the innards have been thrown around the gearbox and mashed up in the teeth. A good few teeth on the final drive pinion and gear ring are chewed up or broken off too so it'll need a new gear ring and output shaft plus lots of dismantling and cleaning to get all the swarf (looks like wire wool but thicker!) out of the nooks and crannies. I also can't get the diff to come out the larger casing half, even with 'persuasion' from a large mallet. Suffice to say, I think it's scrap!
The good news is that I could transfer the release arm from the original gearbox to the replacement so that should sort out the clutch issue. Also the replacement gearbox is from a newer car with considerably less mileage than my own. The bad news is that I've already taken it apart so I need to find some RTV sealant to put it back together, I think it'll be slightly higher geared than the original (at least I should get more mpg cruising) and I won't know if the speedo drive gear is the same until I refit it all. To make matters worse I put a slightly too long bolt into the interlock mechanism and it's sheared off just below the shoulder. I've no idea how I can extract the bit that's in the case but I could probably get away without bothering (another two bolts hold it down anyway) and as the car only has to last a year or so I think it'll manage.
I'll take some photos of the mangled gearbox when I get chance, as a warning of how much damage bearing failure can cause!
Darren
Well I've finally done it - the replacement gearbox is all back together with Uniprat RTV sealant (£4.99), two new driveshaft seals (£14 for the pair), and 2.5lt of MTF94 (£18!). I've also put the gearbox back on (with the original clutch - replacements are about £70) and got the car almost fully reassembled - all that's left to do is the under panels.
As I suspected, the gearbox does feel to be geared higher than the original, though it does about 2000rpm at 30 in 3rd gear which I think is about right anyway. Of course, the acceleration is slightly worse, though not as lethargic as I expected. As an added bonus, the speed sender unit has bolted straight on and works fine, though of course I don't know if it's accurate or not...
So all's well that end well then, eh? Ummm....not quite. To get the gearbox on and off I had to remove the LH tie rod from the car - this is a sod in itself as you can't get a socket or ratchet on to it without either removing the front bumper, or (as I did) dropping the front crossmember a few inches, and the other end isn't much easier. Unfortunately I managed to strip the thread when I put the nut back on the front of the rod, though as there is the anti-roll bar I didn't consider it crucial at the time (after all, Sierras used just a roll bar with no tie rod).
Well tonight during the test run of the car I braked reasonably firmly to clean the surface rust of the brake discs - there was a bang from the front, a faint ping and the car lurched to the left! What had happened is that the nut had been pulled off the end of the tie rod whilst braking and the road wheel was now trying to move rearwards of where it should be. Thankfully the roll bar stopped it from moving too far, but now every time I brake the car pulls to the left. I think I'll need to go to the scrapyard tomorrow and either get a new rod, or a nut, depending on which one has stripped.
At the moment I've parked the car on the driveway so that in the morning I can check for leaking gear oil.
Darren
i think someone on rovertech rebuilds them with new bearings etc
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