wots the easiest way to change a gearbox

[maroon]

i carnt make up my mind wether to take out the tunnel to take the box
out or leave the tunnel in and take the engine and box out from underneth

my scews in the floor where a bit of a pig to get in and to line up when
i put the car to gether 6 mts ago i have a set of ramps and a few jacks
all my water pipes are new with new clips and iv be thinking about it for
4 hrs now and still havent started yet i could of been finished by now if
if i could just make up my mind which way would you do it

[andrew.searston]

bit of a tough one
i would have said engine and box out together then take off the old gearbox with the engine out and replace the box. then stick it back in. easyer to take the rad and grill out. rather than lifting it out from the top.

[bmcecosse]

Why do you need the box out? If it's just clutch access you need - then take the engine out leaving the box in the car. If you are changing the box - take it out from below - but you don't need to take the floor out!

[maroon]

gearbox was grumballing so iv just rebuilt a sprite box to swop over
i thought that i had to take the floor out to get clearance do i just drop the back of the engine down when the crossmember is undun

[rayofleamington]

it's much easier if the floor is removed - this gives better access to remove the crossmember from the gearbox mountings and fully remove the crossmember.
When removing the box on its own you need to remove the cross member first to get enough 'wiggle room' on the gearbox.

However if you have lifting tackle, you can remove box with the engine - probably easier than doing the box on it's own (although i'm guessing as I've always done the box on its own).

[maroon]

iv got cross member off and a gap about 1 1/2 inches but it up against
the steering rack iv got the engine stedy off as well

[mike.perry]

I have replaced the gearbox cover plate screws with bolts. Much easier to spin off with a ratchet.
Personal preference is to split the engine and box and either lift the engine out vertically or the box out into the car or down into the pit. I don't want to disturb the hockey sticks and front panel bolts and there is not room in my garage to take the engine and box out forwards together.

Undo the engine mounting tower bolts and lift the engine enough to remove the towers. That should give enough room to pull the engine off the box.
To remove the box you need to pull it back off the locating lug and turn it 90deg. to clear the rack. the engine should be supported with a lift or a jack under the sump and the weight of the gear box should also be supported

[d_harris]

I'm a fan of engine and box out. It doesn't take long and imho its a lot safer than lying under a car with a heavy bit of metal waiting to fall on you!

Its 10 times easier to take the tunnel cover off to do this job mind you...

[MarkyB]

It's certainly worth having the floor up the first time you remove the cross member even if it's only to put some penetrating oil on the captive bolts.
If it hasn't been off for years and one of the captives makes a break for freedom they can sometimes be restrained with mole grips as tight as you can get them.

[rayofleamington]

iv got cross member off and a gap about 1 1/2 inches but it up against the steering rack

that's normal!
First thing to do is lower the engine until the heater valve touches the battery box - this gives a bit more clearance to the rack.
After that, rotate the box about 25 to 30 degrees so the top flange of the bellhousing comes below the steering rack (rotate so that starter hole goes lower)
After that it should just need brute force and ignorance to get it past clutch and steering rack, but if it refuses (it shouldn't) then remove heater valve from back of engine so you can lower engine a bit more at the rear.

[David53]

I reckon pull the engine and box together, much easier to mate up the new box out of the car. And sorry, but pull the floor up too - just makes it so much easier to get access to the crossmember