Gearbox noise

Post by **southerly95** » Sat Oct 24, 2009 12:26 pm

Hi all - my daughters 1968 Traveller has developed a noise in 1st gear. I've heard the noise many times before on MM's and the noise sounds like the gear is grating on something as it turns and drives noisily up the road. It onlt happens in 1st. Difficult to describe it otherwise - question is which part(s) are likely to be worn to cause this please, many thanks, John

Post by **bmcecosse** » Sat Oct 24, 2009 1:01 pm

First check - is there any oil in the box! ?
First gear is always noisy - it's straight cut - but the teeth can become chipped/broken - does it sound like a tooth may be missing - ie periodic 'clunk' as it drives along ?
As long as it's driving - and also in reverse - without 'jumping out' - you can safely continue to use - but do suggest minimal use. ie Just get the car rolling then into 2nd gear asap.
To fix it properly will mean a complete strip and rebuild - expensive! May be a good idea to start looking for a spare. Is it a 948 or a 1098 ??

Post by **southerly95** » Sat Oct 24, 2009 1:51 pm

Thanks for reply - it's a 1098 and it does sound like a chipped tooth given that the noise is relative to car speed so could be layshaft or first gear. Yes oil is at correct level and no other problems so I guess that at 117k lucky it's lasted that long.

Post by **bmcecosse** » Sat Oct 24, 2009 4:40 pm

Obviously - the laygear is very small diameter - so the teeth come round much more frequently than on 1st gear. If it's missing a tooth altogether - the the teeth either side will be taking extra shock load each time the gap comes round. You could try looking in the side cover - but it's hard to see the laygear - and 1st gear is well covered by the selector.<br>

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You can 'just' see the straight cut teeth on the laygear in the bottom left of the pic. If the selector is pulled to the right - into second gear - the teeth on the laygear should become much more visible.

Post by **mike.perry** » Sat Oct 24, 2009 5:14 pm

In simple terms the box is on its way out so drive gently in 1st and change up to 2nd as soon as possible, and keep a lookout for another box.