noisy gear box

[nezza]

hi all,took my minor in for mot ,first time I had drove it since restoring it and found the gear box was very noisy in 2nd and 3rd gear,is it time for a new box,by the way it passed with no advisorys ,very happy owner.

[katy]

Did you remember to fill the box w/the correct oil?

[PSL184]

Probably needs filling with oil. Its a good idea to drain out the old smelly stuff and fill with fresh ENGINE oil NOT gear oil....

[bmcecosse]

Well done on the MOT!

[nezza]

hi,yes drained old oil and filled with engine oil ,4th gear is fine but lacks power in 2nd and 3rd and is quite whiney in those 2 gears.

[bmcecosse]

Oh - that's quite normal for a Minor............. If it's whining badly - the lay shaft and the bearings will be worn - the intermediate gears are affected as the laygear runs slightly out of mesh. But in top gear it's a straight through drive - so the lay gear and it's shaft are not carrying any load. Start looking for another gearbox!

[nezza]

thank you for your help ,would it be easier to take engine out to change gearbox or can you take it out from inside car.

[alex_holden]

It depends. If you have an engine crane available it is probably easiest to take the front panel off and lift both engine and box out as a single lump. If you have a pit or lift but no engine crane it may be easier to remove the gearbox cover and drop the box out from underneath, leaving the engine in place. It might just be possible to lift the gearbox out through the floor but I've not tried it (I know somebody with a 948 car who had to do that because his car's gearbox crossmember is welded to the chassis rails).

[nezza]

on second thoughts I think I will take engine and box out cos I will be able to check condition of clutch etc and less scrambling under car ,thanks for all your help ,appreciated.

[bmcecosse]

Working under the car - doing the gearbox, is a very difficult operation - especially when try to get it back in!

[nezza]

yes I thought about that and not being as young as I used to be and no help it is the obvious solution.will try and put some photos up as I go along.

[billlobban]

I noticed on a Midget website they were advocating using STP (engine not gearbox type) never used the stuff myself but if your box is bad it might be worth a try

[bmcecosse]

Can't see that helping the syncromesh any! It relies on friction to work.

[billlobban]

Dont think they were worried about the effect on the syncromesh - more the wear in the bearings and layshaft but as I said I've never tried it I thought they were all noisey in intermediate gears.

[nezza]

managed to get a gearbox ,is there any difference in the colour the one I got is gold colour. I would of tried the stp but the noise really is bad and still noisy on tickover.

[bmcecosse]

Well that's a 'gold seal' reconditioned box (but when!) from the BMC factory - although I suspect they had sub contractors actually doing the work. Therefore - it should have a good chance of being good! take the side cover off and look inside - inspect the little 'dog' teeth on the syncro hubs - and the 1st gear section of the laygear. Should look like this.[frame][/frame]

In this pic - the dog teeth on 2nd gear (left) are the same unworn condition as the dog teeth on 3rd (centre) and 4th gear (right) - and 4th gear 'never' wears - so it's condition is a guide to the others. Also to extreme left and low can just be seen the 1st gear teeth on the laygear - unworn/unchipped - and none missing! The actual 1st gear is hidden inside the selector fork - so sadly can't be inspected.

[nezza]

cheers, will check that tomorrow befor going any further.