Morris Minor Owners Club

Well,
Some of you may remember the "Goldseal" gearbox I got from eBay recently.
Firstly, is there any sure-fire way of knowing it's a bona-fide Goldseal unit, and secondly before I attempt to fit it are there any points I should pay particular attention to or any checks I can make to avoid trouble further down the line?
I've ordered a new clutch from ESM to put in at the same time.

A basic check I'd reccommend (having had to refit my Sprite's gearbox after 'finishing' the rebuild) is to fit the gear lever and see if you can select each of the gears. That's each of them individually, not 1st and 3rd at the same time as I managed to do!

is there any sure-fire way of knowing it's a bona-fide Goldseal unit,

Not without a receipt.
The other thing to change at the same time is the bearing that the input shaft goes inot the are only a couple of pounds and are often overlooked and make sure the gearbox runs in correct alignment and extent the life of gearbox components. I think its correct name is a Spigot Bearing Bush part no 10m131on the ESM site.

while the gearbox is out you can remove the inspection cover on the side and check how clean everything is in there. You can inspect the wear on the gear teath, every thing should look nice and clean, no rust on anything, (that would mean that it has been standing around for a while without any oil in it, rust takes away the hardness on the teeth). you can see wear on selecta shafts and forks. the input shaft should not wobble to much, .5mm at the end would mean a new bearing has been fitted on that shaft, any more then the bearing my not have been changed. the output shaft should have a new oil seal fitted on the end of the casing. with the gearstick in check that it goes into gear firmly, especially second, and the stick has very limited free play back and forth. gold seal things came with paperwork. needle rollers should be change on the layshaft but, we cant check with out a stripdown, when these are replaced there will be no whine>>>>ing sound in 1,2 and 3. dont forget to fit a new spiggot bush in the flywheel, it give support to the inputshaft and helps the bearing.

Kevin,
Is this spigot bearing bush easy to change?

YES, you can use the clever method of filling it with oil and inserting
a reasonably close fitting piece of rod which you then hit sharply with
a hammer! The hydraulic effect usually pushes the bearing out.
Or you can carefully break the bearing by tapping the edges with a
screwdriver! It is made of Phospher Bronze which is very easy to
break up.

I thought you should use greas, not oil! (although I've never done it that way yet, but oil sounds more like a recipe for interesting stains on the floor and ceiling and clothes ;-) )

Last time I did it was with a bit of grease and an old input shaft.

I imagine the main clue is - is it painted GOLD ??

Yes surely only people who repair gearboxes can get hold of gold paint!

Yes surely only people who repair gearboxes can get hold of gold paint!

Only BMC would be daft enough to repair their faulty parts and then paint them gold.
It obviously works though! If I had a pund for every time I've notice people go wide eyed over the dodgy goldseal units I'd have quite a few pounds...

Have a butcher's..........

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... %3AIT&rd=1