Thread: Clunky Puma Gearbox

How you drive them makes a big difference too... If you try for fast changes, you'll find it clunky. Take your time with the changes, you'll find it a lot smoother.

The Defender isn't built for speed...

M

Also - the box gets better with a few thousand KMs on it, but yeah - it's not a racing box, it's a truck.

Heaps better after a few 1000k, a pig when cold but if you take your time it's fine. As all say, it's not a racing box.

I can drive mine with virtually no noise at gear changes.. but put someone else behind the wheel and it's a clunking all over the place..

As camel_landy said, a lot of it is how you drive it and you do get used to the gear box quickly...

Mrs Spud, who normally drives an automatic, can really murder the PUMA gearbox

Mine has 60k on it and third has started to develop a definite clunk into 3rd. It's not all the time and quite often noticed more with a slower than normal change. It doexnt make any noise, but you feel the selectors clunking into place. Ocassionally it gets a bit tight going into third as well.
You do need to have the clutch all the way down otherwise it doesn't chage well.

Originally Posted by newhue

Mine has 60k on it and third has started to develop a definite clunk into 3rd. It's not all the time and quite often noticed more with a slower than normal change. It doexnt make any noise, but you feel the selectors clunking into place. Ocassionally it gets a bit tight going into third as well.
You do need to have the clutch all the way down otherwise it doesn't chage well.

Is there any sign of a rusty coloured stain coming out of the hole in the bottom of the gearbox extension housing, (before the transfer box)? If there is I would seriously recommend getting the splines on the output shaft of the gearbox inspected.

Cheers,

Tim

With just a few of thousand on the clock the Puma is settling in nicely-
I agree that leisurely gear changes help.

As somebody wrote on here a little while back, a Puma gear change is actually two moves. First, a deliberate shift to neutral and then a move into your selected gear.

Great advice, and when you get used to it, very little clunking on gear change. Don't worry about all the leadfoots in their oriental bubblecars behind you. Nice and slow does the trick...

cheers

Alan