Thread: Lost 6th gear, gearbox rebuild coming soon

Sounds like your 6th is capoot. The gears are heat welded to the shaft and need a big arse press to fit. However not sure about 6th (i lost 3rd so it was a full strip down).

How long? All depends on the motivation of your mechanic. I bought a spare box because my mechanic was not motivated and took 6 months to do it (which reflected in the price i paid). If you were closer i'd unashamedly try to sell you my spare box (has 170,000 kms on it and working when came out of the car).

You can buy a new unit from Ashcrofts in the UK. I've been told that with a new clutch there is not much change from $6k fitted. If you do go for a rebuild, insist on LR (UK made) genuine bearings. Lots of chinese made bearings out there and the suppliers will unashamedly send chinese made even if you request LR genuine bearings.

The Ranger and Transit box has a different rear casing to the LR unit (which is a shame because sourcing a Ford unit could be cheaper due to volume).

Sorry for your loss.

Thanks for the reply, hopefully it doesn’t take that long for mine.
I’ve found three options so far.
Get the box rebuilt locally.
Drop in a recond box from the East Coast.
Recond box from Ashcroft’s.
Hoping to find the balance between time and money...

If time permits i would get your box dismantled and see what has gone wrong. The rest of the box may be ok if you get to it early enough.
I found gear boxes online have a great range of gearbox bits and should have parts the 6 speed.

Ian
Bittern

If the gear broke the box will br full of metal filings by now. All the bearings will need replacing for a start. Other gears may not be damaged unless the broken bits got caught up in the teeth. You will also probably need to replace synchros as well as the metal will act like sandpaper on the brass. Recond box will be the best option IMHO. At least u get warranty as well.

So Silas, what did you end up doing with your gearbox, and what sort of $$$s were involved ?
My 2008 Puma with 130K km's gearbox 6th gear is making plenty noise and vibrations.

Not been using my Defender much in the current environment and when I do just not going into 6th.

Still doing some fault finding but starting to look at options.