Gearbox help

[disco95]

G'day guys, I have encountered a problem which I think may be on the serious side. My opinion is that I will be needing to rebuild either my TC or Gearbox. Can anyone shed some light on what may be happening to Rosemary?
I hooked up the trailer and headed to Sydney to do some work in the old garage, I'd gotten about 1/2 an hr from home and when I changed down to third to slow down, there was a rather loud whining coming from the gearbox/transfer case area. It seemed to be there in all the gears but at its worst in third. To me it sounds like there's a bearing on its way out. I turned around and headed for home. The noise seemed to disappear and by the time I was half way home she sounded completely normal. When I got into my street I put her in low and drove her the rtest of the way home, just to see how she sounded, seemed completely normal.
Anyone shed some light on what's happening here?
Thanks in advance guys. :wink:

[Jojo]

Does she have a rather loud "clonk" when you let the clutch go during changing or driving off?
What car model and gera box is it anyway? The early R380 are famous for worn drive shafts and you'll find those in 1995 Discos.

[Michael2]

Diagnostic suggestion : in order of easiest least invasive procedures.

[1.1] Put T/case in neutral
[1.2] Start the car and work through the gears
[1.3] Listen for sound in any particular gear.
[1.4] put a stethoscope on the gear shift and listen again for more subtle sounds.
* if you don't have a stethoscope, get a rubber tube, and put a bolt in one end to pick up reverberations, then put the other end to your ear.

[1.5] breathe a sigh of relief if there are no adventitious sounds coming from the gearbox.

[1.6] listen to the transfer case with the stethoscope - do you hear anything untoward?
[1.7] jack the car, unless you have access to a dyno, and listen again with the t/case engaged. USE EXTREME CAUTION

[2.1] check the hand brake drum is it bent? is it secure? is it heat affected?
[2.2] check the hand brake adjustment, was it sticking?

[3.1] check the oil levels
[3.2] drain the oils
[3.3] look for discoloration
[3.4] look for metal fragments on the magnets

[4.1] wait for more informed suggestions from this forum, before pulling anything apart.

[sclarke]

Final note and this does work.....

Do you have it insured??
If not then insure it....
Wait 3 weeks then forget to brake at a set of lights.
If you get thru clear then drive home and tell the car you are sorry and you will fix it properly....

if you dont make it and you are above the car looking down at what seems to be your previous life then make sure Satan has my name as i will be visiting him for suggesting such a stupid idea.

[DEFENDERZOOK]

sounds like anti-Sydney syndrome......usually only suffered by the drivers...
this however may be a new strand and more contagious....



are you sure thats where the noise was coming from?

it wasnt the brakes or anything like that....?

was the hi lo gear engaged properly?

intermittent faults cannot be fixed cos you cant find them....wait till it breaks or does it constantly so you can diagnose it....

[disco95]

Thanks for the replies fellas,
Firstly: jojo, yes the "clonk" is there. That would be worn ouput shaft and input gear, this hasn't changed since I bought the vehicle. If I need to pull down the box I'll fix this at the same time.
Micheal2, These are good suggestions. I will be doing these things as of tonight to see if I can narrow it down some. It's definately not the brakes and shouldn't be the hand brake.
sclarke, This could be a last resort style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif
DZ, That was my first thought, but it seemed noisy going to work today, and before you say anything about not wanting to go to work, also on the way home. But less so.

[disco95]

Well, it appears that there is a bit of noise in 4th and 5th gear when the TC is in neutral. Sounds to me like buggered bearings :roll:

[one_iota]

How many "klicks" has the Disco done, Sean?

[disco95]

Originally posted by one_iota
How many "klicks" has the Disco done, Sean?

205 000km OI, so far it's had the brakes machined and a new clutch, all about 18 months ago.
Other than that she runs like a dream. I'm actually glad it went now, these things tend to happen around Xmas usually :roll:

[one_iota]

It is never desirable though style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif

Cousin John has a mate who is good with land rover gear boxes so he's going to have a look at mine soon. At 152,000 km I am getting nervous about taking mine on a long and strenuous trip.

Hope you find a relatively painless fix or inexpensive replacement.

[Pierre]

Mainshaft is supported in front input shaft in a pilot bearing. When the bearing suffers a 'critical incident' (perhaps hardening starts to let go) and starts to wear badly, gear running clearances open up and the gears start to whine and wear accelerates. Similarly, layshaft bearing wear and fifth (overdrive) gear whine are associated. But it sounds like your main drama is in the middle of the box, with third and fourth noisy.

Now, #3 son's Defender R380 has just been replaced; but before that, did 84000 km with the howl getting louder - not intrusive, but noticeable. And it has been mostly well laden, all over Kimberley, sand, mud, you name it.

Perhaps he was lucky - it held together.

Telltale signs 1. increasing noise, both bearing grumble and gear howl. 2. Unusual slime in gear oil, sort of silvery!! 3. Radio volume not enough to cover the problem. He had it all !

Check out the colour of the gearbox oil - and any contaminants therein.

Fix = out with the box and rebuild it.

HTH and good luck :-)

Pierre

[disco95]

From the sounds of things Pierre, mine should go the distance till I can fix it. OI, I dropped the gearbox when I did the clutch (twice) :oops: , that's never a painless exercise with a series 1 disco. At least, though, I know how to get to those top three bolts now :twisted: It won't take me a week to figure it out like the first time :roll:
LRH has found me a second hand box when his mate gets back to town, hopefully this will be at a good price, at least I'll be able to check out the cost of other options and go the most cost effective way. Tommorrow I'll have an idea of how much a reco box will set me back. By the end of the week I'll know the cost of parts to rebuild, then with a bit of luck a week or so later it should be done.

[Michael2]

All I can say after my recent LT77 saga is that I think you're better of repairing than replacing with 2nd hand.

Parts may cost you as much as a 2nd hand box, but at least it's a known quantity. Reco boxes were about $2,500 when I priced them.

I spoke to the manager at Penrite today, he said the synthetic ATF would handle heat better and perform better than the light gear oil. Just so you can think about how to best preserve your newly reconditioned gearbox :wink:

If it's just bearings and your mainshaft is OK it should be a reasonably cheap job. I hope it's a cheap fix - for your sake.

If it's not a cheap fix, get an American Express card, they offer double rewards points, then you can at least have a holiday on the rewards points, because you won't be able to afford one otherwise.

[disco95]

I've been informed by TR spares that a reco box should be between $1600 and $1800. The second hand box has only done about 20 000 kms, so that will most likely be OK.
If it's inly bearings I'll be very happy as with the new input gear and output shaft it should be reasonably cheap.

[disco95]

Well it appears that a reco on my own box will cost me $1200. That's not too bad, I'll have to wait and see what the parts will cost and what LRH's mate will want for his box yet. Looks like we're off to a good start though. style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif

[disco95]

Woo Hoo, bearings and seals will only set me back $371 When I pull the box down this weekend I'll know if I need anythig else.
On a sadder note though, Rosemary died this morning, just got me into work and there she stays :cry:

[Ace]

When is the funeral Sean? style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif

At least now you know its done and it shouldnt be a problem. Matt

[disco95]

She's not dead yet Matt, We can rebuild her, we have the technology, better, stronger, faster, (but probably no more fuel efficient :x ) than she was bafore. nananananana(picture the bionic disco)

[disco95]

Well, good news. Rosemary's gearbox is fine.
Bad news, the TC is stuffed. Pulled it out today, will pull it down tomorrow and see what the damage is.

[DEFENDERZOOK]

Originally posted by disco95
Woo Hoo, bearings and seals will only set me back $371 When I pull the box down this weekend I'll know if I need anythig else.
On a sadder note though, Rosemary died this morning, just got me into work and there she stays :cry:


where are you getting bearings and seals from?

a bearing place or land rover?

[disco95]

G'day DZ, that's the price from TR spares in Faiford. All Original Equipment. They import from the UK, best prices I've found anywhere.