Building Discovery 2

[Oflorica]

Mechanical rebuilt

[Oflorica]

Any tips welcome - I just removed the old transmission and ready to install new;

[Bohica]

Mechanical rebuilt
Any chance you could provide na bit more detail?

[Oflorica]

Yesterday I mounted the gearbox by myself and it is a hell of job to do it without help; I first installed the torque converter and lined it up with the pump teeth to the best of my ability; then the gearbox went in quite easily however, the last 6-7mm I pulled together by screwing the bell house bolts - it did make 187317a pop sound at this stage and then went in all the way without any difficulty; I am a bit worried about the “pop”; could I have broken the teeth or did they just slipped in the converter slots? I asked Dave Ashcroft who did my transmission and he suggested to take the gearbox out and inspect the pump teeth; that is quite a thing to do again by myself.
Does anyone have a suggestion as what damage I could have done and if breaking the teeth would jam the gearbox or would still allow it to come easily together? I am looking for reasons not to take it out again but I have a feel that I will have to anyway.
your thoughts are welcome

[Oflorica]

The rear axle is now complete, I only need to add oil; I had two issues - the 2.5” lift springs seem to be too short and I had to install dislocation cones and the sway bar disconnect are too long and I wonder if need to install bigger bump stops
187318

[Slunnie]

Yesterday I mounted the gearbox by myself and it is a hell of job to do it without help; I first installed the torque converter and lined it up with the pump teeth to the best of my ability; then the gearbox went in quite easily however, the last 6-7mm I pulled together by screwing the bell house bolts - it did make 187317a pop sound at this stage and then went in all the way without any difficulty; I am a bit worried about the “pop”; could I have broken the teeth or did they just slipped in the converter slots? I asked Dave Ashcroft who did my transmission and he suggested to take the gearbox out and inspect the pump teeth; that is quite a thing to do again by myself.
Does anyone have a suggestion as what damage I could have done and if breaking the teeth would jam the gearbox or would still allow it to come easily together? I am looking for reasons not to take it out again but I have a feel that I will have to anyway.
your thoughts are welcome

I don't have an answer, but the torque converter sounds like it wasn't fitted all the way down. It doesn't just slide on and then you're done, it drops down twice if I remember correctly. If it hasn't seated all the way down and you do it up on the bolts when fitting the transmission then it will break the pump. I'd be doing as Dave said.

[Oflorica]

I don't have an answer, but the torque converter sounds like it wasn't fitted all the way down. It doesn't just slide on and then you're done, it drops down twice if I remember correctly. If it hasn't seated all the way down and you do it up on the bolts when fitting the transmission then it will break the pump. I'd be doing as Dave said.
Thx for advice. That could have already happened and it is good to check it now. In hindsight one would mount the converter to the the gearbox and install it together?

[Tins]

I don't have an answer, but the torque converter sounds like it wasn't fitted all the way down. It doesn't just slide on and then you're done, it drops down twice if I remember correctly. If it hasn't seated all the way down and you do it up on the bolts when fitting the transmission then it will break the pump. I'd be doing as Dave said.

Agreed. The best case scenario here would be no drive. I feel your pain, they are a pig to do on your own, and at my age I doubt I could do it again.

[Tins]

Thx for advice. That could have already happened and it is good to check it now. In hindsight one would mount the converter to the the gearbox and install it together?

That is the only way, really. You will find that access to the bolts is a right **** though. You will need a long, slim spanner and a large swear tin.

[Oflorica]

That is the only way, really. You will find that access to the bolts is a right **** though. You will need a long, slim spanner and a large swear tin.
They are a long way

[Oflorica]

Agreed. The best case scenario here would be no drive. I feel your pain, they are a pig to do on your own, and at my age I doubt I could do it again.
I wasn’t going to do this but if I take the gearbox down again, there was some oil in the old bellhouse, not a lot but enough; should I replace the seals in the engine or leave it for another time; I am already there with the oil sump down.

[Tins]

I wasn’t going to do this but if I take the gearbox down again, there was some oil in the old bellhouse, not a lot but enough; should I replace the seals in the engine or leave it for another time; I am already there with the oil sump down.

I didn't with mine. It hardly leaks. In my case though it is an issue with a RWC. What I would consider is the flex plate. They have a tendency to crack and eventually fail. I got an upgraded one. I couldn't really afford it at the time ( long story ) but I did not want to take the bloody thing out again.

I look at it this way. Mine was off the road for quite a long time ( another long story ). I almost gave up and sold it. But the PITA is now mostly forgotten but the car is not. I reckon a D2 is worth a few swear words now and then.

[350RRC]

Yesterday I mounted the gearbox by myself and it is a hell of job to do it without help; I first installed the torque converter and lined it up with the pump teeth to the best of my ability; then the gearbox went in quite easily however, the last 6-7mm I pulled together by screwing the bell house bolts

From memory I did mine by installing the TC in the auto with the auto upright on its tail end. (Ford C9 with a custom TC).

It took awhile but I could tell it was truly seated and engaged with the ears on the pump because it drops down maybe 10mm in a very definite manner..

I was warned about this very issue by the guy who built the TC. He also said there should be about 1 to 2mm clearance between the TC and the flex plate mounting surface when the auto was flush with the adaptor plate on the back of the motor and the bolt holes lined up and bolts screwed in loosely as guides. He was spot on.

This was valuable information for someone who'd never done this before.

In your case I'd be pulling it out and checking the pump.

Good luck with it! DL

[Tins]

I did mine that way sort of, but used a bit of that packing stuff to hold it in place until it was nearly fully home, across the face of the bellhousing.

[350RRC]

I did mine that way sort of, but used a bit of that packing stuff to hold it in place until it was nearly fully home, across the face of the bellhousing.

I can't remember how the fully seated TC was held in place in the auto to go from vertical to horizontal, but you're right............ it needs to be done and whatever gets used needs to be gotten out when the auto and motor are nearly one.

[Slunnie]

From memory I did mine by installing the TC in the auto with the auto upright on its tail end. (Ford C9 with a custom TC).

It took awhile but I could tell it was truly seated and engaged with the ears on the pump because it drops down maybe 10mm in a very definite manner..

I was warned about this very issue by the guy who built the TC. He also said there should be about 1 to 2mm clearance between the TC and the flex plate mounting surface when the auto was flush with the adaptor plate on the back of the motor and the bolt holes lined up and bolts screwed in loosely as guides. He was spot on.

This was valuable information for someone who'd never done this before.

In your case I'd be pulling it out and checking the pump.

Good luck with it! DL

Totally, this is the same with the ZF also. Even though it comes apart with the TC on the Flex plate, when it is reinstalled you have to do it the same way as you've described with the C9 and seat the TC onto the gearbox and then install the gearbox onto the motor.

[Reddirt204]

I wasn’t going to do this but if I take the gearbox down again, there was some oil in the old bellhouse, not a lot but enough; should I replace the seals in the engine or leave it for another time; I am already there with the oil sump down.

When I had to replace my trans earlier in the year, while I was there I also replaced the rear engine seal and sump gasket (checked the oil pump bolt as well) I also replaced the input and output seals on the trans, plus the input and output seals on the transfer case. Wasn't a huge expense and much easier while most of the bits are out of the vehicle. Currently I have an almost leak free Landy !!! the only thing I didn't get to was the fuel pressure regulator (FPR) but it is on the hit list over the next few months.
As others have said, making sure the convertor is sitting correctly before bolting up the housing is critical, you can use a straight edge to check the clearance's, as said about 1-2mm is the needed gap. I held the convertor in place with wire tied across the housing but being careful you can get away without it.

My D2 was of the road for nearly 7 months all up, but now its up and running again all is forgiven.. Currently I am doing about 500-600km per week with it and so far hasn't missed a beat

cheers

Redd

[discorevy]

Yesterday I mounted the gearbox by myself and it is a hell of job to do it without help; I first installed the torque converter and lined it up with the pump teeth to the best of my ability; then the gearbox went in quite easily however, the last 6-7mm I pulled together by screwing the bell house bolts - it did make 187317a pop sound at this stage and then went in all the way without any difficulty; I am a bit worried about the “pop”; could I have broken the teeth or did they just slipped in the converter slots? I asked Dave Ashcroft who did my transmission and he suggested to take the gearbox out and inspect the pump teeth; that is quite a thing to do again by myself.
Does anyone have a suggestion as what damage I could have done and if breaking the teeth would jam the gearbox or would still allow it to come easily together? I am looking for reasons not to take it out again but I have a feel that I will have to anyway.
your thoughts are welcome


Bugger, unfortunately you will need to pull the trans again to check / replace broken bits.

Yes to doing the rear main, if it was a TD5 I'd probably say don't bother, but as yours appears to be V8 then it's worth doing, also check the crankshaft end float while you are there.

Measure the stack height ( distance between the Torque converter mounting bolt flange face and the bell housing mounting surface ) before fitting to the engine, on the V8's it's around 73 or 74 mm ( check that as I can't remember the exact figure )

You can use a couple of bell housing bolts as a guide to help get the trans lined up and home ( and to stop it falling out on to your head) but only finger tight.

When fitting it up next time, make sure the gap between bell housing and block is even all the way round, this should lead to a satisfying thunk when it glides home, then you can do a couple of bolts up and check for a 1-2mm gap between flex plate and torque converter.

Cheers

[Tins]

Bugger, unfortunately you will need to pull the trans again to check / replace broken bits.

Yes to doing the rear main, if it was a TD5 I'd probably say don't bother, but as yours appears to be V8 then it's worth doing, also check the crankshaft end float while you are there.

Measure the stack height ( distance between the Torque converter mounting bolt flange face and the bell housing mounting surface ) before fitting to the engine, on the V8's it's around 73 or 74 mm ( check that as I can't remember the exact figure )

You can use a couple of bell housing bolts as a guide to help get the trans lined up and home ( and to stop it falling out on to your head) but only finger tight.

When fitting it up next time, make sure the gap between bell housing and block is even all the way round, this should lead to a satisfying thunk when it glides home, then you can do a couple of bolts up and check for a 1-2mm gap between flex plate and torque converter.

Cheers

Missed that. I. assumed TD5

[discorevy]

Missed that. I. assumed TD5

To be fair, most would've, it's probably a sign that I've seen too many..... Not fast red ones though.

[Oflorica]

After some time took the gearbox down, no damage and today mange with some hard work and a few scratches to install everything back.
Now, I did make a silly mistake and broke a perfectly good gearbox shifter gaiter thinking I can replace it with a new one. However, it seems that there is nowhere in the world to buy one. Does anybody have one for sale?

[Oflorica]

Also changed the engine and gearbox mounts and a new genuine engine sump.
another question - I installed an oem water pump; I have an oem radiator and a Nissan condenser; does anybody know where I could get these as genuine new parts? And also, a genuine steering pump and master cylinder?