Thread: Building Discovery 2

Originally Posted by Oflorica

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.

Originally Posted by 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

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

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.

Originally Posted by 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.

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.

Originally Posted by 350RRC

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.

Originally Posted by Oflorica

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

Originally Posted by 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 Attachment 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

Originally Posted by discorevy

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