Gearbox R&R... Which was to rotate?

[Geo Hahn]

I've done this but darned if I can remember...

When removing or refitting a TR gearbox (it's a TR4 but it's the same drill on a 3, 4A, 250 and possibly a 6) the only tricky bit is getting the clutch fork operating arm to clear the opening in the floorboard (the one by the accelerator on a LHD car).

I recall that to do this one rotates the whole gearbox before it is fully disengaged from the engine/clutch, but...

Which direction does one rotate it?

Last time it came out pretty easily (don't recall which way I rotated it) but went back in with difficulty (I had it rotated clockwise when offered to the clutch and was trying to rotate it counter clockwise and getting interference from that operating arm.

Last time was with a standard gearbox which I was strong enough to man-handle. Replacement going in this time is the heavier OD and I'm hoping that finesse will offset the greater weight.

Thanks for the insight!

 

[martx-5]

It's been awhile since I did this job myself, but a Clymer manual I have details how to REMOVE the trans, and says...
"Pull the trans backward until it's clear of the clutch. Maneuver the clutch housing to the right and the rear to the left, tilting the box to permit the clutch operating lever to clear the floor opening."

Of course, they didn't mention which way to tilt it. Intuitively, I would have to say CCW. But don't curse me out while you're humping in that heavy OD box and you should have tilted it the other way! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hammer.gif

 

[Geo Hahn]

Okay, 1 vote for CCW.

Yes, I can see that the bell housing can be moved to the left a bit once the splines of the input shaft have cleared the clutch disc... but only a bit as the tip of the shaft is still penetrating the plane of the clutch.

Like (I think) your Clymer manual is describing, all the manuals I have show the gearbox exiting thru the leftside door (avoids interference w/ the handbrake)... but then all the manuals I have show the steering wheel on the right. This time I have removed the steering wheel (so easy to do on a TR4 that it's scary) so I can pull it out the 'easy' way.

 

[BOXoROCKS]

Geo, do you have the back of the engine jacked up.

 

[Brosky]

I hope that he does, or there will be trouble in paradise.

 

[KVH]

George, you deliberately waited for me to put my rebuilt standard four speed back in so you could leave me in the dust with your new overdrive! I'll remember this for a long time.

Congratulations, actually. I gave thought to that but chickened out.

The Shop Manual says swing the rear to the left and the front bell housing to the right. That's what we did and it worked. The person on the tail end just has to avoid being too delicate. Just lift and swing it over while pulling.

As you can imagine, I just did that three weeks ago (while you were buying your overdrive). It was easy. Just last week we put it back in. Perfect. Quiet. Smooth. (I owe it to Ernie here in Tucson).

Here is what I distinctly recall: Once the rear is raised away from the driveshaft, and ready to swing to the left, I had to drop the engine back down about 1 inch to get back under the firewall lip. But, as they say, don't get too rigid in your thinking. The transmission will talk to you in the process.

When we put it back in, the step that made all the difference, aside from getting the engine the right height to slide the transmission under the lip, was dropping the rear to line up with the driveshaft--and then sliding forward while turning the end shaft. We wasted 45 minutes trying to push before getting the driveshaft lined up.

My kids were helping me, and since they were up top while I was down under, I asked them to email their thoughts as to what made the job easier in the end--from their vantage point. The response I got was a referral to WWW.WebMd/obsessivecompulsivedisorder.com. They know me well.

 

[Guest]

Now you guys understand why I plan on removing the whole engine/tranny with a good hoist. In my four (4) times having removed the tranny on my TR6, finesse and brute force just don't go hand-in-hand anymore. I still have not-so-fond memories of me screaming from below at my neighbor to "Lift, Lift!" whilst I was holding the fork arm and trying to stab the shaft and not remove my pinkie finger. Ah, the joys of sliding a Triumph transmission into place. Everyone needs to do it at least once as a trial of passage.

 

[Geo Hahn]

The combination (for me) was to pull back 1.25", rotate CCW about 15 degrees (now the fork arm is below the floorboard), do the bellhousing to the right & tailshaft to the left thing, pull back a couple of more inches, rotate CW back to level & beyond (now the fork arm is above the floorboard), then pull out. Probably said a couple of 'Hail Joe Lucases' in there.

I wanted to be able to get the OD box in there pretty much by myself and now I am sure I can. Having the steering wheel off and a wheeled Harbor Freight tranny jack underneath made is a smooth operation with a couple of photo stops along the way.

BTW -- the clutch fork pin was unbroken (there is a theory that they are all broken but not all have symptoms). I'll replace with the hardened variety (Moss) and of course I already have the 1/4" grade 8 cross bole in place.

Thanks for all the advice.