jdubois
Jedi Warrior
Offline
I thought I'd start a thread for my gearbox overhaul, so that I can ramble on about it, ask questions, and keep anybody who cares up to date without starting lots of new threads. Sorry ahead of time for the rambling. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/blush.gif
As a small recap to those that might not have been following the other threads, I drained the gearbox oil in my '65 Spitfire the other day and with the oil came what looked like most of the needle bearing from inner end of the input shaft, along with possibly a thrust washer, and some bits of gear and/or syncro (thanks to Jeff for helping me figure out what it was.) So, I put the interior redo on hold and am preparing to pull the gearbox and get it rebuilt.
This evening I did a bit of preliminary work. I bagged up, labeled, and stored all the interior hardware, since it'll now be a while before it all goes back in. I then removed the remote control from the top of the gearbox and replaced it with a makeshift cardboard cover. I'm assuming when I ship the gearbox down, they won't want the remote control assembly along with it. I'll have to call Quantum Mechanics tomorrow and see what the procedure is.
I also disconnected the speedo drive, front of the drive shaft, and clutch slave cylinder. I think now all I've got to do is remove the starter motor and everything is off the gearbox. Then it's just remove the two rear mounts and the bellhousing bolts and the gearbox should be free. Oh, and gotta remove the exhaust mounting bracket.
This evening's activities left me with two revelations. First, the bellhousing seems to be wider than the chassis. So it looks like, without removing the engine, the gearbox will have to come out through the passenger compartment. Is that correct? I've got the seats and carpets out anyway, so this isn't a big deal, just wanted to prepare with some kind of padding to protect the dashboard, floors, etc. if this is true.
Second revelation, I was able to figure out why the stick felt so loose and rubbery when shifting. I stripped the gearbox remote control assembly apart and discovered that the shift lever bushing, which everybody seemed to think was the likely cause, was actually not that bad. Definitely in need of replacement, but not bad enough to be causing the trouble. The real culprit turned out to be the bushing on the coupling between the two shafts further down the remote. It had completely disintegrated and there was nothing left. That let the shaft attached to the shifter flop about loosely even when in gear.
All in all, not a bad night's work. I'm sort of on hold now though until I can get a buddy to help with the actual removal of the gearbox. I'm thinking it would be impractical to try and remove it by myself, and somehow I don't see my wife volunteering to help. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/rolleyes.gif
As a small recap to those that might not have been following the other threads, I drained the gearbox oil in my '65 Spitfire the other day and with the oil came what looked like most of the needle bearing from inner end of the input shaft, along with possibly a thrust washer, and some bits of gear and/or syncro (thanks to Jeff for helping me figure out what it was.) So, I put the interior redo on hold and am preparing to pull the gearbox and get it rebuilt.
This evening I did a bit of preliminary work. I bagged up, labeled, and stored all the interior hardware, since it'll now be a while before it all goes back in. I then removed the remote control from the top of the gearbox and replaced it with a makeshift cardboard cover. I'm assuming when I ship the gearbox down, they won't want the remote control assembly along with it. I'll have to call Quantum Mechanics tomorrow and see what the procedure is.
I also disconnected the speedo drive, front of the drive shaft, and clutch slave cylinder. I think now all I've got to do is remove the starter motor and everything is off the gearbox. Then it's just remove the two rear mounts and the bellhousing bolts and the gearbox should be free. Oh, and gotta remove the exhaust mounting bracket.
This evening's activities left me with two revelations. First, the bellhousing seems to be wider than the chassis. So it looks like, without removing the engine, the gearbox will have to come out through the passenger compartment. Is that correct? I've got the seats and carpets out anyway, so this isn't a big deal, just wanted to prepare with some kind of padding to protect the dashboard, floors, etc. if this is true.
Second revelation, I was able to figure out why the stick felt so loose and rubbery when shifting. I stripped the gearbox remote control assembly apart and discovered that the shift lever bushing, which everybody seemed to think was the likely cause, was actually not that bad. Definitely in need of replacement, but not bad enough to be causing the trouble. The real culprit turned out to be the bushing on the coupling between the two shafts further down the remote. It had completely disintegrated and there was nothing left. That let the shaft attached to the shifter flop about loosely even when in gear.
All in all, not a bad night's work. I'm sort of on hold now though until I can get a buddy to help with the actual removal of the gearbox. I'm thinking it would be impractical to try and remove it by myself, and somehow I don't see my wife volunteering to help. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/rolleyes.gif