1500HL gearbox rebuild

[2dollys]

Hi folks, I need to rebuild my 1500 non o/d single rail gearbox and was wondering if anybody on here has used RL1218 rebuild kit from Rimmers?. Is this kit the way to go or is there anything else available? I have 2 gearboxes,one in my car at present,which is noisy and grates whilst downshifting from 3rd to 2nd,and a spare box ,condition unknown,which I intend to strip and rebuild. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.PJB

[Richard the old one]

I have used the Rimmers kit a couple of times but I recommend that you ask them to confirm that they have all the various bits in stock that make up the kit as the last time I ordered a kit it came less a thrust washer which I then had to source from another supplier. They had the washer on their back order list but that is not a lot of help when you want to get on and do the refurbishment.

If you have not already drained the oil from your spare gearbox my suggestion is that you drain it so that you can see if there are any metal bits such as gear teeth attached to the magnet drain plug. If there is any serious damage it will not economical to repair the gearbox.

[Jon Tilson]

Its not worth the hassle of rebuilding an ohv box. Convert it to overdrive....

Jonners

[DavePoth]

Hi folks, I need to rebuild my 1500 non o/d single rail gearbox and was wondering if anybody on here has used RL1218 rebuild kit from Rimmers?. Is this kit the way to go or is there anything else available? I have 2 gearboxes,one in my car at present,which is noisy and grates whilst downshifting from 3rd to 2nd,and a spare box ,condition unknown,which I intend to strip and rebuild. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.PJB

Are you sure it's the gearbox? Dodgy clutch hydraulics would probably manifest first as a graunchy 3rd-2nd shift.

[2dollys]

Thanks folks, in reply to Jonners, I live in Southern Ireland and to find an o/d box is like trying to find teddybear sh*te,and in reply to Dave, box is noisy in 1st-2nd-3rd and OK in 4th which means layshaft bearings worn and has done 119K miles, so needs to be rebuilt anyway. Clutch working perfectly,clearing ok and no grinding selecting reverse. Plenty of gearboxes and other spares in UK but costs a fortune to get them to Ireland(£100stg!) so unless I was going over there with a van on other buisness a rebuild seems to be the most economical option. If anyone out there has a 1500 o/d box going cheap and has a way to get it to Ireland cheaply I may be interested.(Single railbox) Thanks PJB

[Jon Tilson]

That puts a different complexion on things...

The parts cost for a box rebuild bearings cones etc is not cheap sadly. Last time I did one it cost me around 200 quid in bits alone.

Have a look on ebay cos sometimes gearbox reconditioners do come up with cones and gasket and seal sets. You could maybe have a result getting the
mainshaft and input shaft bearings from a local bearing stockist. They used to be common hear but my local bearing shop turns stuff over quickly and so has no old stock at sensible money.

If you existing box has a noisy layshaft then it will become very dear to rebuild as the new laygear wont be cheap. If the laygear is noisy in 1,2 and 3 it is very rarely reusable.

Jonners

[TomSprint]

Hi PJB,

I've got a good 1500 g/box (non o/d), it had about 40k on it when it was removed. I'm just outside Dundalk if you fancy a spin.

Bear in mind that all the OHVs use the same single rail box (including spitfires and late toledos), so you may be able to turn up something nearer to where you are.....

It may be worth your while looking into a Ford type 9 conversion if you really want the o/d ratio.
If you can get the adapter plate knocked up and a prop modified it doesn't look too bad of a job.
I think if I were to have another OHV I might try this........
Having said that my old 1981 1500 (non HL) had on o/d box and the taller 3.63 axle, made for a nice cruiser (and kept the bottom end together)!

http://www.canleyclassics.com/?xhtml=xh ... roduct.xsl

Cheers
Tom