Is this bad?

[Red Richie]

Okay, as mentioned the OD was taking a bit of time to disengage and engage, the 'box was a little whiney, so I decided to drop all the oil and refill. I have only ever topped the box up, never done a full change in the two years I have owned it...and I'm not sure how many miles/years ago it was last changed...so lets see what comes out on the magnetic plug...



how much is too much? I'm thinking of getting another gearbox just in case, then next opportune time, change the bugger...

[Jon Tilson]

Given that you've just got a noise increase and the colour of those I'd say its filings of the layshaft and pin....
Noise will be noticeable even in neutral, clutch up if really bad and far worse in 1st and 2nd, not so bad in third and best in top.

If thats the case then it isnt getting any better....

Reconn the box while it still can be...too bad and the laygear is scrap. New ones you dont want to ask the price....but a TR7 conversion is cheaper if you change the reverse bits....

Jonners

[Karlos]

How much is too much? All a bit relative really, when I had my Mini 850, every oil change I did at 5000miles looked like that. No help I know, but with new oil and a clean of the O.D. filter, you may be OK for ages...

Have you or anyone else considered Molyslip gear oil additive? never used it myself, but I did put Slick50 into a Fiat 132 2.0 twin cam once and it did seem to go better. Trouble is with these additives is after a month you can't really tell if they are still doing anything as the degredation is always compensated for through making adjustments to your driving style.

Myself I'd just run it untill it broke and then either rebuild the box or get another.

[Mad Mart]

Have you or anyone else considered Molyslip gear oil additive?

You don't want to be putting anything "slippy" in an o/d gearbox. The o/d works on cone clutches which need friction!

[Karlos]

Gulp! Good job there are people out there with brains instead of a walnut rattling round between there ears like me....

I think I better keep quiet otherwise someone's going to end up spending a lot of money or having a nasty accident if they follow any of my divvy suggestions.

[Jon Tilson]

Its very unusual for a technically inept suggestion to not be jumped on by several bored dolomitre experts within minutes....
as you just found out...

Jonners

[David6214]

I'm glad I'm not the only one that makes wrong suggestions. My two recently have shut me up for a bit....

[Dollyboy]

nowt wrong with making suggestions, ive made a few that have apparently turned out to be flawed for one reason or another.

theres nearly always someone with the relevant know how/experience who will set the record straight, ignorance isnt something to be ashamed of, everyone is ignorant until they learn

im looking forward to swapping oil on my gbox/od and seeing what joys await me there. on dismantling the od didnt work and put that down to electrical fault

if mine came out like that i'd flush it all out with diesel, refill with nice fresh oil, drive for couple of thousand miles n check again before deciding on whether to recon or not...

[xvivalve]

Think...

They were wise enough to fit a mag plug. Why? So it collects all the filings and prolongues the life of the gearbox!

Every plug I have removed has had the veritable Christmas tree on it. spare 'boxes change hands for inconsiderable sums, especially on eBay. I would refil and forget and get another 'box when and if you need one.

[DavePoth]

The slick50 suggestion would probably do the job for a while in any non-OD car, it should probably be said.

[DavePoth]

And I've got a feeling that OD clutches have got a bit of iron in them. Hence an awful lot of that crud I reckon.

[MalcGE]

Richie, Looks like a bit too much swarf to me, altough Alun's point is valid, they all come out with some swarf. When I drove your motor at NAC the box felf a bit 'bearingy' but we didn't get it out onto the open road so always a bit hard to tell and I was focussed more on the engine given the challenges you had with coolant.

I would refill, keep an eye and ear on the box, get a replacement box and swop out when things start to get worse. The key is really identifying when you are about to pass the 'soldier on without really kanckering everyhing up'stage' and swopping over a few hundred miles before. Then as Jonners say, you may just need to add layshaft and needle rollers.

Leave it too long and you might find the whole shooting match is crispy'd

[Stagger]

I was told flour is good for quietening noisy gearboxes, the overdrive would probably give up the ghost but you could use the 'its probably just a fuse' one to any prospective purchasers.

ps wholemeal is better than the white because it sweeps the insides, but make sure the breather hole is clear to prevent gas build-up.

[canuck]

I would be very careful about any oil in OD as a lot of oils now days have additives that can cause the OD plates to slip. I also have a 64 TR4 that I purchased that had been in lay up for a number of years chnage the oil but did not read all the additives. Result OD stopped working, managed to find some oil just acroos the US border changed again run for 300 miles now started to work. I am now flushing that out with automatic trans oil before adding correct oil.
This has happend to a number of members in our BCTR club othere the years, so always good to ask advice.
Denis 77 sprint