Gearbox removal strip and refit

Rich H · Post by **Rich H** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 12:21 am

Does £500 seem like alot? £220 for remove/refit and £280 for refurb by Intelligent Tuning of Cheshire.

Any thoughts? Seems a bit much for the refurb but I don't really have any experience.

mckeann · Post by **mckeann** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 12:36 am

http://www.gearboxman.co.uk/ is the person to ask about the refurb.

220 for remove refit is approx what i paid. it will take about 6 hours, so is less than £40 an hour.

Rich H · Post by **Rich H** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 2:17 am

I'll get a recon quote from Gearbox man and compare.
Prolly just get it swapped for a CR at Phoenix as it's beyond my DIY capability...

mckeann · Post by **mckeann** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 2:53 am

dont be so sure. Its definately beyond mine, so i booked mine in with a garage to get it done.

The day it was getting done, was chatting away to the 2 mechanics who were doing it. One of them was ill and went home sick, i ended up helping the other mechanic to swap it. I'm sure you could do it with a little help from the workshop manual.

Rich H · Post by **Rich H** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 2:55 am

Hmm.... maybe... I'll read up, bear in mind I have no ramps, but if I jacked the LHS it might fit under...

I'll think about it...

hiscot · Post by **hiscot** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 10:22 am

Inteligent tuning are quite well respected on some forums and their costs are very good , are they going to put steel caged bearings in ?? ie stronger box
they rebuild for rover turbo,s pushing out silly bhp and torque
if you fancy rebuilding it your self i have a pg1 manuel but dont forget bearings are quite expensive i also have a uprated bearing list with numbers

Removal is quite easy and can be done on your own because the box is very light pax side wishbone has to be undone and box twisted then dropped but rear of car has to be high to clear box from underneath
dont forget to factor new clutch poss l/w flywheel (i did not fit l/w fw but keep thinking maybe i should off )

other option is to fit a very low milliage mgtf box or zr c/r ratio ect
i have seen a g4bsv box very low millage @ £50
and just missed a ZR160 cr box 10,000 ml @ £100
and any of these are better than a worn out std box
I fitted the C4BP mgtf and with the extra power its transformed the car due to having a differant diff ( I think its approx 6% lower across all the gears ) 5 th is now usable
the c/r lotus box is the best having a c/r gearset but i did not fancy a worn out tracked box for silly money while my mgtf box came from a write off for £40 and the gearchange is now slick and tight ( 3,000ml )

just been asking about rich and heres how to get a cheap cr lotus ratio box

get a g4bsv from a write off ( same 3/4/5/ diff as lotus c/r )

then get a 220 turbo box
or a cheap k7 montego box
and fit the lower 2.9 / 1.7 ratios from these boxs into the g4bsv
the 220 turbo also has a torsen diff

however maybe intelligent tuning may have the 2.9 and 1.7 ratio because they rebuild loads off the 220 boxes therefor 1 s/h g4bsv box £40 -100
get intelligent to supply /swop the gears £ ?? = cheap c/r box or swop your self from a very cheap 220t box

[img][img]http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/6907 ... 001vw1.jpg[/img]

Rich H · Post by **Rich H** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 12:23 pm

Cheers Gents,

I have found a CR box from a written off exige in blackburn, no idea of the milage and it was written off in a fire... but the engne is going into a caterham so can't be that bad...

Comes with clutch and flywheel assy.

He wants £300 for it which seems the going rate for a Lotus box, I'll go and have a look see what history it has, if it has reasonable miles then I'll prolly go with that.

Sounds like I might take on the box change but I don't really have anywork space to strip a box. Might get the scrap ones you mention and have a go anyway though!

thinking about it I could fit the CR one, and then strip the old one, see how it goes then go for the custom box.

Rich H · Post by **Rich H** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 12:29 pm

Oh and the clutch is only 5k miles old but I might change the release bearing anyway.

hiscot · Post by **hiscot** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 1:53 pm

getting the box out is quite easy , althou i had the rear clam off when i done mine
this is a pic of pg1 gear cluster
[img][img]http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/3710/openpg1jw8.jpg[/img][/img]
in case your feeling brave note plastic caged bearings

Uldis · Post by **Uldis** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 2:40 pm

Excellent information, and very timely since I want to rebuild my box and change a few ratios as well.

Do you have the contact info for Intelligent Tuning?

Rich H · Post by **Rich H** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 3:55 pm

http://www.intelligenttuning.com/

I'm going to check this CR box out and buy it if it looks ok. I'll have a look at fitting properly and see if I can do it on the drive, but I'm not totally confident. I might chicken out and book it in with Oli again. In the mean time if I buy it, I'll strip the case off it and see if bearing changes is something I think I can tackle

Ta
Rich

Rich H · Post by **Rich H** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 4:15 pm

Will it go in the footwell of the liz or the boot of the g/fs MX-5? I can take the seat out if required!
TTFN
Rich

hiscot · Post by **hiscot** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 4:30 pm

approx 20x14x16 inch rich

Rich H · Post by **Rich H** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 4:33 pm

Hiscot: are you following me?!?

Thanks alot!

If it looks OK, and I have no reason to doubt its authenticity, I'll bring it back for a good look over then work out if I'm going to fit it or not...

Ta
Rich

hiscot · Post by **hiscot** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 4:41 pm

check the code sticker is B4BP for the right ratios
my old box is in the shed syncros have gone and it was very noisy , hence able to get size .
they are very light
check the diff seals before refitting they are very easy to damage when removing the drive shafts any sighn of oil seepage and replace anyway