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[Richie London]

to swap gearboxes. after all the work i have done on the gearbox, new fluid, gaskets and filter and not making a differnce at all. yesterday when i dropped the sump to change the solenoid i found a piece of large washer in the sump that wasnt there 2 weeks ago. so possibly cheaper to get another box.

how much involved in taking the gearbox off and putting another one on. can see a thread on the dreaded thrust washer but not on how to change a box over.

[omegod]

From what I have read it's a, heavy awkward one that I would not attempt without a 4 post lift and a transmission jack! At least you can reuse your gaskets and filter if your careful.

I think others on here have managed it on their drives with a lot of grief and the odd strained back, good luck either way!

[Richie London]

From what I have read it's a, heavy awkward one that I would not attempt without a 4 post lift and a transmission jack! At least you can reuse your gaskets and filter if your careful.

I think others on here have managed it on their drives with a lot of grief and the odd strained back, good luck either way!

i cant get it up on stands now as no gears at all so if its that hard then i'll probably scrap the car. cant afford to pay someone as not working again and i'm breaked for work without the car. so its a no win situation.

[Varche]

Well as someone who has done both i.e. taken a gearbox off and replaced the thrust washer refitted and had the box fail ( not at all sure why - maybe something internal got damaged) and also then replacing with a known good gearbox, I would say that I would go for replacement.


I had two significant adavantages.
1) the help of another( strong)  forum member who claims to be my age but is actually only 22.
2) I built a level ramp to drive the whole car onto that is 40 cm high. Thathas proved a boon for working on the car as I have had endless exhaust problems.

My recommendation would be change it for another. If yours is a 2.5 then consider an AR35.
You definitely need two people and one or two good trolley jacks. The job itself is fairly straightforward. disconnect propshaft, disconnect about a dozen bellhousing bolts, disconnect wiring loom plugs from gearbox, disconnect wiring on cats and remove both cats (mine had been off times so came off easily). The key thing is to remove horizonatally and refit horizonatally to avoid damage to the engine output shaft. I think Haynes manual gives quite a good amount of info.

Hope that helps.

[Kevin Wood]

The key thing is to remove horizonatally and refit horizonatally to avoid damage to the engine output shaft. I think Haynes manual gives quite a good amount of info.

Better to unbolt the torque converter from the driveplate and remove & refit with the gearbox.

Kevin

[Richie London]

Well as someone who has done both i.e. taken a gearbox off and replaced the thrust washer refitted and had the box fail ( not at all sure why - maybe something internal got damaged) and also then replacing with a known good gearbox, I would say that I would go for replacement.


I had two significant adavantages.
1) the help of another( strong)  forum member who claims to be my age but is actually only 22.
2) I built a level ramp to drive the whole car onto that is 40 cm high. Thathas proved a boon for working on the car as I have had endless exhaust problems.

My recommendation would be change it for another. If yours is a 2.5 then consider an AR35.
You definitely need two people and one or two good trolley jacks. The job itself is fairly straightforward. disconnect propshaft, disconnect about a dozen bellhousing bolts, disconnect wiring loom plugs from gearbox, disconnect wiring on cats and remove both cats (mine had been off times so came off easily). The key thing is to remove horizonatally and refit horizonatally to avoid damage to the engine output shaft. I think Haynes manual gives quite a good amount of info.

Hope that helps.

if i do change the gearbox, do i need gaskets or sealer or  and would it be worth checking the thrust washer and filter first. what is the approx weight of the gearbox.

[Varche]

The key thing is to remove horizonatally and refit horizonatally to avoid damage to the engine output shaft. I think Haynes manual gives quite a good amount of info.

Better to unbolt the torque converter from the driveplate and remove & refit with the gearbox.

Kevin

HorizonAtally of course.

[Richie London]

The key thing is to remove horizonatally and refit horizonatally to avoid damage to the engine output shaft. I think Haynes manual gives quite a good amount of info.

Better to unbolt the torque converter from the driveplate and remove & refit with the gearbox.

Kevin

i dont think i could do this all myself. would need someone who knows what there doing. 

[Kevin Wood]

Gearbox needs to come out to get to the thrust washer anyway, so that's a given now, I think. 

It's a question of whether you try to repair the existing box or replace with a known good one. Of course, the thrust washer failure might have allowed other damage to occur. :-/

If you can get hold of a known sound gearbox that will be the quickest route to getting it back up and running.

Kevin

[Richie London]

Gearbox needs to come out to get to the thrust washer anyway, so that's a given now, I think. 

It's a question of whether you try to repair the existing box or replace with a known good one. Of course, the thrust washer failure might have allowed other damage to occur. :-/

If you can get hold of a known sound gearbox that will be the quickest route to getting it back up and running.

Kevin

i spoke to steve at omega parts last week and he said he had 1 he would let me have for £80 if i needed it.so i would change the gaskets and filter on the sump first. why would an ar35 be better

[aaronjb]

AR35 is stronger than the AR25.. not sure which your model had fitted originally though, AR25 I think.

Means you have to swap the AR25 bellhousing on to the AR35 but that's not a massive job once you've got the box on the floor.

[JamesV6CDX]

Means you have to swap the AR25 bellhousing on to the AR35 but that's not a massive job once you've got the box on the floor.

This only applies if you are replacing an AR25 on a 2.5TD with the BMW engine fitted.

An AR35 from a 3.0 V6 will be a straight swap, for an AR25 on a 2.5 V6.

[aaronjb]

Ah.. I'll get me coat 

[Marks DTM Calib]

Darth Toilet Draws is heading 'darn sarth' see if he can fit it for you.

I would also replace the thrust washer with a Sonex one before fitting a replacement box

[JamesV6CDX]

No worries Aaron

Richie, if you're keeping the car, and it's otherwise sound, I would advise fitting the uprated (metal) thrust washer, that is ordered from the USA.

Sometimes this involves some light machining of the faces inside the gearbox, but often you can get away without (we did, when we did mine) - and sometimes shims are needed to get the correct endfloat - but it's worthwhile, if the car is a keeper.

Remember to keep the gearbox upright, all the time, when doing this.

(This is also a good opportunity to empty it completely of old ATF, by removing the sensor at the back of the box, while it's stood upright - keep a big bucket handy though!)

If you just want to be on the road quickly - get a known good replacement box (but, drop the front sump before fitting it, on the basis that the autobox can be seemingly OK for a while, when in fact the thrust washer is in the sump!)

The replacement proces for an AR25 / AR35 on axle stands / ramps is not at all difficult - I have done one alone - but it IS heavy and awkward.

Ideally, you need two of you, and two good, sturdy trolley jacks, for safety.