reb78

Keep us posted on what the result is....

Any reports on what was the cause of this gearbox problem. Mine is a similar story - LT77s recon box fitted, new clutch, ATF, correct level - tricky change (it crunches) from 4th to 3rd when slowing down over 30mph. Under 30 4th to 3rd and it will go in, but with a little more pressure than normally necessary. it was initially a tricky change up to 3rd and 4th, but i adjusted the bias and this is fine now, just the gear crunching.... Getting a little tired of it now - i just want to drive it for a bit before the next thing goes wrong!!!! At least i've got the heater working ok!

That bolt hole communicates through to the inside of the transfer box. If you remove it, you'll drain the box of oil. Judging by what you've said, it sounds like someones overtightened it and ripped the thread tapped into the transfer box. It may need re-tapping now - bit of a pain, but could be done on the vehicle...

Where did you get the foam from? There's loads of stuff out there - ebay etc, but i'd rather buy some that works!

What about a pressurising fuel tank? Are all the breathers working properly and is the old petrol cap suitable for use in the diesel? I had a TD that had similar symptoms - would run ok, lack of power and when running for a while would stall as if fuel starvation - it turned out the fuel tank was pressurising and i took the cap apart, cleaned it and put it back together and it fixed everything... Would the position of the return on this tank make any difference i wouldn't have thought so, but at some points the actual outlet of the return to the tank will be below the level of a full tank and may cause fuel to back up in the return line - just a thought..

What are the opinions on the uprated heater matrixes. Mine has a hole and is currently not connected. Is it worth buying an uprated one or just making sure a new standard item works as efficiently as it can? (Its a 200tdi in a 110 so won;t get quite as warm as quickly as a V8 unfortunately!)

I don't mean the bearings - i've changed both of these. I mean the tracks that the bearings run in once the input gear is fitted and turning...

The 32mm head is the one you want. Check you can undo the filler plug before you drain the oil.

As above, stick with the R380. Although check the gearbox mainshaft for wear (if you didn't have the cross drilled input gear the mainshaft may need replacing (in which case i'd use the fact that you curently have an R380 to trade it in for a re-con one). With the transfer box, changing the oil seals would probably be a good idea while you can, along with cross drilled input gear associated bearings and possibly bearing races. You need to pul the input gear to see if its the cross drilled type - its obvious when you do which type it is..

How important is it to change the bearing raceways when changing the bearings and input gear on the transfer box? I've changed the bearings and input gear, but the raceways looked good so i left them. Now someones mentioned that i should have changed the races as well - i suppose they wear with the old bearings but do you really need to replace them? Does changing the front race mean dropping the box?

Your problem could be the old LT77 gearbox that was coupled to the TD engine. The ratios in 5th are different to those on the later LT77s which was fitted to the 200tdi engines. The LT77s has a slightly higher ratio so will allow more speed from the same revs http://members.shaw.ca/red90/gears.html shows you what the ratios are). Has your top speed changed from when you had the TD? Fitting a 1.2:1 ratio transfer box is a way around this without changing the gearbox, but the gearbox has probably suffered the same mainshaft wear as mine, so it might be time to replace it anyway...

What sort of state are the leads and distributor cap in - might be worth replacing them if they're old and worn. I had a Volo that used to do what you describe. That was a mix of the auxillary air valve (which you won't have as your on carbs), possibly fuel pump and the big difference was made with new leads, dizzy cap and rotor arm. Might be worth a look before going to the garage...

One more transfer box related question! Bit of a silly one, but better to ask it now while i can still fix things if i've done it wrong: How far in do you push the oil seal at the front of the transfer box where the gearbox mainshaft enters? I pushed mine back so it was just within the chamfered edge on the box. Now i'm wondering if this is far enough (i was initially paranoid about pushing it back too far!) - i.e. should i have pushed it back until it contacted something and if it needed to move further back would it have done this when fitting it to the gearbox (which i have now done)?

Thanks Ok, so i would guess that the shim i have at the moment must bigger than 3.15mm (i should have measured it before i started) since its so tight nothing will move back and forth when the nuts are torqued up. Does that mean that the 3.15mm shim always needs adding to - i.e. if B=0 with the 3.15mm shim, you'd have to use the 3.2mm shim? If i'd followed the instructions properly i guess i should have figured that out - its been a long cold day fiddling with bits of metal! Can you buy sets of the shims? I'll have a ring around in the morning...

Hi all, I've just put a recon LT77 gearbox onto my 200tdi. I'm fitting the old transfer box as there was nothing wrong with it except for wear in the input gear. Because of the wear, i've bought a new cross drilled input gear and bearings. Lots of people on the forum seem to have changed these, but can anyone describe how to set up the preload on the bearings? doing everyhting up to the correct torques without any adjustments leaves everything feeling rather tight so i presume it may need a thinner shim than before - i think i need to buy a DTI to measure this - is this right? And if you do use a DTI, how do you enter it into the formulae in the overhaul manual to work out the size of the shims actually required? 1. Position mainshaft input gear assembly in main casing. 2. Up to serial no. 288709E: Fit a new mainshaft input gear bearing housing gasket, dry on main casing. 3. All transfer boxes: Fit mainshaft input gear bearing housing ensuring reference marks are aligned. 4. Fit 2 M10 x 25 mm bolts and tighten to 25 Nm (18 lbf.ft). 5. Position suitable DTI with stylus of gauge contacting end of mainshaft, push mainshaft rearwards and zero gauge. 6. Push mainshaft forwards and note gauge reading. 7. Calculate thickness of shim required using the formula A + B + C = D where: A = Thickness of installed shim - 3.15 mm (0.12 in) B = Recorded end-float C = Required pre-load - 0.05 mm (0.002 in) D = Thickness of shim required As far as i can work out - unless you enter the end float reading as a negative value you're always going to need a different sized shim! Any help/advice on how to set this up would be really helpful. Thanks in advance