Roamerdrive in TD5

[Wotty]

Hi, does anyone have any experience please of fitting a Roamerdrive in a late 90’s TD5 90.  Does it work as expected? Does it wear well etc? Thank you

[FridgeFreezer]

They're a lovely bit of kit, nicely engineered.

I've heard a few problems from some people, ruomurs of poor quality bearings in later units but  they're still head and shoulders over the GKN offering.

Mine's done a fair few miles in a 3ton vehicle with a 4.6 V8 in front of it and held up sell so far.

If you fit it, get the extended finned sump for the LT230 while you're there, the overdrive will warm the oil quite a lot so extra capacity & cooling is nice.

[Snagger]

Mine is behind a Tdi.  It did have bearing failure, but that was because of a huge transfer box oil leak.  Any other type would have been destroyed, but this was repaired with new bearings and dressing of one surface.  The bearings Roamerdrive use are low quality unbranded Chinese tat, but they do OK.  That’s because epicyclic gears have low radial loads, so the bearings don’t carry as much force as in traditional gear sets.  I had one bearing noisy and slight oval from new, the main bearing for the output shaft (the big one), but the rest were fine, even though they were cheap.  It does run a little smoother with decent bearings in it, though.  
 

So, bearings aside, I’d say they’re well made and very robust.  Overdrives are far better than changing transfer box or diff ratios, and this is the best on the market.

[Arjan]

What sort of money are we talking about for these Roamerdrives, please ?

[Maverik]

10 minutes ago, Arjan said:

What sort of money are we talking about for these Roamerdrives, please ?

https://www.devon4x4.com/global-roamer-overdrive-for-defender-only-with-1-2-ratio-transfer-box.html

£2k + no cheap. 

[Maverik]

19 hours ago, Wotty said:

Hi, does anyone have any experience please of fitting a Roamerdrive in a late 90’s TD5 90.  Does it work as expected? Does it wear well etc? Thank you

Yeah I had one of the older versions fitted for a while - very quick and easy to fit, really nice to have the extra gear, works pretty smoothly - I had a 2nd hand unit which was a bit noisy in the end - I rebuilt it with new bearings, very easy to service. and the customer service from Roamer is superb, I actually had a couple of calls with the chap that actually designed the thing, he does all the technical help, its a lovely bit of kit. - just expensive.

For the Td5 you need to put in the adapted transfer case cover too so you get a bigger oil bath, as the load through it due to the Td5 is higher so it evidently gets a bit warmer.

When I next get a spare 2k I'll probably get another!...

[Arjan]

Hmmmm.    serious money for cheap bearings.

thanks

[Maverik]

Intresting as I spoke to the guy about this, he just said, the numbers didn't make sense for them to put more expensive bearings in, he was quite open about it.

[Arjan]

Yes - for them.

I guess the majority of sales is outside Canada so very, very few warranty claims will be dealt with by them.

If I were to buy € 2k of overdrive I would hope it has the best quality parts they could find - not just those to outlast the warranty period..

[Anderzander]

I’ve heard tons of positive things on them / but I also heard of some where I think it was the bearings had failed and trashed the transfer box. It made me stop and think when I was looking. 

[L19MUD]

Craddock or Paddocks have them for sale for £1700

[Maverik]

1 hour ago, L19MUD said:

Craddock or Paddocks have them for sale for £1700

Paddocks £1,957.42 Inc. VAT 

https://www.paddockspares.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=roamer

[L19MUD]

Craddocks the place to go then!

 

£1,692

 

https://www.johncraddockltd.co.uk/da9017-roamedrive-defender-overdrive.html

 

 

[Maverik]

6 minutes ago, L19MUD said:

Craddocks the place to go then!

 

£1,692

 

https://www.johncraddockltd.co.uk/da9017-roamedrive-defender-overdrive.html

 

 

Blimey - good spot - get em while they're "cheap".

[Gluv]

11 minutes ago, L19MUD said:

Craddocks the place to go then!

 

£1,692

 

https://www.johncraddockltd.co.uk/da9017-roamedrive-defender-overdrive.html

 

 

If it's like anything else at Craddocks , it won't be in stock ! . I live about ten minutes from them and just order from Rimmers these days. Shame, Craddocks used to be excellent 🙁

Gluv🇬🇧

[Arjan]

£ 1692 = about € 1871.

Serious money

[Snagger]

Is that Craddock price VAT inclusive?

[Maverik]

7 minutes ago, Snagger said:

Is that Craddock price VAT inclusive?

Yes.

[Peaklander]

I have one behind my 110 300TDi, fitted with the extended sump. Bought secondhand from a well respected member on here, it's been in use for about 18 months. I found that I easily ran out of revs with it selected and in 5th, on say a motorway incline. At slower speeds there were times when I would normally be in 4th but would need to drop a gear if I left the Roamerdrive engaged. It kind of defeated the object!

However since my partial engine rebuild (new rings, cylinders honed and attention to all boost related pipes), there has been an improvement. I've only done a little more than 1,000 miles since then due to Covid but now I can stay in 5th + OD for extended miles on the motorway and easily sit at 70 mph. At lower speeds I have flexibility of power and can 'pull" without necessarily dropping a gear. Pulling away from standstill is much nicer as I don't need that early change from 1st to 2nd when only halfway across the traffic lights.

There are no problems except that the linkage kept vibrating loose at one end and this lengthened the rod and prevented full engagement. That was cured with thread-lock. However, I am noticing a noise with the Roamerdrive engaged, like I can hear the gears. It's certainly possible to tell whether it's in or out just by listening. So I would be interested of others' experiences before and after re-builds.

All in all though, it now seems to be a good addition and it is the better engine performance that has sorted that.

[Retroanaconda]

Mine is a bit noisy - sounds like an old Series box. But it’s still quieter with it engaged at 70 than the engine is without at 60.

I don’t use it as a splitter gear as it generally seems to replicate the next gear up rather than act as a mid-point - e.g. third plus OD is more or less the same as fourth without. As such I just use it as a sixth, though if I do need to drop a gear on a motorway hill I drop the main box into fourth rather than disengage the OD as it’s much easier to do. This is the exact opposite of what is claimed in the sales blurb but it’s written by Canadians and for them the OD lever would indeed be closer.

I only ever use it on the motorway and the closest one is 150 miles or so away so it doesn’t get a lot of use, but I engage it for a few miles on a faster bit of local road every now and then to keep things free. It works well and cruising at 70+ is fairly effortless which makes longer drives less tiring. Fuel economy suffers though.

[Peaklander]

Yes I agree about it being a stretch when reaching for the lever. I have made it even harder, as I have lifted my cubby in order to fit a heater in a box under it. 

[Anderzander]

Where is the lever on them ?   Not on the tunnel like a fairey ? 

[Maverik]

Pops through next to the difflock leaver.

[FridgeFreezer]

Wouldn't be hard to move the lever TBH.

Much like Retroanaconda, I tend to use it as sixth gear, engage it as soon as I'm on the motorway and then use 5th/4th as required.

[Snagger]

My Series model makes a small amount of noise whether engaged or disengaged.  The output gear teeth are just slightly different in profile to the standard fixed input gear of the transfer box (the noise disappears with that fitted).  But it’s minor, and a lot less than other types of overdrive that I heard.  It’s a mild irritation, but they may have improved the mesh on later units and it might not happen on Defender models.