Gearbox Removal Advice?

[Debs.]

Ok.....I`m beginning the job of removing my Series III SWB (1983) gearbox in readiness for the arrival of a replacement-box from a 'scrap-Landy' later in the week (finger`s crossed).

So far I`ve got the floor-up and the entire seat-base out.....but, the size of the gearbox and T.C unit is a bit of a shock!

As there`s just me and the help of my kindly-neighbour as labour for wo/man-handling the unit out of it`s place; I`m wondering, approx. how heavy is the combined weight of the gearbox/transfer-case/brake-drum?

I can see there`s a crossmember-mount, clutch-slave pipe, bellhousing flange bolts, two driveshaft flanges, gear/4WD/Hi-Lo levers and the speedo-cable to undo.....are there any other tricky-items/snags likely to confront me?

Any advice very welcome and appreciated.

[Les Henson]

If you can't get hold of a crane, then split the transfer box from the gearbox and lift them out seperately.

Les.

[sotal]

The gearbox etc is not too heavy, it's manageable if you can get a good hold of it (ie picking one up off a bench is not too bad), but it's just so awkward from that position.

I have known someone to do it by putting a ratchet strap round the roof to make a hoop then using another to go round the gearbox, then ratchet the gear box up to a nice height. Not sure I'd like to risk my roof though!

[David Sparkes]

If you can't get hold of a crane, then split the transfer box from the gearbox and lift them out seperately.

Les.

Les,

Considering the tenor of the question, it might be helpful if you can point out in a picture, or describe in words, just exactly 'where' the two units split.

My experience doesn't give me the necessary mental image.

I appreciate I may be doing someone an injustice, but I'm still going to stick my neck out and ask :-)

Cheers.

[Les Henson]

Unfortunately, the series transfer box doesn't seperate quite as easily as defender/disco items. You have to remove the transfer case sump, remove the input and idler gears, then undo the internal nuts that hold the transfer case to the gearbox. The usual external nuts/bolts around the perimeter, plus various linkages and it'll come off. Then bell housing bolts as normal and take the gearbox off seperately.

Les.

[Debs.]

Les,

Considering the tenor of the question, it might be helpful if you can point out in a picture, or describe in words, just exactly 'where' the two units split.

My experience doesn't give me the necessary mental image.

I appreciate I may be doing someone an injustice, but I'm still going to stick my neck out and ask :-)

Cheers.

Thanks for giving voice to my thoughts David

......I fear my lack of experience with undertaking such a major-repair means I will be asking many such follow-on questions!

I haven`t got access to an engine crane; so it`ll be all brute-force and headscratching.

[Johnny]

Im just working my way through the simple things Detent springs etc before I have to do the same but from what ive heard in the way of advice its worth hireing a hoist from speedy hire to do the job without giving yourself a hernea obviously women wont be affected by this problem but all the same.

Ive also heard tha during my mates time in the army they used to place a sheet of ply underneath with a squaddy under that to do the job! I think if it comes to it Ill be hiring a hoist

[mike4444244]

Hi

Whereabouts in N wales are you, might be easier if you borrow my hoist?

Mike

[Les Henson]

Whereabouts in N wales are you

The North (that bit is only a little bigger than a football pitch isn't it?)

Les

[Drillerjoskin]

I'm with Les on this one, if you havent done one before you really should use some sort of lifting aid !!!

I can pick up and carry a series gearbox "reasonably easily" but manoevering one in and out of a vehicle is a different matter,

My brother and i once bought a gearbox from a Landie which had laid in the corner of a cow field for years and was (no pun intended) calf deep in mud, dispite us both being big lads we couldn't move around whilst holding the box.

What we did was use a strong ladder as a strecher, firstly support the engine as it will tip once the gearbox becomes disconnected, then place a ratchet strap around the chassis rails so as to form a sort of "hamack" (this way it can only drop so far if you find you cannot hold it), next disconnect the props - speedo cable - bellhousing bolts ect. ect.

with everything disconnected try and separate the bellhousing from the flywheel housing, this may require some considerable effort with a couple of pry bars if it has not been removed for a while.

With alot of wiggling and jiggling, prying and cursing you should be able to get it separated Half an inch or so, Not right off the studs tho or the whole weight of the box will be hanging on the centre of the clutch.

Now only try this if you are confident in the strenght of your ladder, thread it through the vehicle with enough sticking out of the drivers side to be able to "walk" the box out of the passenger side. We found that using 3 ratchet straps was the most stable, 1 around the front output shaft - 1 around the handbrake drum - and the other around the nearside mounting bracket, attach these to the ladder wider than the box (i.e so the straps aren't hanging vertically) . You should now be able to take the strain between you and lift the box away (a 3rd helper would be handy to pry the box away from the engine the last bit) . 1 walks forward whilst the other backwards and jobs a kipper the gearbox is out

If this makes no sense at all to you , let me know and i'll "stage it" and take a piccy for you.

Hpoe this helps and best of luck , Steve.

[davie]

All i can offer in advice is be sooooooooo careful if lifting anything that heavy!!!

2 hernias in 2 years teaches you that the hard way

[Debs.]

The North (that bit is only a little bigger than a football pitch isn't it?)

Les

The North is small; but perfectly formed, Les.

[Debs.]

Hi

Whereabouts in N wales are you, might be easier if you borrow my hoist?

Mike

Between Cerrig-y-Drudion and Bala: out in the 'wastelands'

[mike4444244]

Hmmm thats a bit of a trek I'm in Northwich, closeish to Chester... maybe its worth posting in international to see if you could borrow one more locally, failing that I wouldn't bother hiring one, my crane was only £100 delivered to buy it, if you have space to store it (get a folding one) they are very useful things to have around,

Mike

[mike4444244]

The North (that bit is only a little bigger than a football pitch isn't it?)

Les

Bluddy southerners!

[rusty_wingnut]

scaffold bar ropped to gearbox, one of you either end and off you go.

[Debs.]

scaffold bar roped to gearbox, one of you either end and off you go.

Now, there`s an idea!

.....`been "snowed off" today (as I`m working on Lazarus-Landy outside.....Brrrrrr!) but do have a 6ft. length of scaffold pipe and a heavy-duty 3" width rachet-webbing strop here, so that`s a very-real possibility.

Just waiting on the weather now......

BTW: How far 'aft' will I have to move the gearbox to clear the input-shaft from the clutch?

"Lazarus Landy": Back from the dead! (well, hopefully soon!)

[Les Henson]

3-inches

It's not quite as simple as it seems. The gearbox and transfer box are very unbalanced when you try to remove them as a single assembly. You need two ropes - one on the bell housing/gearbox join and back of the gearbox, then the other to go from the hook/scaffold pole - around the transfer case behind the handbrake drum (to prevent it from twisting as it comes free of the engine). You then cannot take the assembly out as it is, but need to rotate it all 90-deg to fit through the doorway, so whoever is on the opposite side will need to step over everything for it to be safely removed from the vehicle. You can however, lift the transmission and then slide a couple of planks under it, rest it on them, then remove it from the vehicle more easily. Lifting the entire assembly out without any kind of mechanical aid is very difficult - I did it once, but never again - you are relying too much on your ability to pick up something that's incredibly heavy/unbalanced/awkward, and get it safely out of the vehicle.

Not only that, but you have to do the same thing in reverse, which is considerably more difficult to do. The gearbox will not just fit onto the engine, but requires exact alignment. If the gearbox is fitted seperately from the transfer box, then this can be done quite easily by hand, and the most awkward part is over. If the seatbox is out, then putting the transfer box back on, is equally as easy - you are standing over over it, and 'eyeing it' is so much easier.

Get a hoist or split the two - anything else is really hard work or dangerous.

Les.

[landmannnn]

Just to add it is so much easier with the hard top off.

[Drillerjoskin]

Pics of the ladder way,

1 ladder, 3 straps, you can tilt/twist it in any direction and there is enough lenght in the ladder that you dont have to clamber over the chassis and sills, as suggested above its quite possible to do it with a scaffy bar but not nearly as controllable

you will need to move the box "aft" by 2 1/2 to 3 inches before the input shaft is clear of the pressure plate.

[Jason2]

I always do it with at least 4 ratchet straps under,bell housing, box,transfer box and over chassis-"slowly, slowly catch monkey" When the full weight is held on straps and all the bell housing bolts are out I use another ratchet strap onto hand brake drum and rear cross member to pull box off engine.Takes a bit of time but less risk of getting squashed!

[Jon White]

I always do it by separating the transfer box off first and dropping it down. No need to remove the seat box then.

Then remove the main gearbox and drop that down. It is do-able with a standard series welded in crossmember. I've a vague feeling the main gearbox needs to come up and out (certainly an LT77 does, but I've been running the LT77 for so long now I cant remeber about the series box.

In this way i can do a gearbox swap on my own and without an engine crane as the boxes are manageable on your own when separated.

Jon

[Snagger]

I always do it by separating the transfer box off first and dropping it down. No need to remove the seat box then.

Then remove the main gearbox and drop that down. It is do-able with a standard series welded in crossmember. I've a vague feeling the main gearbox needs to come up and out (certainly an LT77 does, but I've been running the LT77 for so long now I cant remeber about the series box.

In this way i can do a gearbox swap on my own and without an engine crane as the boxes are manageable on your own when separated.

Jon

Do you remove the 4wd housing from the front of the transfer box too, when you do that, or do you only separate the transfer box from the gear box?

[rusty_wingnut]

i think removing the transfer box off a series first is a bit work heavy. unbolt the floor and use the scaffold bar trick

[Debs.]

i think removing the transfer box off a series first is a bit work heavy. unbolt the floor and use the scaffold bar trick

I`m still snowed off here; Brrrrrrr!....as soon as it thaws and this bitter-icy wind drops (even a little) I`ll be back outside trying to figure a way to haul the old gearbox out....at least the floor and seat-base are now completely out of the way and I may see the true size of the job.

Sadly, the 'budget' simply won`t stretch to a crane, so the ladder/scaffold-pipe and/or transfer-case removal ideas will be my only options.

`Thinking I may have to corral some extra 'muscle' as with just little-old me and my dear-neighbour, we may struggle doing it on our own.

Thanks for the ongoing support and advice everyone.