bleyseng Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 1995 300TDI defender. Installed new gearbox and transfer box had some issues with difflock being on. sorted that (linkages sloppy) but now having used the vehicle properly for a week including towing my boat i have a few concerns. Here are the issues: 1/ Sometimes when 1st gear is selected and i lift the clutch pedal to pull away there is no drive and the horrible sound of gears grinding. I have to put the clutch back in, take it out of first then back in. It seems i need to be very deliberate about making sure 1st gear is truly selected. 2/ When changing down from any gear, when i release the clutch there is a 'chatter' that comes back up the gearstick, which makes me feel very uneasy. My old gearbox didnt do this. 3/ I tried to pull my boat out of the water on its trailer this morning on a steep slipway. I have done this many times before with my old gearbox. It literally felt unmovable and the clutch stank. I had to put it into low ratio. I never used to have to do this with my old one. (no brakes stuck on) At the point of sale the women from Ashcroft told me that there was a shortage of parts for original spec gearboxes and that this meant they could only offer me a box with a different ratio. She expressly told me that this ratio change would only affect 5th gear which would offer better performance on the motorway etc. Now i have my doubts. 4/ In general the gearbox sounds clanky. I can hear gears rattling slightly now and then. Its not filling me with confidence. I am open to the possibility that these are issues that can be ironed out with linkage adjustments, but i think in reality it could be more than that. Im loathed to take the box out again unless you guys tell me that this is not tweekable and it needs to go back to Ashcroft. I also need to be sure and have my facts straight before i start accusing Ashcroft of giving me a carp box. Your thoughts please, but i ask not for general opinion from the masses but rather wisdom from people who really know because they have real experience. No offence meant. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickeyw Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Errrm, please don't take this the wrong way - but it does have oil in doesn't it? The boxes will have been shipped dry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Brock Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Speak Direct to Ashcofts, Dave is very very helpfull ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejparrott Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 and please post the results, so that others may find help identifying problems with their own boxes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bleyseng Posted July 12, 2012 Author Share Posted July 12, 2012 Yes it has oil in both transfer and gearbox. Ill call Dave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vulcan bomber Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Errrm, please don't take this the wrong way - but it does have oil in doesn't it? The boxes will have been shipped dry. Or did you use there own brand oil? I did in my stumpy r380 when i fitted that, it would often crunch into 2nd. When i changed the oil to MTF from my local parts place the gearbox generally selects gears better and doesnt crunch into 2nd anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reb78 Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Where are you based? If you can take the truck to Ashcrofts, they might get one of their fitting centres to take a look for you. I did this with mine, as i had real trouble selecting reverse - the plunger mechnism was faulty and had to be replaced. They were dead helpful though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bleyseng Posted December 18, 2012 Author Share Posted December 18, 2012 Hi Guys. It has been 6 months since my Ashcroft gearbox had problems. I took the advice of guys here on the forum and spoke to a Mr Dave Ashcroft. I simply told him the problems i was having, we had a chat, and he accepted that there sounded like there was something not quite right. He asked me to put a thousand miles on the box and see how it went, and that if there were still issues, then they would take a look. I put a thousand miles on it, but the problem didnt go away. I called Dave Ashcroft again, and he was very good about it, and very easy to talk too. He said that if i took it out that they would collect it and sort it out and then return it to me. He also offered me £100 towards the labour cost. I was happy with this arrangement. Ashcrofts turned the gearbox and transfer box warranty work around in about 3 days, Dave even phoned me himself at first to tell me they couldnt find a fault with the gearbox. After another chat, he said he would split it again and check a selector fork. The gearbox is back in the defender now and all of the symptoms have gone. The problems i had were due to a too high ratio transfer box 1:222 i believe the same as a disco. and gears not meshing correctly due to a selector fork problem. I would just like to give very good positive feedback to a reputable company. Every company from time to time will have the odd problem or not quite right product. Its how the company deals with problems when they happen. Ashcroft Engineering has very much proved itself in this regard, as far as i am concerned. Thankyou Dave Ashcroft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejparrott Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 Always good to hear a happy ending! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
need4speed Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 To be honest i cant see the ratio of the transfer-box having anything to do with the issues you described. Still, glad to hear you got the selector fork problem sorted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jode Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 To be honest i cant see the ratio of the transfer-box having anything to do with the issues you described. Still, glad to hear you got the selector fork problem sorted Having said that, the 'you will only notice the difference in 5th gear' comment sounds like Ashcroft had the 'disco' high-range transfer gear in stock and not the standard Defender unit (1.22 vs 1.4 IIRC) - this affects high-range gearing only as the low range ratios are identical between the two models. That gearing would affect pulling in high-range (boat out of the water problem), but doesn't explain the other issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bleyseng Posted December 23, 2012 Author Share Posted December 23, 2012 This gear difference is so obvious, now i have driven both in quick succesion. When i spoke to Dave Ashcroft, about the gearing issue, he said that a 1.22 would affect the gearing across the range, and not just 5th gear. Especially on a 300 TDI, as opposed to a TD5, from the point of view that the TDI has less poke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
need4speed Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 It will affect the gearing across the entire range - not just 5th as previously mentioned. Still, the different ratio box isnt going to cause any kind of weird noises so that was not the original issue... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ELVIS Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 I would just like to give very good positive feedback to a reputable company. Every company from time to time will have the odd problem or not quite right product. Its how the company deals with problems when they happen. Ashcroft Engineering has very much proved itself in this regard, as far as i am concerned. Thankyou Dave Ashcroft. Very reassuring, deffo getting my business in new year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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