SLROC Forum

Anyone got recommendations for where to send a SIII gearbox / transfer box / Fairey overdrive, to investigate and repair a death-rattle?

As I was driving at fiftysomething, a horrible rattle suddenly started under the floor, as though something was about to fall off the vehicle. Having experimented, I discovered that that:

• With the gearbox and overdrive in neutral, the transfer box in 2WD and the freewheeling hubs unlocked, I get the rattle as I coast along the road.
• If I put the transfer box into neutral, the rattle slows and quickly stops.
• The rattle speed appears to be related to road speed. I tried making it rattle in low box then changing to high box, to see whether the rattle slowed down; unfortunately the vehicle slowed down so much during the changeover that I couldn't conclude anything.

The garage round the corner from my work has drained the oil and removed the bottom cover from the transfer box, and discovered:

• The oil from the main gearbox and transfer box was yellowish; the oil from the overdrive was not.
• The oil from the gearbox contained bits of what could be synchromesh clips
• The oil from the overdrive contained silvery filings and a sliver of silvery metal, not much thicker than foil.
• The gears in the transfer box have some play in them; he didn't know whether it was enough to cause a problem.
• The output shaft (I think that's what it's called) in the transfer box has worn splines where the gear sits in high range. Again, he didn't know whether it was enough to cause problems.

His suggestion is to ship the gearbox + transfer box + overdrive to someone who specialises in repairing the things. (Or, if it was someone local enough to Edinburgh then I could limp the Landy to them, meaning they could hear the rattle when driving.)

Series boxes wear out and fail. It sounds as if yours is on its last legs.
The overdrive is an entirely separate gearbox - and it sounds like it could do with a service, too.

There really isn't a cheap alternative to a proper rebuild - unless someone here on the forum has a S3 box of known reliability that they'd like to sell.

The cheaper end of the rebuild market is to be avoided - for £400 your box won't get properly stripped and major items replaced - believe me, I know.

Whitehouse has a very good reputation - but they are expensive for the reasons given above. My advice is to grit your teeth and go for it.

Perhaps not what you wanted to hear, but I do hope it helps!

Best, Kathy

How good a mechanic are you? There is a strip/rebuild guide on the go on the OLLR forum, brilliant place for Leafer knowledge, let me know if you are interested.

Rebuilder are very varied in their quality of work, if you had to send it away then Ashcrofts are probably the safest bet in terms of guarenteed hassle free motoring. Plenty others will be capable of doing it though, its finding a recomendation to give some confidence.

I understand that Ashcrofts no longer do Series boxes, but Rangerovering is right - if you're up for it yourself then there is plenty of help available.
I quite fancy having a go myself one of these days.
Cost-wise, the parts alone will be in excess of £300 if you are obliged (and it sounds like you may well be) to replace not just seals and bearing but major items such as a layshaft.

buy second hand gearbox - ollr/seriously series are good places to look 
then save up and get your own rebuilt

at least you can still use it

Prof makes a good point, its usually easy to get a cheap useable replacement for inbetween rebuilds.

Quick googling

http://www.syncrogearboxes.com/579/land-rover-series-3-reconditioned-gearbox/

http://www.reconditioned-gearbox.co.uk/land-rover-gearboxes.shtml

And yes Kathy is correct I didn't realise Ashcrofts no longer do series boxes

One last thing - as for professional rebuilders, I would not use Beaumonts again. You can draw your own conclusions...

Cheers folks. It turns out Alex Lindsay has a couple of good gearboxes to potentially fit, so it's off to his next week.

Just a followup question: if/when the last synchro clip snaps, I'm guessing that if the Landy is in third or fourth gear then the gearbox will be stuck in that gear, but if the gearbox is in neutral then everything will keep working but I'll have to double-declutch. Is that correct?

I'm pondering whether to replace the gearbox (with a second hand unit which I'm told is good) or whether, if the new rattle turns out to be in the overdrive, to leave the gearbox well alone.

The know faults with the gearbox are:

• It jumps out of all gears on over-run. To use engine braking I have to hold the gearstick in position. This has been getting gradually worse for the 14 years I've had it.
• The synchromesh between third and fourth is shot; unless I'm changing very gradually from third to fourth, I have to double-declutch. It's been like that for the 14 years I've had it with no noticeable change.
• The remains of a synchro clip just came out in the oil.
• Some of the shafts in the transfer box have play in them; I don't know how much is too much.
• The splines on which sits the gear for high range look pretty worn to me. Again, I don't know how worn is too worn.

All advice gratefully received! At present I'm swithering between deciding it's on its way out (especially looking at the list of faults above), and deciding it's working okay so why replace it with a box I've only been told is good. (And I'm in no hurry to pay £££ for a decent reconditioned box, and even less hurry to buy a cheapo reconditioned box!)

well - me , i would change the gearbox for a start - see how that goes 

then service your overdrive while out and then re-fit later on

if the overdrive has a problem it can be quickly removed and at least you can still use it while the overdrive is rebuilt 

parts for overdrives are available on e-bay so rebuilding it shouldnt be a problem - but may be pricey 

if you have a choice of gearbox try to go for a late model series 3 full syncro and stronger bearings

but defo a good move to change to a known good gearbox as a first move