Readers may remember we did a Land’s End to John O’Groats trip in aid of Cancer Research in October 1999. We were aware of vibration from the car before we set off, but having tried two prop shafts, three diffs, and new half shaft bearings to no avail, we went with the vibration. The interior mirror was blurred at anything above 30-40 mph and all indications were a transmission problem.
I’ll now pass on what I have learnt about gearboxes over the last few months. I've recently completed a rebuild of a 2000E gearbox. I'm not going to repeat all the stuff given in all the workshop manuals, but I will tell you the bits I got stuck on !
Having stripped the gearbox and found nothing seriously wrong we are now faced with a possible tyre problem. We did find that the nylon bushes in the remote gear-shift had disintegrated through wear, and we had a lot of "slop" in this area. This would probably explain difficulty changing down from top to third. See here for the "cure".
We also found that the big nut on the main-shaft (behind the speedometer drive gear) was loose, and this could be contributing to the vibration problem.
Dismantling
This article discusses dismantling and re-assembling the gearbox. There are no particular problems dismantling the gearbox with two exceptions:-
However, you MUST have a dummy counter-shaft. I made one from a real counter-shaft cut down. Cut down is not an accurate term. It is tough machined steel, you can’t hack-saw it, so I had to bring it down to length with an angle grinder. It took a while, even with a very coarse 80 grit grinding disk. Chamfer the ends with the grinder to get a nice smooth finish. It needs to be just the length of the counter-shaft gear cluster, perhaps a little less.. I also chamfered (angled) one end, so that it will pass through the hole in the gearbox casing more easily.
You will also need a good pair of circlip pliers. Depending on the vintage of the box, you may have quite a few circlips to do and undo.
Count the needle roller bearings when you dismantle. My Ford Part List claims 40 needles, but I'm almost certain we had 22 in each end! Count carefully!!
Typical Ford Gearbox diagram.
Make sure you have all the spares you need, before you attempt the re-build. It really is not worth all the hassle of stripping a box if you are not going to do a thorough job of re-conditioning it.
You will need all new gaskets, new needle rollers, new ball bearings, new oil seals, and a new caged needle roller bearing, (all available from the Club), You may need new blocker rings so try GEARBOXMAN, Bernie Braden, a most helpful guy regarding Ford gearboxes !
You may need a new main-shaft extension bush, and later types are still available for around £16.
General
Clean everything thoroughly outside and inside the box. I used a de-greaser and high pressure water washer. Remove all traces of old gaskets or sealers from joint faces.
Having dismantled the box, check synchromesh gears for wear, check main bearings for looseness or wear, and check the caged needle roller bearing in the end of the input shaft for wear or damage. Check selector forks for wear too.
There are 22 needle rollers on the counter-shaft, so check the shaft and the bearings for wear or damage. Scoring may indicate possible wear or past problems such as a seizure. Replace where necessary. The Club can offer most spares for the gearbox, including bearings, seals and gaskets. Other spares are available from Bernie Braden (link above). Tell him I sent you!
The manual says you need a hydraulic press to dismantle the main drive shaft but we were able to remove everything without resort to any special tools. Use two screwdrivers to lever one gear from another.
The synchromesh gears on second and third gear are most prone to wear so check these particularly.
The nose of the gearbox (retainer, gearbox main drive gear), comes in two sizes. Make sure you have the correct one. There are also three different oil seals for this part. Again, make doubly sure you have the correct one.
The input shaft diameter comes in two sizes. Older ones were thicker, later ones slimmer. This means there are two sizes of bronze bushes which fit in the end of the crankshaft. Make sure you have the correct sizes. There are even later versions used on the Escort which use a needle roller bearing in the crankshaft end!
Technical note on Blocker rings
To save you having a heart attack, the early blocker bars have lips on them. Later blocker bars have virtually no lip on them. Old blocker bars will jam up a late synchroniser hub! Old blocker rings have three indents in them which have no "bottom".
Late blocker rings have three indents in them which do have a bottom (they are U-shaped).
If you don't understand this, don't worry, just make sure you get the correct parts!
The Rebuild
Rebuilding is a careful reverse of dismantling.
Assemble the dummy counter-shaft and counter-shaft gear assembly with 22 needle roller bearings at each end, well greased, and remember to install the thrust washers on either end of the needles. Assemble the dummy counter-shaft and lay the assembly in the bottom of the box but looped by two pieces of strong string.
Assemble the main-shaft and install it into the box. I am not repeating all the steps here as they appear in great detail in all the workshop manuals. Make sure you get these in the right order and the right way round. Constantly refer to the workshop manual.
Next lift the string to align the counter-shaft assembly with the counter-shaft holes in the gearbox casing. Tap in the real counter-shaft very carefully so as not to disturb the needle rollers. The dummy counter-shaft should support everything as the real shaft goes in. You really need an assistant for this part.
Alternatively, turn the gearbox upside down and the counter-shaft will virtually align itself!
I put my counter-shaft in the fridge for a day to shrink it a little so that it went in easier. It would not be run for a few days so it would have ample time to get back to normal temperature.
Conclusion
There is a difficult judgement required as to whether you live with a gearbox problem or sort it out. Many boxes are just plain worn out but continue to give good, long service. You may be able to find a replacement box rather that rebuild the one in your car.
I spent some £35 on club spares, plus about the same again for blocker/synchromesh bits.
My box is a genuine, late, 2000E box from a MK2 GT/ Lotus (it has19 teeth on the input shaft), so we decided to rebuild. It is something I had never done before in "fiddling" with these cars since 1966. I had always been put off by the complexity of a gearbox, but if I can do it, anyone else can!
Having rebuilt my gearbox, the original problem remained! It turned out to be the second-hand remote gear-change which came from a Classic/Capri. This is some 2 inches shorter than the Cortina one, and allows a floor-mounted handbrake to be used. The problem was the "ball and socket" assembly. The "ball" part was okay, but the socket had several very deep scores in it.
For the miracle "cure", see here.
Page last edited: 03 October, 2006