Series 2A (ish) transfer box issues

[RWD3M]

Hi all,

I recently acquired a Series 2A Land Rover (was a diesel, now a petrol) that was taken off the road about 3 years ago because it jumped out of gear.

My question (before I get embroiled in a L/R forum as I know we have a number of sensible officionados here) is, is this a common complaint with a popular and well known resolution? i.e. is there some sort of overhaul kit or broken/missing part that I need to resolve it? I do realise this could well be a 'how long is a piece of string' type question but I thought I'd get, at the very least, some good, sensible guidance here first.

Thanks.

 

[seriesonewelder]

'how long is a piece of string'

Could just need new selector detent springs (fit reverse gear spring as they are stiffer) but need more info as to the conditions when it was jumping out of gear.

 

[Mikes]

Yes, a common fault on Series gear boxes that get a bit worn. In my opinion, worth stripping the whole box and overhauling. Makes all of the difference to the driving experience to have a box in good order.

 

[Porkypine]

Which gear does it jump out of ? Obv detent springs are a good 1st pot of call, if you drain the oil out of the main box are there any broken bits emerging ? you often get fragments of the synchro clips.

 

[tom2207]

is the gear selector worn / sloppy , or even seized on the pivots on the case sides ,,, a quick spray may get you going , title says transfer box , posts read more like gear box ?

 

[RWD3M]

Thanks for the replies chaps

I'm very new to the world of L/R and I've maybe not quite yet got a grip on the correct terminology! I have the complete gearbox/transfer box out on the bench (actually it arrived already removed from the vehicle) and, according to the previous owner (I've just spoken to him on the phone) it used to jump out of 2nd and reverse, and under throttle rather than the overrun, to the best of his recollection!

 

[dobbslc]

Sounds like the drive dogs are worn* (assuming these contraptions use them) or the selector fork / mechanism is seized if it's jumping out under load.

* I'm not LR man but always interested in learning something about them as they seem to have a real following, not sure why going by the horror stories on here though

 

[OJCar]

to jump out of 2nd and reverse, and under throttle

I can provide you with another gearbox that was taken out for doing just that!

That sounds like a fairly well worn gearbox.
Your not going to get away with just detent springs!

You want to have a good read of the Factory Workshop Manual first.

Damm good clean and disconnect the transfer box from the main gear box to make it easier to move about.

The main "special tool" you are going to need is a mainshaft nut socket
like this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/264472160046
Threadforms are BSF/Whit so find your old Whitworth tools.

 

[tom2207]

I can provide you with another gearbox that was taken out for doing just that!

That sounds like a fairly well worn gearbox.
Your not going to get away with just detent springs!

You want to have a good read of the Factory Workshop Manual first.

Damm good clean and disconnect the transfer box from the main gear box to make it easier to move about.

The main "special tool" you are going to need is a mainshaft nut socket
like this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/264472160046
Threadforms are BSF/Whit so find your old Whitworth tools.

and a stand to put the gear cluster on is handy , but just make one of them

 

[OJCar]

@RWD3M Do you have a Factory Workshop Manual?

 

[RWD3M]

@RWD3M Do you have a Factory Workshop Manual?

I do not sir.

 

[RWD3M]

In no particular order:

I've done a wee bit more research today and it seems as though complete overhaul kits are not just readily available but also relatively inexpensive, so I think I'll invest in one and completely rebuild the box. Not an alien concept to me having rebuilt various gearboxes of '30's to '80's vintage. What about the transfer box, worth doing too? Is there much in there to cause concern?

I'll track down a factory workshop manual post haste.

For sure a good clean and split the box, that is quite an unweildy lump as it sits!

I run (amongst others) a 1936 Morris so my BSW tools are in daily use

Thanks for the link, I'll get on that too.

I suppose a picture of the vehicle is probably in order at this point:

I will try to do a thread on the rebuild once I get started.

 

[OJCar]

^ Nice!
Linky to Series THREE Factory Manual
Main difference from a Series 2/2A gearbox to a Series 3 is there are only synchro on 1st & 2nd in a Series 2/2A G/B
Synchro on 1st 2nd 3rd 4th in a Series 3
This manual at least gives you an idea.
They are both LT76 gearboxes.
There are lots of little detail changes in the 26 year run of the LT76 and of course its origins are in a Rover pre-war G/B.
From what I can make out of your G/B number it is 25331??E (?? I can't read clearly).

So Suffix E

IMO Good suppliers are
Dingocroft
L R Fasteners
P A Blanchard

https://www.onlinegearboxparts.com/product/lt76-overhaul-bundle-minus-2-x-thrust-washers/ do an overhaul kit that saves you a lot of grief.
They seem to be unable to supply gearbox shims at present.
Somewhere I have a list of the shims, their part numbers and sizes, I'll look it out.

Attached a scan of most of the gearbox part of a parts book (Another well worth it book to have).
EDIT Not attached as too large (PM your e-mail and I'll e-mail it to you).

Your nearside gearbox mount looks to have a rather non standard hole care of the rust fairy,
do you have a replacement or are you going to weld it up?

A reverse light switch is easy to fit while your g/b fettling.

Transfer box will be worth refreshing but I doubt there will be too much wrong with it as long as it has had its oil.

 

[OJCar]

Gearbox shims

 

[Porkypine]

Nice motor, if you're going to pull it all apart get the proper workshop operations manual (not Haynes) that was issued to Rover ( later was part of leyland ) service agents, they are readily available on evil bay etc.

 

[RWD3M]

@OJCar Wow! Thanks chap, this is fantastic.

I'll PM my email now.

 

[RWD3M]

^ Nice!
Linky to Series THREE Factory Manual
Main difference from a Series 2/2A gearbox to a Series 3 is there are only synchro on 1st & 2nd in a Series 2/2A G/B
Synchro on 1st 2nd 3rd 4th in a Series 3
This manual at least gives you an idea.
They are both LT76 gearboxes.
There are lots of little detail changes in the 26 year run of the LT76 and of course its origins are in a Rover pre-war G/B.
From what I can make out of your G/B number it is 25331??E (?? I can't read clearly).
View attachment 499764
So Suffix E

IMO Good suppliers are
Dingocroft
L R Fasteners
P A Blanchard

https://www.onlinegearboxparts.com/product/lt76-overhaul-bundle-minus-2-x-thrust-washers/ do an overhaul kit that saves you a lot of grief.
They seem to be unable to supply gearbox shims at present.
Somewhere I have a list of the shims, their part numbers and sizes, I'll look it out.

Attached a scan of most of the gearbox part of a parts book (Another well worth it book to have).
EDIT Not attached as too large (PM your e-mail and I'll e-mail it to you).

Your nearside gearbox mount looks to have a rather non standard hole care of the rust fairy,
do you have a replacement or are you going to weld it up?

A reverse light switch is easy to fit while your g/b fettling.

Transfer box will be worth refreshing but I doubt there will be too much wrong with it as long as it has had its oil.

I've rebuilt a couple of LT77 (Rover SD1) and they were shimmed to death (taper roller bearings in the Main and Lay shafts iirc), are these the same?

The box number is 25331086E

Ha ha, so it does! I hadn't seen that. I'll probaly just replace it if they are cheap and available, if not, repair looks simple enough. I'll get it in the blast cabinet first though.

Good idea re the reversing light, I'll look further into that.

I'll check the oil that comes out of the transfer box and decide what to do then.

Just out of interest, that is an age-related plate, not a Morayshire reg which is a shame really as I used to work up there and had a 'NAS' reg on my Mk1 Escort waaaaay back in the day

There remains however, just one minor complication. Mrs RWD still doesn't know I've bought it and that's despite it sat at the back of the workshop where only a couple of weeks ago she spent a couple of days cleaning and oiling our garden furniture! I guess I'll need to tell her at some point

 

[Agrismith]

I do not sir.

It's a free download linked at the top of the series 123 Facebook page along with some other useful documents

 

[RWD3M]

It's a free download linked at the top of the series 123 Facebook page along with some other useful documents

Thanks for the tip. I guess I'll need to sign up to Facebook now then?!

 

[RWD3M]

Linky to Series THREE Factory Manual

Got it