mk2 Posted July 19, 2018 Report Share Posted July 19, 2018 (edited) Well that was not as painful as I thought. Ok, box out, sensors removed, drained, cv flanges wiped and off to my local gearbox guy who has a very good reputation here in Reading and a useful hydraulic press for those annoying bearing occasions... so dropped it off monday before work and he said get your own bearing and seals kit from ebay then show up and we'll do it together! Er.... It only took two and a half hours. Stripped in about twenty mins. A slide hammer was needed to get a couple of bearings out, and the bearing on the diff output flange had to be cut off with a grinder. Then into the wash tank. Back out again. So why do i want to rebuild this box? It's fine, look... Er, if you say so. Very slight wear on first gear and a small chip off a tooth on the reverse gear. But since i already had bought all the bits, may as well fit them. So that what we did. i'll post all the pics when i get a mo. He worked methodically without a manual in sight, pointing out all the tricky or important bits. That's 40 years of experience... The thing that i thought was interesting was that he said you don't need any specialist tools to do it. Not even a power press. Everything was available, but all he used was box assembly lube, oil, a hammer and a few aluminium setting tools (to avoid damaging any surfaces). All torque settings by hand (no torque wrench). Some silicone gearbox sealant. Lots of assembling, checking everything was running smooth, then pull to pieces again. He did that quite a few times, but the box is now so smooth... can't wait to get it back in to see how it runs. All the syncros were checked, and amazingly even after 98k miles, there was no noticable wear. Syncro no. 2 was looked at closely, but was fine. The output pinion bearing which is the one that usually goes, causing the box to fail, was fine. Apparently when it does go, the bellhousing side recess that the bearing sits in goes oval which means it can't be fixed. Another big cause for these 085 boxes to fail is the lack of oil. As we all know already, the selector shaft seal gives out, lowering the oil level. The fifth gear addon is splash lubed (no pump). When the oil level falls too low, the needle bearing race that is made of plastic melts causing the fifth gear to drop out of gear. If that happens, apparently the gearbox is still recoverable, but the first time it happens stop driving..... Any crunchy or loud whirring sounds always mean it's already too late to repair. This box is a very quiet running unit so if there are any unusual sounds or whirring getting louder, get it checked. I had some slight whining which turned out to be one of the diff bearings having the smallest bit of wear. In 10,000 miles it could have caused a serious problem. Edited July 19, 2018 by mk2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cj1 Posted July 20, 2018 Report Share Posted July 20, 2018 14 hours ago, mk2 said: All torque settings by hand (no torque wrench). doesn't sound great... FT? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2 Posted July 20, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2018 I must be honest and say that just about the only thing i use a torque wrench for is head gasket. Most of the time, where there's metal to metal contact (with no squishy gasket inbetween), with experience you generally can feel when the bolt is torqued right. i know for sure cj1 having seen the work you've done, that you could do a better job than most mechanics without a torque wrench... But if you're a stickler to get everything perfect, I must agree, a torque wrench does give peace of mind. I do think that many times I have used a TW, the settings are a bit on the low side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sausage Posted July 20, 2018 Report Share Posted July 20, 2018 I only use torque wrench for critical stuff, not much of that in the gearbox it all comes down to shims and preload so he knows what he is doing.? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2 Posted July 20, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2018 Yeah, i thought he'd have to put new shims in, as all the bearings were replaced. The shims are really thin- like 0.2mm. Apparently if there's nothing wrong and all you're doing is replacing the bearings, you can just bung it all back in again exactly how you pulled it out. But what do i know?! He did keep feeling bits here and there as he was going. No measuring. Just a little wobble here or there. Tighten then losen until it felt 'right'. Bloomin' hocus pocus magic if you ask me.... give me an engine to rebuild any day. Much simpler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted July 21, 2018 Report Share Posted July 21, 2018 my torque wrench stopped working about five years ago and I have never bothered to replace it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2 Posted July 21, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2018 I'll have to get you a new one for christmas. Chinese of course... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted July 21, 2018 Report Share Posted July 21, 2018 big bar on the end, feel it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isetta Posted July 22, 2018 Report Share Posted July 22, 2018 " I do think that many times I have used a TW, the settings are a bit on the low side." I agree, I had a Fiesta TDCI . After changing the oil about 8 times over a large number of miles I stripped the sump thread (steel bolt in steel sump). So on my newer Fiesta TDCI I now have I changed the oil for first time recently. I borrowed a torque wrench and torqued sump bolt correctly. I then put my normal socket set ratchet on there and it did up tighter without much effort, so I ended up doing it up tighter as it just felt too loose on the torque setting and I had visions of it dumping oil out when the bolt came loose. Mind you I might end up with another stripped thread after 8 oil changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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