Dropping the engine/gearbox...

[JimB]

Hi all,

At long last, I've got some time this weekend to drop the engine/gearbox and get it all fettled ready for the RBRR in October... I'm going to be lowering as one, so could I get away with removing just the gear knob and not the whole gearstick assembly?

Also, does anyone have a heavy duty dolly that I could borrow, please? Localish to Winchester would be great.

Finally, I might need a helping hand, so if anyone is at a loose end... (my RBRR co-driver is indisposed)

[Charles H]

Jim, you don't even need to remove the knob, just disconnect the wires, and release the rubber boot! Good luck.

[johnnydog]

I think Jim is referring to his Mk2 PI, Charles. If that is the case, then you have to remove the knob in order to get the gear lever surround off as it obviously wont go through the hole on the transmission tunnel! A Mk1 is different - you can drop the lever through the large hole in the surround, but for the effort it takes to remove it first, I'd remove it away. You are also better off removing the rubber boot anyway rather than squeezing it through the gearbox tunnel - good ones without any rips are getting harder to find, so anything to avoid any damage is my thought!
If you do remove the gear lever Jim, don't forget about and loose the little spring and anti rattle thingymijig at the base of the lever!

[JimB]

Yep, MkII.

Are there any hints/tips for getting the gear knob or gear stick off? I can sense that this might be one of those seemingly easy tasks that ends up taking loads of time if you don't know exactly how!

I think the rest of the engine drop ought to be relatively straightforward. I'll read the works manual tonight...

[Dave B]

Are there any hints/tips for getting the gear knob or gear stick off?

Flip the cap off the gear lever and pull the two wires off the O/D switch spade terminals. With an open-ended spanner, slacken the cone shaped nut under the gear knob half a turn, now you should be be able to remove the top nut inside the gear lever knob with the aid a small screwdriver or long nose pliers.
With regard to removing the lever itself, slacken off the two locknuts either side of the domed gearlever base cover and remove the short setscrew from the rear of said cover. (It may help to put a jack under the gearbox to ease the lever assembly up inside the car a bit, but go steady, don't stretch the metalastic mounting too far!) Disconnect the wiring at the two snap connectors, twist the domed cover off the two studs and lift out the lever. As Johnnydog said, don't loose the anti-rattle spring & plunger.

[Charles H]

I think Jim is referring to his Mk2 PI, Charles. If that is the case, then you have to remove the knob in order to get the gear lever surround off as it obviously wont go through the hole on the transmission tunnel! A Mk1 is different - you can drop the lever through the large hole in the surround, but for the effort it takes to remove it first, I'd remove it away. You are also better off removing the rubber boot anyway rather than squeezing it through the gearbox tunnel - good ones without any rips are getting harder to find, so anything to avoid any damage is my thought!
If you do remove the gear lever Jim, don't forget about and loose the little spring and anti rattle thingymijig at the base of the lever!

John, you are of course correct, but I seem to remember that on my mk2 the gaiter became detached from the surround, and therefore all went downwards. I re-glued the gaiter to the surround on reassembly!
It's age you know!

[JimB]

Now have:

- beefy trolley jack
- helping pair of hands
- decent weather forecast

Question: do I need to cap off the fuel line as I disconnect it from the metering unit or will the pump at the back effectively prevent the fuel tank from draining?

[Andy Thompson]

If fuel tank is relatively low (normal in a PI) just wire up the fuel line onto the brake line and it should be OK

[johnnydog]

The other thing Jim that needs removing (which hasn't been mentioned) is the plate on the transmission tunnel under the gear lever surround which holds the rubber gaitor in place. The phillips type screws that hold it in place can be difficult to remove if the threads on the underside are a little rusty, and if the heads get chewed up because the wrong type of cross head screwdriver is used or if they are solid, access to grind them off or drill them out is awkward because of the centre console.

[JimB]

Hi all,

Well, that was a busy day... The engine and gearbox are out, whilst I and my gallant mate are thoroughly knackered...

After all my fretting, the gearstick was actually really easy to extract, although someone had obviously been there before and the little anti-rattle spring and plunger are long gone whilst the gaiter is split (although I note that CW is having these remade).

Getting the clutch slave cylinder bracket off the engine back plate was a pain, since someone had reversed one of the fixings (I’m guessing during a clutch change) and we ended up having to take the sump pan off to get the bolt out!

If anyone out there is contemplating similar major surgery on their Big Six, I recommend three essential bits of kit:

- Heavy duty, high lift trolley jack: much better than faffing around with a small jack and wooden blocks! I had previously procured via eBay some seriously beefy axle stands, so felt really safe working under the car.

- Cordless impact wrench: probably the best money I’ve ever spent on garage kit. It made the job SO much easier than using hand ratchets. Of course, on reassembly, I’ll use a torque wrench to properly check fixings

- Thick foam mat: made scrabbling under the car comfortable and I ache less today than I'd expected to!

Thank you all for your advice