My advice when renewing gearbox mounts-finally done it!

[JMF894]

Hi all i finally managed to replace my gearbox mounts this evening and it was a flippin pain i can tell you!

However now i've done it i thought i would offer my advice in the hope it may make it a little easier for others in the future.

First of all you really want to get the car on a ramp ( as in 4 poster etc) if possible, and have the facility to jack up the gearbox. I took my 450 down the road to my village garage as they let me work on the car down there when they are quieter.

Once under the car undo the nuts on the bottom of the mounts - 13mm on my car

Remove nuts and any washers and put to one side

Now jack up the end of the gear box enough to bring the bottom threaded bar of the mount free from the slot in the plate on the chassis. Make sure you use a piece of wood between the jack and the gearbox casing and jack up slowly.

The mounts will automatically 'straighten up' once the lower thread is clear

Once clear unscrew the mounts from the gearbox. Access is tight and they are probably smeared in oil. I found using a rag gave me a little more purchase. Jack up the gearbox a little more if required as the mount threads out because it may foul on the chassis plate

Once you have removed the old mounts screw the new ones completely into the gearbox. Dont forget the large washers that sit between the top of the mount and the gearbox casing

Now lower the gearbox until the lower threaded bar on the mounts is just sitting on the chassis plate under a little bit of pain

Now use a crow bar of some kind to lever the lower part of the mount into the slot in the chassis plate. Do one side only then get a nut on it once its in place

Once you have a nut on one side then lever the other mount into place. Thread a nut onto the second mount then remove nut from the other one and place the wahsers on it then replace the nut

Repeat this for the other side. You may need to raise the gearbox ever so slightly in order to get the nut on as it can foul the chassis

Once you have the nuts and washers on tighten them up them lower the gearbox completely and tighten again until nipped up properly

Hopefully this will save some of you some time as i buggered about for around 2 hours!

Having someone to help when levering the new mounts into place will make things easier.

My old mounts didn't look too bad when in situ but once removed it was clear they had started to turn to the proverbial marshmellow! It's well worth doing.

Sorry if i've taught some of you to suck eggs

Cheers all

Jimbo

Edited by JMF894 on Wednesday 25th April 11:41